Reviewed by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Raine Brown, Misty Mundae, Dustin Kerns, Susan Adriensen, Marv Blauvelt, Alan Rowe Kelly, Anthony Catanzaro, Austin Dossey, Jeff Dylan Graham
Written by Paul Quintero and Trevor Wright
Certification US R
Runtime 88 minutes
Directed by Pete Jacelone
Pete Jacelone’s latest feature film is a hi-def tale of twisted psychology, with buckets of blood thrown in for good measure. Sculpture is the story of Ashley Steele (Brown), a talented young artist who returns home after her father’s death to attend his funeral with her brother, who runs his own gym in the area, only to kick-start a runaway train of dark memories from her past that she thought she had forgotten. So runaway is this train of dark memories that it soon flies off the rails into an explosion of ultra-violence. After being convinced by the local gallery curator to create a piece of artistic magnificence for an upcoming show and being surrounded by the customers of her brother’s gym, Ashley, tormented by flashbacks of the sexual abuse she received from her bodybuilding-obsessed father as a child, decides that her masterpiece would be better presented as a compilation of human flesh.
Ashley’s character is divided into two halves: one light and one dark. It’s very interesting to see how she not only changes from a sweet and considerate young woman, adhering to her overprotective brother’s requests, into an utter psychopath at the drop of a hat, but how she develops. As the amount and sheer ferocity of the flashbacks to her childhood increase, Ashley’s mental breakdown is almost a mutation, like a Jekyll and Hyde transformation, except caused by her own personal history rather than a potion, which is all the more chilling.
Sculpture is a well-shot independent film that should please any horror fan. Performances are strong, and I’m sure all indie genre lovers will certainly get a kick out of seeing cult sensation Misty Mundae grace the screen once again as Ashley’s friend Emily. Capped off with a conclusion that I never once saw coming and caked in gore, Sculpture is a truly enjoyable psychological revenge flick with a ‘70s horror-sounding score to beat. Be sure to head over to Screamkings.com for screening dates and to keep up with all the news on distribution.