Occurrence at Mills Creek (2020)

Back on November 22, 2019, we told you about the short version of this film. Now, the full film is ready for release and we got a chance to see it. It’s the tale of a young woman dealing with the death of her sister, which opens herself up to see that her family has always been cursed and that if she does nothing to stop it, it will take her soon enough.

Written, directed, edited and cinematographed — that’s not a word, sorry — by Altoona, PA’s Don Swanson (who also made A Wish for Giants that we reviewed here), this movie took more than two years to complete. It stars Betsy Lynn George, who famously danced in the David Fincher directed music video for Billy Idol’s “Cradle of Love,” and Lynda Marnoni from Romero’s Season of the Witch and The Crazies. George’s daughter Ava Psoras is also in this movie as the lead, Clara.

Faced with the loss of her sister Cassandra and mother — as well as a father that was never there for her youth — Clara is trying to stay alive and get past her suicidal past.

This has a great look — closer to the 70’s atmospheric horror that we love more than current direct-to-streaming titles — and has an interesting take on family dynamics and dealing with loss in relation to horror. It’s slow-moving, so if you’re expecting an action-oriented film, this isn’t it. But that’s fine — it takes it’s time to get where it needs to go, but for his experience, Swanson puts together a fine piece of work.

You can learn more at the official site and Facebook page.