Dir. Eric Williford (2024)
A couple accidentally kills a jogger with their car, and a mysterious stranger who witnessed the event makes them begin to question their decision.
The old adage tells us that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. The connotations of the quote lead us to believe that there are no true secrets in the world, that the only way to ensure your secrets are kept is to make sure you're the only one who knows them. But what happens when two people are equally guilty in a particular event? Is it easier or harder to keep it to yourselves when you're both equally complicit? Add in a witness and you have a recipe for disaster. Add in zombies? Well, things start to get a bit complicated.
The film opens as Dean (Danell Leyva) and Tasha (Victoria Vertuga) are trying to figure out what to do with the body in their trunk, belonging to a jogger that they hit with their car. They decide to bury it in the woods, and it isn't long before infighting and mistrust begins to fester. When a woman (Jamie Bernadette) knocks on the door, claiming to be on the run from someone trying to kill her, the pair debate letting her stay for her protection. The woman saw what they did and uses her knowledge to bargain her lodging, telling the couple that things that are buried in those woods tend not to stay dead. Between the guilt, the mocking conviction of their new houseguest, and the potential for undead murder victims, Dean and Tasha find an already bad night spiraling out of control.
Cold Blows the Wind is an interesting indie horror about internalized guilt and how one decision can steamroll into a multitude of them. I'm a fan of Victoria Vertuga already, having seen and reviewed one of her previous films Lexi: An American Vanishing (and interviewed her as well!), and she and Leyva both do a great job in this film. It's Jamie Bernadette that carries the film, however. She's the instigator, and Bernadette has a lot of fun in her role as the psychological torturer Briar. There are a few more bit players, but they're generally not on-screen long enough to make a difference either way. This is a three-person play, and all three do enough to make the film enjoyable.
The dark blue tones of the cinematography, as well as the ethereal, dreamlike focus and camera movements, create a a stunningly gothic, almost stageplay type feel to the film. The relatively slow plot lends to this perception as well, as does the extremely small scale of the location where most of the film takes place. It's fairly standard indie horror in production values, but the cinematography lends the film an arthouse feel that I wasn't expecting, and one that works exceedingly well for the film. The score is typical indie, nothing overly special but it works well within the context of the greater film. The gore is used sparingly but pretty well done, a nice addition to a film that was already a good watch.
The supernatural elements of the film are handled fairly well, and there's a huge creep factor in this film. It's a bit overacted at times, though that surprisingly adds to the eeriness of the film, and the slowness of the plot definitely does drag a bit, though it doesn't particularly take away from your enjoyment of the film. All in all, it's an excellent indie effort, and it's definitely one that will be appreciated by fans of indie horror. Vertuga, Leyva, and Bernadette are geeat, and the cinematography alone helps compensate for any shortcomings the film may have.
Who this movie is for: Indie horror lovers, Supernatural horror fans, Careful drivers
Bottom line: Cold Blows the Wind is a good indie supernatural horror with some entertaining performances throughout. It's a bit of a recycled plot, sort of a Pet Semetery by way of The Exorcist, but it's decently done and it's a fresh take on the idea. It's disturbing at times, excellently shot, and an enjoyable watch. I'll always support indie horror, but it's nice when it's a decent flick as well. Check this one out on VOD July 2nd.