Occurrence at Mills Creek

I liked this film - the simmering supernatural unease beginning to end, with fine, reality driven performances that make you quickly forget the low budget limitations. Give this a shot. All the awards and nominations well-deserved.

This is such a good film! I enjoyed it from beginning to end! A terrific horror/thriller film for sure!! Really good acting and storyline! I thought the director did a wonderful job with the pacing. I never mentally drifted off. I was engaged right out of the gate. Bravo all, so well done! A big thumbs up from me on this one!!

A great movie that allows the dramatic weight of a traumatic situation to really flesh out the horror presented in a way that is really thrilling and eerie. The actors do a great job playing such grounded characters in this dark story. The writing is rich. The pacing is great. The mystery behind everything is captivating. All and all, a great job.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the trailer but I knew I enjoyed the other short films by the same filmmaker so I was looking forward to it. What I got from a full length film was a feature that was atmospheric, mysterious and intriguing with great performances and an interesting well thought out story. I also really liked the way the film was shot. Great job to everyone involved.

This is a beautifully shot indie feature film that tells his story in a quiet, tension-building way. Refreshingly, there is a great focus on the female perspectives of this story which gives it a more modern feel than many genre films. Rather than using on-the-nose, in-your-face effects the dramaturgy of this movie and the stylistic devices are subtle and gently seduce the audience to follow the story. I highly recommend this movie to everyone who wants to see a different, fresh approach to indie filmmaking.

Competently shot and well directed indie film. You can tell this was done from a seasoned filmmaker. Type of film that that makes you appreciate indie filmmakers.

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.

There are several ways to interpret the narrative of Occurrence at Mills Creek. The lead actress is terrific and there are some nice eerie moments. I don't want to spoil too much so please check it out and enjoy!!