Movie Review: Quarries (2016)
Directed by Nils Taylor, and written by Taylor, and Nicole Marie Johnson, who also stars, Quarries is an excellent indie horror film. The concept wasn’t necessarily new but offered a nice take on the “lunatics in the woods hunting people” horror film scenario. It starts off with a couple of guys in the woods doing photography, who quickly learn that they are not welcome there, which sets a nice tone for the events to follow. The film continues on with a group of girls who meet up to go out backpacking. Each of the girls has their own unique personality and really comes into their own throughout the film without requiring obvious dialogue to tell a backstory about each one. Great job on the character development there, and for not overdoing it.
The girls set off on their trip through the woods and mountains. As they make their way along, they run into some trouble with the same people the guys in the first scene did, and from there on it’s a fight for survival for the group as they are hunted mercilessly. The people after them are some roughneck mountain-types, but smarter than the kind you would see in Wrong Turn or films with all inbred rednecks.
The sound and cinematography are fantastic in Quarries. Kudos to the entire sound department, lighting department, and John Woodside (cinematography). The story takes place in the Northen California. Being from this area, there was some familiar beautiful scenery and gorgeous camera shots at times. And the sound was all flawless.
Another thing that we have mentioned before, but can’t stress enough is how acting can make or break an indie production. The films that are smart about recruiting actors and actresses with experience tend to increase the quality of their film more than anything else. Great acting all around by everyone. Not only that but there are some impressive things on some of their resumes. There are way too many to list from the entire cast, but Nicole Marie Johnson was in 1000 Ways to Die, and Luke Edwards has a resume ranging from American Pie 2 all the way back to the classic Nintendo film The Wizard, which was surprising to see.
There was a nice use of practical effects and blood in this film. Nothing was overdone or too unrealistic. Taylor did a great job nailing the shots and adding touches like the shotgun kick along with a lot of subtle things that some directors miss.
Final Thoughts: Quarries is a great film that every horror fan should see. It definitely raises the bar as an indie horror production. We definitely hope to see more from Diamond Cutter Films, and Taylor and Johnson in the future. Quarries is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, and you can find other places to get it like iTunes, Google Play and elsewhere here at their website. https://www.quarriesthemovie.com/copy-of-home
