criminal audition (2020) Review
As an individual who identifies more as writer than critic, I understand and appreciate the foundation of any television program or movie – the writing. Crafting believable, three dimensional characters is hard, doubly so without the elaborate sets, costumes and locations associated with larger budgets. Criminal Audition, directed by Samuel Gridley and written by Gridley and Luke Kaile is an uneven but overall entertaining piece of horror genre cinema that gets by on the strength of solid casting and confident direction. Gridley and Kaile have an obvious talent for both broad and dark comedy. The film’s premise (can’t say much without spoiling it) is ludicrous at moments and perplexing at others but the sudden bursts of violence work quite well when the film leans into its darkly comedic underpinnings. There are a number of rapid-fire laugh-out-loud moments across the first act. I wanted more of it. It is when the film largely abandons humor over the final act that it falters a bit. Fortunately, the acting prevails. Each member of the ensemble cast is menacing, funny, strange or sympathetic enough that you forget the whole thing essentially happens in one dark room. Who needs elaborate sets anyway? This is horror. I did find it a bit odd that we are given essentially zero backstory for all characters save for Kaile’s Ryan and to a lesser degree Rebecca Calienda’s “L.” As a debut Gridley and Kaile have crafted a film that is nothing if not intriguing. The film creates curiosity as to what they might do next, horror or otherwise.
Criminal Audition receives a score of 6/10 for general audiences and 7/10 for horror genre devotees.