"From The Shadows"
review by Diabo Joe

Audio version



"From The Shadows"


Ingenuity is one of the hallmarks of savvy creators, particularly low-budget filmmakers. The ability to roll with the punches that circumstances and less-than-bountiful funding deliver your productions is a must when working in that realm. Even before the events of recent years, horror filmmakers explored online interactivity tools—social media, chatrooms, and webcams—as elements of the genre, particularly with their ability to bring people together while simultaneously separating them.

Directed by Mike Sargent from a script by Michael Kuciak, “From the Shadows” is an exercise in Lovecraftian horror in the Zoom online conference calling age. The story follows a handful of survivors of a fire that ravaged the headquarters of Hidden Wisdom, a Scientology-like cult, killing everyone else, including its leader, Dr. Joseph Cawl. The group has sought the aid of a paranormal skeptic researcher to prove that they were as much victims of the fire as those who died because something is now following them—something dark, dangerous, and somehow tied to the mysterious prior disappearance of Cawl’s associate, Dr. Leonard Bertram.

With so many films tied to the static, characters seated-before-a-webcam layout that an online conference premise is prey to, the result can be inert and driven by histrionic reactions of the actors forced to watch remotely as something terrible happens. At first, it seems that “From the Shadows” is falling prey to just this issue, but Sargent and Kuciak cleverly work to blunt this problem. While the cult survivors are online, the film’s primary setting is the office of paranormal researcher Dr. Amara Rowan (the excellent Selena Anduze). This decision gives Sargent’s camera a chance to move, and Kuciak’s addition of a videographer helping document everything on her end adds an additional character for Rowan to directly interact with. And once things start to go awry and unreal, the terror allows the film to really break from its constraints.

But one benefit that the film’s somewhat restrictive format does provide is an ability to integrate two welcome and storied performers into the cast. As cult leader Caul, the always terrific Bruce Davison gets to spar (albeit through similar teleconferencing conventions) with the legendary Keith David as his colleague Leonard Bertram. It’s a clever way for indie filmmakers to merge the presences of two fine actors who might not, through scheduling, travel issues or other reasons, otherwise have been able to appear directly together.

When it comes to scares and gore, “From the Shadows” does a fine job of delivering the goods. Sargent rachets up the tension nicely and presents us with some practical makeup effects (courtesy of Vincent J. Guastini and Jake Porath) that are truly disturbing, including a talking throat gash that must be seen to be believed.

The musical score is by synth-terror legend Alan Howarth, and it is every bit as effective as you would expect from the sound maestro and John Carpenter collaborator.

While the film’s amorphously ambiguous conclusion may not fully satisfy all audiences, “From the Shadows” is more than worth the attention of those who enjoy smartly made horror that rises well above its budget and any limitations of its production.

This devil of a reviewer gives “From the Shadows” 3.5 out of 5 imps.