Lo

Lo was not at all what I was expecting it to be. It's a film that markets itself as a horror film with a slight love twinge, but is quite the opposite. Lo is actually the story of love, loss and deception.

Oh, and smoking hellions

The story begins in a dark room. A man is conducting some kind of ritual, but clearly has no idea what he's doing. The filmmakers tell you nothing of the man and barely a word is spoken for the first five or so minutes. We soon discover the man is named Justin and he's hoping to summon a hellion to help him discover what happened to his girlfriend April. She's been kidnapped by a demon and he wants her back. Motherfucker apparently has no problem calling on the power of hell to do it either...now THAT'S devotion!

Sadly Justin Failed his Demonic Summoning final by 3 points

Lo is essentially the equivalent of a "clip show" flashing back to events from the past without ever actually leaving the present. The film incorporates an interested way of handling  these flashbacks. Lo projects Justin's thoughts onto a stage in the form of short plays where from certain angles you can see the other actors back stage smoking (or fucking, though no nudity) . It becomes pretty apparent though that Lo is obviously using Justin's memories to service some ulterior motive though. The Hellion begins twisting the truth and putting words into the mouths of the actors. What is this beast trying to accomplish? Is there something going on below the surface that no one is telling us about? Is there really a god?! WHO KNOWS?! you'll just have to watch the film to find out (well except for that god one...but that's a conversation for a different time)

The Minimalist set design and very low budget feel to the movie might turn some viewers off to the film, but I can assure you that Lo is worth the watch. Some of the comedy misses the mark a little, but that just stands to make the flick that much more endearing. It's a fun little offbeat love story that just happens to have the occult, demons, hellions and a couple of bloodied naked people writhing behind a sheet talking about the torture they go through in hell when they're not bickering like a married couple.  

if you look, you'll see the wall in the background is a set painting

Jeremiah Birkett handles the role of Lo with such antagonism that you will be swimming in his lines for days after watching it. I can pretty much guarentee that by the time the movie ends you'll be calling whoever you watched it with "dinner" (which is what he called Justin throughout the film). The actors who play Justin and April are a tad amatuerish, but fun enough to watch making, in the end, Lo a great bit of fun for an evening where you need a little romance, but with a serrated edge.  

4.5 out of 5