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Cast:
Carolyn McCormick - Law & Order, Enemy Mine, Whatever Works, Nights in Rodanthe
Marianne Porter - The Apocalypse: An Election Story, Coffee & Water
Reg Land - Toss of the Coin, Somewhere in Indiana, The Stories We Live
David Darlow - Road to Perdition, The Fugitive, High Fidelity, Miller's Crossing
The Pascal family has it all-- wealth, power, privilege-- but their lives change forever when their daughter disappears one night while running. She mysteriously returns a year later with no memory of what happened. Haunted by nightmares and strange visions that encroach upon her waking hours, Marianne struggles to resume normal life. The “picture-perfect” world the family built starts to unravel as she gets closer to discovering that truth lies somewhere between life and death.
"True Nature" tells the story of the Pascal family, they live a good and rich life until one day their daughter, Marianne, home from college disappears. Reg and Beck both grief for their daughter even a year later then a miracle happens. One night while they are sleeping Reg hears some noise coming from outside, when he goes out to check he finds Marianne, dirty, dehydrated and with some cuts and bruises but other than that she looks fine. After a bit of a stay in the hospital and some police questioning which Marianne is no help with because she can't remember much, she is allowed to go home. Things seem to be getting back to normal but then Marianne begins to have strange visions and nightmares. She now needs to find the answers to what she is seeing in order to put it all to rest.
"True Nature" is a mystery/thriller with supernatural elements. From the film's opening scene of a business man getting shot to death in a parking garage the mystery begins, what does this have to do with the Marianne? To add a bit more mystery the filmmakers toss in a few hints that have you suspecting her mom and then her dad of foul play. The twists don't stop the entire film but the more vivid Marianne's visions and nightmares become the more the puzzle begins to come together. The final pieces are not given till towards the end which keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more the entire time.
There's a lot going on here, besides the problems with Marianne her father is in over his head in shady business deals and a few people are looking to get rich over it by blackmailing him and the IRS is sniffing around as well. The film is cleverly written and the further along it goes the more frightening and suspenseful it gets. There's no gore through most of the film and very little in the way of nudity, this is old-style creepy and the film definitely delivers on the scares and the thrills. With all that is going on in the film I suggest going into it without reading any major spoilers before hand so not to ruin the surprises that await.
The film looks fantastic and the audio effects and cinematography really add to the film's creepiness. The cast did an amazing job playing these characters, Marianne Porter is wonderful as Marianne, she brings all the needed emotions such as fear and confusion to the role. Reg Land is great as her father and Carolyn McCormick is excellent as her over-bearing mother. The rest of the supporting cast all did a great job as well. This is the debut feature film for Writer/Director, Patrick Steele. He can tell a good story and he can also deliver a great amount of scares. I hope to see more from him in the future
The film has taken two years to make it's way to home video, I'm not sure why but I am sure glad to have seen it. This is one of the more intelligent horror films I have seen in some time and fan's of the genre are going to love it as well. The DVD will be released on January 22, 2013 so be sure to keep an eye out for this must-see horror flick.
Released by Monarch Home Entertainment
**** Out Of *****