Fertile Ground

source: Fertile Ground

'FERTILE GROUND': Two Stars (Out of Five) 2011 was not a very good year for 'After Dark Originals'! We got 'SCREAM OF THE BANSHEE' (one of the worst entries in the horror series ever) and we also got this. Three of the seven films were decent though (not too impressive but decent) and I have yet to see the other two (but I've heard they're pretty bad as well). This one is directed and co-written (along with Jace Anderson) by Adam Gierasch (the man behind another much better 'After Dark Original' from two years ago: 'AUTOPSY') and revolves around a pregnant woman being haunted by ghosts of the people who passed away in her home years earlier. It's pretty poorly made on all levels and is pretty much a waste of time for anyone, even if you're a horror film fanatic. Leisha Hailey stars as Emily Weaver, a happily pregnant woman who suffers a severe miscarriage as the film begins. She then moves out to a house she inherited in the country, with her husband Nate (Gale Harold), to get away from things. Once there she begins seeing things though, of the supernatural kind she believes. She tries to talk to her doctor and husband about it but they're both very dismissive about the subject, believing she's just over stressed. When she looks into the history of the house she learns that the people who lived there before her all died, as well as shared similarities to her and her husband. She then becomes more and more frantic as she must confront (what she believes are) the ghosts of the people who lived there before her alone. The movie is over acted, under written and severely misdirected. It's a shame considering Gierasch's last 'After Dark' entry was so enjoyable. This is just B movie trash and there's nothing fun or interesting about it. Parts of it are creepy and somewhat disturbing but not to a quality effect. The movie just feels poorly made. There's nothing really to like here at all. It's not nearly as bad as 'SCREAM OF THE BANSHEE' or a lot of other trashy low quality B horror films but it is pretty bad all the same.

I was anticipating this film because I felt that what I saw in the trailer had potential. However...when I watched it, I was a bit let down. The character of Emily Weaver (Leisha) was very one sided, stilted, and over-dramatically acted. I felt that the direction of the film was lost in the amass of trying to be a supernatural thriller when in actuality, it was the fabrications of a mad-woman. The only character that I even cared for was Nate (Gale). I watched this film a second time after seeing the ending and it completely confirmed my feelings toward the character of Nate. To me, it felt like he knew that nothing was really happening and that his wife was losing it. Like I said, the direction was lost in trying to make this film something that it wasn't, I felt that the writers, producers, and director tried to sell a lemon as an orange. But the only real acting, I felt, came from Gale Harold's character. Basically, the film was ruined for me by the direction, the writing, and the character of Emily Weaver. Nonetheless, I gave this film 6/10 stars because I have to give credit to an actor when credit is due.

I'm not picky at all about horror movies I watch. I forgive all the elements that are redundant, predictable, and tripe. I watch for the things that surprise me, and make me glad to see that something was done well. It might be something trivial, a specific shot, a good location, a particular scene that was inspired. Sadly, this movie missed out on most of those things. There was nothing in the movie that was noteworthy. The performances were stock. It's hard to tell if the sets were any good, since they cast everything in shadow. The story itself was derivative, pulled mostly from pregnancy themed horror movies (at least only in the sense that pregnancy is used as a means of giving the heroine something to protect) and otherwise, a large amount was borrowed from The Shining. These aren't bad things to borrow from. The problem is only that they didn't do it well. The movie is otherwise competent. Sound is a little unbalanced, with the soundtrack too loud compared to the dialogue. I've noticed this trend as well. I think it's connected to the sound being mixed to be played on theater sound systems - or at least 5.1 systems. I always get more disappointed with movies like this than I do in notably bad productions. In these cases, I know that I'll forget everything about the movie in a few days, and when I see the cover again, I'll forget that I've already seen it.

I rated FERTILE GROUND as high as I did purely on the outstanding performance of Leisha Hailey. She was genuine, gritty, elicited sympathy, reacted honestly, and just did an outstanding job. Was the plot derivative? YES it was. But, how many horror movies are truly based on new ideas? Aren't they all derived from our own fears and experiences? FERTILE GROUND was just another episodic adventure into the nightmare world of one woman. It's been a long time since I've seen such a good performance; and, I really think Leisha Hailey carried the film. Her makeup, hair and wardrobe were perfect for a "relocated city girl." And, the setting was perfect - old house, lovingly updated; but, not too much so. The maple tree was allegory for the deteriorating relationship between the two; and, the nightmare scenes blended reality, ghost, and dream just right. Nothing was over the top; not too many effects. All around, I enjoyed this quite a bit. Better than most I see on the SyFy channel, that's for sure!

Fertile Ground is one that was released by After Dark Originals. So that means that it is something special, something on his own. When Fertile Ground starts you will be surprised to see some nudity from the first second. But don't think it's gratuitous, it do adds to the film. I don't really know where to place it because it is a slow builder with not that much of horror in it. It's all about having a miscarriage and the influence it has towards the couple. They decide to move to another place which belongs to the husbands family. There the woman is confronted with the past via a ghost. Slowly she's becoming mad and think it's all in her mind because she had that miscarriage and is again pregnant. But is it? As I said before there isn't that much of horror it's more a ghost story with towards the final part of this flick some cruelty. So you really have to dig a lot of talking before things go awry. Nevertheless, it never bored me due the excellent performances by the couple. If you like for example The Others and stuff like that than this is your piece of cake. Luckily no CGI was used (except for a hand appearing on a window) for effects which adds towards the flick.

Seriously, can I get a time refund? This was awful. Overly long, drawn out story. Not much happens. Mostly, it's boring. You keep expecting something to happen, and nothing ever really does. A couple move into a haunted house. Ghosts show up. Not much, though. Weird stuff happens. People die, the end. It's been done a thousand times, and a thousand times better than this. Has a crappy ending, too. Why waste the time, you can find a much better movie to watch. The trailer made this look good, but you are better off just watching the trailer. Or go watch the original King's The Shining, at least that's got real creepiness.

I must say that Gale Harold gives a really good and interesting performance in this, the other actors are OK, far better then what usually turns up in typical horror films. One thing I really liked was there are no stupid teenagers or slashers in here, too many horror films feel they need that to sell the viewer but not here. There is a few slow moments in the movie but overall it was really entertaining! It is more of a supernatural horror film, not too much blood and guts like most turn out to be, this one has it's scary moments without that and without being stupid or boring. It may remind you of a 70's style film, it has a twist with no CGI or crappy effects to get in the way of the storyline. I would recommend this to any horror fan who likes supernatural/ghost movies.

I'll start by saying, this has all the makings of a decent movie, namely acting and production value. Nevertheless, it fails on every other level, horror, suspense, artistic... whatever. It's not scary at all. The characters are dull and one dimensional, the story is uninteresting. I was so bored during the stupid thing. All these After Dark horror movies are the same. Still better than Fangoria Frightfest (which all are GOD AWFUL). Give me Piranha 3D over this tripe. At least stuff happens in that movie, and I only waste 83 minutes or whatever. If you have insomnia, rent this movie. It will get you to sleep, trust me. It got me to sleep three times. I finally finished it on the fourth. Oh, and the woman's voice will drive you nuts.