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Writer's pictureJustin Whippo

The People In The Shadows (2023)

My quick rating - 1.2/10. I believe the viewing options available give me a good idea of what I am about to get from this flick. It seems that Jaloni Jackson hasn't gotten the hang of filming on their smartphone and doesn't realize that the microphone used isn't going to provide a decent recording source for the people speaking from different parts of the room. In other words, the sound mix is very tough to hear at times. This is clearly on a shoestring budget but that is really no excuse for the absolutely horrendous job of editing. We have ventured into a small town in Georgia where sinister tests are being performed on inmates, all of whom are black, and this is clearly the underlying theme here. The effects used in this should have been left out entirely since they are of the quality of software editing free trials you can download online. Instead of adding to any tension they are trying to build, it pulls you out of the story since you are too busy groaning at how stupid it looks. The ominous scientist's voice describing the procedure is about the only speaking you will be able to clearly hear. It is unfortunate that what he is saying is just some catchwords the writer heard and thought nano bytes would be the next big technical breakthrough (I thought they were toys LOL.) I guess no one on the set knew to clue them into what nanotechnology is. Either way, the vast majority of the movie doesn't even bother with that plot point, it is more scenes of people doing absolutely nothing. There was a 5-minute scene of some woman messing with her phone (may have been fixing the camera they were using LOL.) Then randomly a silly filter smoke effect will show the villain that is seen on the poster stalking its prey. One would hope for some attempt at comedic slaughter scenes, maybe even a poor CGI blood splatter but NOPE. There is some story about black women going missing sprinkled in this as well. I had to assume that would come up since during the beginning they threw some random demographic stats at us to start. I already have said enough but I am just going to add that it leads up to absolutely nothing. It literally just ends. I am at a loss for this one since I want to try and find redeeming qualities in it but there are none. The acting is horrible, there's no horror, and the plot is flimsy at best. I have to say the highlight of the whole flick was the kid doing an anticipation dance in the kitchen waiting for his meal to heat up in the microwave. He had far more star power than any of the "actors" in this #turkey.

Either Tubi for free with ads or a 99-cent rental from Amazon

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