The Leech Blu-ray Review
Written by Robert Gold
Blu-ray released by Arrow Video
Written and directed by Eric Pennycoff
2022, 82 minutes, Not Rated
Released on December 6th, 2022
Starring:
Graham Skipper as Father David
Jeremy Gardner as Terry
Taylor Zaudtke as Lexi
Rigo Garay as Rigo
Review:
It’s the week before Christmas and all is not right. Father David performs his sermons to a largely empty church, but believes in his heart the congregation will return for the holiday. His only real friend is Rigo, a homeless kid he befriended and hired as the church pianist. As David is preparing to leave for the day, he discovers Terry sleeping in a pew. He offers Terry a ride home, but when that doesn’t pan out he takes him back to his own house in the spirit of charity. It isn’t long before the good pastor’s tolerance is tested, as Terry smokes in the house, swears like a sailor and plays heavy metal music at top volume late into the night. David is soon surprised to meet Lexi, Terry’s pushy girlfriend who shows up the next night, bags in hand thanking him for a place to stay. He doesn’t want to be rude so he accepts the second houseguest, but instead of a night or two, they ask to stay through Christmas. What follows is a battle of wills as the needy couple’s sinful ways threaten to corrupt Father David.
The Leech is something of a tricky story to discuss without giving away spoilers, as the premise is simple and the situation quickly spirals out of control. This film is marketed as a holiday horror, which in a way it is, but is more a psychological drama involving a man’s faith under siege by metaphorical demons. Terry and Lexi are not inherently evil, they are just looking for fun and don’t care the cost. Yes, they are opportunistic, manipulative assholes, but realistically David can kick them out at any time.
Watching this I was reminded of an early Saturday Night Live sketch in which John Belushi plays an annoying houseguest who doesn’t know when it’s time to go home in “The Guest That Wouldn’t Leave.” We have all suffered occasional disappointment from trying to do a good deed only to have it backfire, but this takes the scenario to the worst possible outcome. Loud music, sexual escapades and a lack of respect for personal boundaries are enough to make David even more uptight than he already is, but things really go south when he makes the ill-advised decision to play a game of Never Have I Ever with these two jerks.
Written and directed by Eric Pennycoff (Sadistic Intentions), this is a tale of head games, human nature and self-destruction that opens on a bleak note and descends into the stuff of nightmares. Pennycoff has a knack for torturing his reserved protagonist by piling on uncomfortable situations making him suffer a string of indignities. Graham Skipper (The Devil’s Dolls) stars as Father David, a man enduring a crisis of faith and tested by the worst humanity has to offer. During the drinking game, the script hints at some less-than-pious behavior in his past and it is intriguing to see how easily he is pushed outside his comfort zone. Jeremy Gardner (The Battery) and Taylor Zaudtke (After Midnight) co-star as Terry and Lexi, the couple from hell, and they share strong onscreen chemistry (the actors are a couple in real life). Watching the power dynamic shift among these three is cringe-inducing, as David is clearly out of his league. Rigo (Rigo Garay) is the voice of reason and the conscience of the story as he warns David against taking in guests. Rigo ultimately is the only truly likeable character in the film simply because he has no ulterior motives.
The Leech is not anti-religious, it just pokes at it from the edges with blasphemous behavior and a subplot concerning abortion. With its frequent cutaways to Christian iconography and readings of Father David’s sermons, the filmmakers are setting a tone that, paired with the pending Christmas holiday, is ripe for the temptations of the devilish couple. This is not your typical holiday horror and it will likely stick with you in the nights ahead. I enjoyed the picture and am eager to see what the director does next.
Video and Audio:
Presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the digitally-shot picture looks fantastic with its well-saturated color palette that pops off the screen. There is an impressive level of detail present throughout and black levels are bottomless.
A DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix gets the job done with an even blend of dialogue and effects tracks. Music cues are effective without becoming intrusive and the track is free from any distortion. A DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track is also included.
Optional English subtitles are included for anyone in need.
Special Features:
The film opens with the option of watching a pair of short introductions from the director and lead actor, both running about ten seconds each.
There are two audio commentaries on this disc, both featuring director Eric Pennycoff. On the first he is joined by producer Scott Smith for a detailed look back at the logistics of the production. The second track finds the director joined by his three lead actors reminiscing about the daily filming of each scene. Of the two, the first track is more informative, while the second is more entertaining, but both are worth checking out.
The Chattanooga Q&A with the Cast and Director is a Zoom-based session with Pennycoff and the cast at the 2022 Chattanooga Film Festival (34 minutes), with image quality varying from one monitor to the next.
The visual essay Parasites in the Oven (26 minutes) by Anton Bitel is an interesting and informative but comically over-analyzed study of the film’s themes and symbolism.
The Voice of Reason (14 minutes) is an enjoyable interview with Pennycoff and Graham Skipper in which they tell of the challenges shooting during Covid and filming on location.
The promotional segment Frightfest Introduction and Q&A (19 minutes) was filmed in August 2022 during the international premiere at Frightfest.
The Making of The Leech (15 minutes) offers a behind-the-scenes look at the production.
Rigo’s Music Video (1 minute) for the song “Sword Swingers” is also included.
We also get three of the director’s early short films: Unfortunate (10 minutes), The Pod (11 minutes) and Phase II (4 minutes).
The trailer is also included.
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