[Penny Dreadful]
Plot:Young Penny (Miner) goes on a retreat with her psychologist (Rogers); the intention is to help her overcome her phobia, an intense fear of cars. Unexpected events find her in a nightmarish situation where her worst fears come true.

Cast: Rachel Miner, Mimi Rogers, Michael Berryman, Lucy Rogers-Ciaffa, Elyse Mirto, Liz Davies, Mickey Jones, Chad Todhunter, Tammy Filor, Casey Sander.

My Thoughts: Quit your whining Penny.

Review:Richard Brandes "Penny Dreadful" is really one of those horror movies that you have to take the bad with to get the good, and so on. While it's not going to win any awards or wow any hardcore genre fans, it is fun to watch because it presents a whole new spin on an old plot. "Penny Dreadful" stars Rachel Miner as Penny Deerborne, a girl who seems to be afraid of everything. Particularly cars...this is because when she was a child her mom died in a car accident, an accident which Penny miraculously survived. Ever since then, she's never been the same. Her psychologist Orianna (Mimi Rogers) decides to take Penny up to the mountains for a retreat of sorts, to help her overcome her longstanding phobia. So what could possibly ruin such a heartwarming trip? How about horror movie mistake numero uno......NEVER PICK UP hitchhikers.

Especially ones that wear black slickers with the hood pulled down over their face, and don't speak a word. But call Orianna crazy, after she accidentally hits this freak standing in the middle of the road, she offers her a ride to wherever she wants to go. As you may imagine, this doesn't turn out to be the best idea in the long run, but writer/director Richard Brandes does do something very clever and smart with this turn of events. He doesn't spring the mayhem and carnage on the viewer too fast. While I was expecting the silent hitchiker to pull out a weapon, butcher Orianna and send the movie into chase/stalk/and slash mode where poor Penny is on the run "Sleepaway Camp" style, through the woods for 90 minutes...that's exactly the opposite of what happens. Orianna and Penny manage to get the hitchhiker to their destination, drop them off, and keep themselves in tact. But it's what happens afterwards that becomes the focal point of the movie and it's divine terror.

Penny and Orianna do indeed come face to face with danger eventually, but Brandes makes sure his movie strays away from playing out in typical slasher movie fashion. "Penny Dreadful" can be described as the "patient" slasher film. It is indeed a slasher movie, but it really milks every scene for all it's worth and creates a high amount of tension and suspense before springing the money-shot upon the viewer, which makes every scene practically a nailbiter. However, that's not to say the movie doesn't have it's weak points. As a viewer...I couldn't help but think the situation itself involving Penny and her mysterious assailant could've been easily avoided. The encounter with the weird hitcher rattles Orianna and Penny which causes Orianna to practically burn rubber trying to get back onto the highway. Soon they stop of the side of the gravel road to give Penny a chance to gather herself.

After refusing to get back in the car...Orianna then threatens to leave Penny in the dark woods alone, and as Penny makes a beeline for the car she badly bruises her leg. To make matters worse, when injured Penny eventually makes it back into the car a flat tire soon shows up. It's stupid decisions like this (along with burning rubber on a sharp gravel road which is a big no no), and the later decision Orianna makes to leave injured Penny alone in the car while she goes for help....that hurt the film somewhat. With friends like Orianna, quite frankly who needs enemies? It isn't long before Penny begins to be stalked by a mystery person in a slicker who stalks around the car terrorizing her left and right..first psychologically and then physically. But the questions which pile up beforehand, along with a strong tone of suspense keep the movie entertaining. Is the person in the slicker the weird hitchhiker? Is it someone else? Or could it be Orianna who mysteriously vanishes while going for help, and in a sick and twisted tough love approach could quite possibly be trying to help Penny become a stronger person?

These are all questions that one by one get answered eventually as Penny's ordeal continues. Rachel Miner does an excellent job playing Penny and her performance is very convincing, solid, and noteworthy. However, her constant crying does become tedious as the movie goes on and even though she's the victim here you just wish she'd shut up once in awhile...atleast during those moments when the killer is off butchering someone else. The films final act is very exciting and provides some great thrills and a shocking climax to what is a very twisted story. "Penny Dreadful" is a horror movie that takes risks, confining the action and unfolding events mostly to one main character and one main location. While movies like this are very difficult to make entertaining and likeable, Richard Brandes succeeds immensely in doing so with this picture.

Positives: Outstanding performance by Rachel Miner, great score, very tense and suspenseful moments throughout. Great ending.

Negatives: Penny's continuous crying and screaming becomes somewhat tedious eventually, the Orianna character seemed quite cold for a motherly type figure.

Overall:A very well done movie, which revels and succeeds in it's attempts to be different and take risks.





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