‘7 directors. 5 tales of terror. 1 grave lesson.’
Grave Intentions is a 2020 American horror anthology film comprised of five shorts revolving around a practitioner of the magical arts.
Directed by:
Lukas Hassel … (segment ‘The Son, the Father’, 2017)
Brian Patrick Lim … (segment ‘Marian’, 2017)
Gabriel Olson … (segment ‘The Bridge Partner’, 2015)
Matthew Richards … (segment ‘The Disappearance of Willie Bingham’, 2015)
Brian Rish … (segment ‘wraparound’)
Jocelyn Rish … (segment ‘wraparound’)
Jaime Snyder … (segment ‘Violent Florence’, 2014)
Written by:
Peter S. Beagle … (original story) (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Michael L. Fawcett … (original story) (segment “The Disappearance of Willie Bingham”)
Lukas Hassel … (segment) (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Brian Patrick Lim … (segment) (segment “Marian”)
Levi San Luis … (story) (segment “Marian”)
Gabriel Olson … (segment) (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Matthew Richards … (segment) (segment “The Disappearance of Willie Bingham”)
Jocelyn Rish … (segment) (segment “wraparound”)
Jaime Snyder … (segment) (segment ‘Violent Florence’)
The Death Cat Entertainment production stars Joy Vandervort-Cobb, Beth Grant (Willy’s Wonderland; Donnie Darko; Flatliners; Child’s Play 2), the late Robert Forster (The Wolf of Snow Hollow; Vigilante; Alligator), Sharon Lawrence and Lukas Hassel (Slapface; The Black Room).
Plot:
A practitioner of the magical arts teaches the basics of her craft. The most important lesson? You must be mindful of your intention.
Five of her customers are about to learn this the hard way: A woman looking to change her luck gets ensnared in a dangerous game; In the quest for justice, a man is transformed into a monster; In an attempt to right a wrong, a woman rescues a stray cat; A father and son are torn apart when a joke goes too far; A young girl needs protection from the demons in her life.
We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so where does the road lead when your intentions are grave?
Reviews:
“The stories within this movie come from other countries — the Philippines, Australia and the United States — multiple directors and even various times […] yet the narrative hook that unites them is solid […] this film hits a variety of genres and levels of intensity.” B&S About Movies
“Unfortunately, it seems that the stories in Grave Intentions may have been gathered together from different sources with little or no idea what to do with them […] Grave Intentions is hit and miss in terms of story, but maybe the most dreaded thing of all is the thought of having to go back to Madame Josephine as she hastily tries to connect the dots.” Battle Royale with Cheese
” …an overall mixed bag…” Flick Attack
“A very nice collection of horror shorts […] all united by really solid narratives that follow the old school short story approach, where a build-up laced with macabre details amounts to a morbid finale. And even though the individual segments vary vastly in style, they all are slickly produced and directed, to make for a great genre compendium.” Search My Trash
“For an anthology ostensibly centered around Madame Josephine’s magical practice, the segments are surprisingly void of supernatural elements. The first four shorts are clearly grounded in the real world and focus on very human concerns like greed, revenge, and envy […] Overall, this is a fun anthology that offers a taste of everything from body horror to hauntings without taking itself too seriously.” Wylie Writes
Release date:
Grave Intentions was released on Digital by Terror Films on October 15th, 2021.
Cast and characters:
Astarte Abraham … Aunt / Mom (segment “Marian”)
Johanah Basanta … Marian (segment “Marian”)
Paw Aya Bugarin … Creature (segment “Marian”)
Colleen Carey … Mother (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Catherine Carlen … Eileen (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Kevin Dee … Willie Bingham (segment “The Disappearance of Willie Bingham”)
Robert Forster … Don Whalen (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Gregory J. Fryer … George Morton (segment “The Disappearance of Willie Bingham”)
Beth Grant … Mattie Whalen (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Lukas Hassel … Father (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Sharon Lawrence … Olivia Korhonen (segment “The Bridge Partner”)
Sharva Maynard … Susan (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Christopher Morson … Luke (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Lucas Oktay … Young Luke (segment “The Son, the Father”)
Charly Thorn … Florence (segment “Violent Florence”)
Joy Vandervort-Cobb … Madam Josephine (segment wraparound)
Technical details:
1 hour 28 minutes
Trailer:
Full film free to watch online:
