I first heard of director Tim Sullivan when I reviewed 2001 Maniacs a few years back. I really enjoyed Maniacs and once my review went live, Tim himself dropped me an e-mail thanking me for the review. Since then Tim has worked on many projects, but one of them that I know Tim worked real hard on was Driftwood.
Driftwood as Sullivan himself writes in a small essay that graces the inside cover card on the Driftwood DVD, where he tells a story of why he bought the story behind the film to life. Driftwood is about a young boy named David who is sent to boot camp for troubled young men; or as it’s called in the film an “Attitude Adjustment Camp for Troubled Youths”. Before David was sent there however his older brother died of a drug overdose and David felt guilty for not getting his brother some help. Now David is forced to stay in this prison like setting, clearing land and doing hard labor so that Captain Doug Kennedy (DDP) can sell his land and make money off of it. However David soon learns of a murder that took place in Driftwood and the sprit of a young boy haunts his thoughts and dreams. Now in order to escape the madness of Driftwood, David must find the body of the boy who was murdered in order to prove to the authorities that murder and mayhem are really what’s going on in Driftwood.
Tim Sullivan along with writing partner Chris Kobin wrote a wonderful script. One that I really can’t say I find a flaw in. It had great character development, a very interesting plot, and and took an idea that many will think has been done before when it turn there have been similar films but Driftwood has a different over all spin. There is a plot twist in the script which turns the movie into a more psychological thriller that reminded me a lot of Richard Matheson’s Stir of Echoes in a respect, and it had a Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me feel to it as well. An overall very well written script.
The directing and acting go hand in hand, not only is the directing top notch but the acting is also. Usually when a wrestler turns actor, they end up not being as great of an actor as they are in the ring. Many believe that you can’t do both. However Diamond Dallas Page give one of the best performances of the year as the shady Captain Doug Kennedy. Page can f&?king act, and act good. I was blown away by his performance. He was the star of this film. However not all the credit can go to him as he had a great cast supporting him. Ricky Ullman was great in the lead as David Forrester and the rest of the supporting cast was top notch.
The production value of the film was perfect for what Sullivan and company were trying to accomplish. The sets were nothing serious but were dressed very well, and the make shift prison that Captain Kennedy had built for himself also reflected his soulless empty character. When you look at the set design in the film you see this empty soulless reflection of the place. The sets are also dressed to show the emotions of lost youth. One scene when the character of Noah tells David about what’s going on in the place, there is a high pile of broken bicycles. I took this as a metaphor to the lost youth of the boys in the place and how there wholes lives spent growing up felt like they were doing hard time all the time. It had this really uneasy sense of loss, and Sullivan was really able to show that in his film.
Don’t expect to much when it comes to the visual and make-up effects. The film does have very limited effects and unlike Maniacs Sullivan decides to lay off the gore and keep the effects to a minimum. we do get some very scary looking scenes that involve some freaky effects, but overall the film relies more on the psychological scares than it does effects.
Overall, Driftwood is a great movie and it will most likely make my top ten list this year. It’s an original psychological thriller that makes the viewer feel for the character of David and the hardship he has to over come while finding out the truth about the man who is keeping him captive. Driftwood is without a doubt Tim Sullivan’s best film to date, and it’s well worth renting, if not buying on DVD. A very well rounded film with an excellent script and great acting and directing.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
