Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival

Review of "Strike Dear Mistress and Cure His Heart"
by The Headless Critic

Strike Dear Mistress and Cure His Heart – 2018
Production by: Fall Films Entertainment, Betmar-Heiland Productions, Perm Machine Productions



Since the death of her father Madeline Middleston (Audrey LeCrone) admittedly cannot love anyone including her husband David (Jacob Snovel). The newlyweds haven’t been intimate in months. The couple just purchased a historic hotel in Madeline’s hometown that they’ll be moving into and restoring. They were promised when they bought it that it's not haunted.

Caring for her nearly comatose sister Bailey (Elise Langer) only adds to the stress of a new wife pursuing a new business venture. Having returned home Madeline’s estranged mother Dianne (Mary Buss) has also reentered the picture. Dianne abandoned her daughters when they were children to pursue a musical career but is now looking to make amends. The unraveling of mind is a fickle thing. They were promised this hotel wasn’t haunted when they purchased it but there certainly seems to be a monster living inside.

Writer and director Mickey Reece creates a 1970’s feel in this modern day horror thriller. The performances are unnervingly deadpan. If Wes Anderson made a horror movie I expect it would feel something like this. A shrieking score keeps the viewer on edge in what is largely an uneventful build that the audience won’t notice due to rising tensions. The payoff is blunt, abstract, exciting but somehow just as impassive as the rest of the movie. I realize that last sentence is contradictory which is an excellent representation of this film.

This offbeat horror thriller is the antithesis of the jump scare horror features you find wide released in theaters. The best way I can describe the placid nature of this film is if Napoleon Dynamite was a thriller. It may not play to your typical audiences but retro-horror fans will love it.

Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival


3 out of 5 Headless Critics