The Shed is the second film directed by Frank Sabatella. He made his debut in the direction with the film Night of Blood, in 2009, where some young people will be chased by an axe murderer. The film received bad reviews, it was a chaotic slasher, with quite a few scenes of blood, but the performances were not very credible. The beginning in the direction was not brilliant for this filmmaker, who had written the script together with Elke Blasi.

The filmmaker loves the horror genre and bloody scenes. He has dedicated himself to writing, directing and producing short films in this genre. This is his second film, which he writes and directs, in which he resorts to vampires to make a story that keeps some of the defects of his previous work, but manages to be more entertaining.

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What is the plot of The Shed?

Stan and Dommer are very good friends, both of whom attend the town's high school, where they are victims of bullying by a group of young people led by Marble. Stan is also in love with Roxy, a girl who seems to want a relationship with him, but is always with Marble because he has a car. Stan has a sad life, he is under the responsibility of his grandfather, who spends the day yelling and mistreating him. His parents have died and he has to put up with his grandfather until he is 18, otherwise he will be sent to a children's shelter. The police are always on the lookout for Stan, especially Haiser, who wants to send him to prison for any mistakes he makes. One morning, a kind of vampire creature hides in the shed of the house. When Stan finds out, he thinks about how to fight this vampire, but Dommer sees a chance to get even with the kids who beat him up at school. Everything will get out of control and Stan will have to fight a big battle against this strange vampire who is willing to kill him.

The initial focus of this story with the vampires is good and captures our interest. In the first scene we see the person running away from a vampire, who manages to bite him before the sun rises and then this young man finds the shed of his grandfather's house, an ideal place to hide during the day.

Several scenes have effective scares, specifically when Stan discovers that something dangerous is hiding in the shed. Suspense and Horror is mixed with humor, it is a film made for teenagers.

But don't expect too much from this movie, it's better to keep your expectations low. See it only as a product to have a fun time. I think that's the charm of this movie. Sometimes it reminded me of the old horror movies of the eighties, which starred young actors and had to face supernatural forces, which could be ghosts, monsters or vampires.

The director seems to take as a reference that pile of movies of the eighties, where a teenager, in love with a girl, had to face vampires to save their lives. This is exactly what the film gives us, school conflicts, teenagers in love and vampires.

As it is set in our time, it deals with issues such as harassment and abuse within the family, but it does not delve into the causes of this problem, it is a film made to entertain, not to educate.

Of course, it is interesting to see how one of the characters, tired of the daily abuse by the group of young people who act like thugs, sees the opportunity to use that creature that hides in the shed, as a powerful weapon against all those who have hurt him. Now he will feel strong and protected and will give us some good scenes, where hate and revenge lead him to commit a terrible act.

The female character, Roxy, will form a duet with Stan, when things get out of control and both are in danger, because for the vampire and all those who are being converted, they are the main target of the killing. Following typical teenage horror movies, the pretty girl and the guy that nobody takes seriously will end up forming a duo against the vampires.

One of the negative things about the movie, and what almost made me stop watching it, is the performances of most of the actors. Flat characters and most of them with little acting level, at the beginning it bothered me, but later, this became something that made me laugh. The bad performances of many of the actors, became scenes that I found quite funny.

All the failures are compensated by the bloody scenes. You know I love gore scenes and this one has several of them. But they are also fun. The deaths that occur throughout the film have a lot of blood but they also have a lot of humor. Fulfilling the goal of being a film to enjoy and laugh.

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Comparing it with his previous film, of course you can see a remarkable growth of the filmmaker, who is again in charge of the script along with Jason Rice. The atmosphere and the setting stand out, because he has counted as director of photography with Matthias Schubert, who has extensive experience in films and television series.
The music is in charge of Sam Ewing, who has worked in the music department of other horror films, such as Happy Deaht Day and series like Black Mirror and The Walking Dead, as well as music for video games like God of War.

The main cast is made up of young, not very well known actors who have worked on low-budget films. Jay Jay Warren plays young Stan, the boy who must confront the vampire and protect the girl he loves. Cody Kostro plays Dommer, the young man who is abused at school and who sees the vampire as the perfect weapon to end his abusers. Chris Petrovski plays the leader of Marble's bullies. This actor can be recognized for his work in the series Madam Secretary. And the beautiful actress Sofia Happonen plays Roxy, the girl Stan is in love with.

There are three actors, who have a history in Hollywood. Timothy Bottoms plays Stan's rabid grandfather, this actor had his moment of fame and worked in several movie classics, his most important role being in the movie Johnny Got His Gun. The actor Frank Whaley plays Bane, the person who transforms into a vampire and hides in the shed. This actor is recurrently seen in independent films and television series, but among his most important works are his participation in the films Born on the 4th of July, The Doors and Pulp Fiction. And actress Siobhan Fallon plays Sheriff Dorney, the town's police officer. She has acted in films such as The Negotiator, Men in Black and Forrest Gump.

Trailer

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POSTER

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