4th Grade Films

Another Four Stories Review – Philadelphia Examiner

admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 02:28:32 +0000

Movie Review: Four Stories of St. Julian by Scott Ruth, Philadelphia Horror Examiner

Imagine being trapped in an elevator with 3 other people. Three complete strangers. Imagine one of them having a secret and that they may not be what they seem. Now imagine the same scenario except consider what it’d be like if all of them had a secret and none were what they seemed at first glance.

“Four Stories of St. Julian”, a 2010 horror/thriller directed by Shane Thueson and starring Ky Evans (“Cemetery Gates”), David Alan Graf (“Terror Toons 2″, “The Fear Chamber”) and Nicholl Hiren (“The Bondage”), tells the story of four strangers who become trapped inside the elevator of St. Julian, a rundown old inner-city apartment building that had once been a religious sanctuary.

We learn that these four strangers, an assassin, a mother, a religious zealot and a thief, all have some form of tie to both St. Julian the building and St. Julian the religious figure. We also find out to what extremes they are willing to go to correct things in each of their individual lives, as well as to what lengths they are willing to go to survive.

The film has a very Hitchcockian feel to it. The entire movie takes place inside the elevator and nothing is exactly as it initially seems. I liken it to Hitchcock’s “Rope” and “Lifeboat”. It even, at some points, reminded me of Richard Linklater’s “Tape” and Gavin Wilding’s “Stag”. In each of these films, there is a sense of both urgency and involuntary confinement.

The dialogue is well written and both Ky Evans and Nicholl Hiren are superb in their roles. It’s their performances that truly make this film work as splendidly as it does. Evans is as intimidating and repulsive as he is charming and likable. Not every actor has the ability to mold a character so that the audience likes, and yet dislikes, the character at the same time. Ky Evans is brilliant at pulling this off, and is so skilled at it, that he makes this difficult task seem easy. Nicholl Hiren’s performance is the best of her career and should afford her more leading roles in feature films.

There’s enough blood and gore in this to please the gorehounds, enough drama to satisfy fans of films that focus on the humanity, or lack thereof, of the characters, and there are plenty of twists and surprises to satiate those who crave shocks and revelations.

One note: St. Julian is erroneously labeled the patron saint of murderers in the film. Being that this is inaccurate, it may require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but please do not let this little inaccuracy sway you away from allowng yourself to enjoy the film. To be honest, being that I am not Catholic, I was unaware that this wasn’t fact until I did some research on St. Julian. Even now knowing this, it does not change the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

Also, even though there are not many reviews of this film online, there are some that suggest a similarity between this film and M. Night Shyamalan’s “Devil”. This could not be any further from the truth. The only thing the two films really have in common is that they evolve around a group of people who are trapped in an elevator. There are people out there claiming that this films “rips off” Shyamalan’s film. Had they seen both films, they’d know different. And there’s the fact that “Four Stories of St. Julian” was written years before “Devil”. End of “controversy”.

I give “Four Stories of St. Julian” 5 out of 5 stars. As mentioned, despite the erroneous description of St. Julian, I found the film to be well written, well acted and the director made good lighting and camera angle choices, all of which truly enhanced the film. I will even go as far as to say that I’d include this film as one of the top 10 best films of 2010.

The fact that this film is virtually unknown and never received a theatrical release is a true injustice. It only serves to further verify that, for the most part, the only films that are shown any respect in this country are those that are either terrible remakes of classic films, or they are the unwatchable nonsense that only those who are truly clueless as far as their knowledge in movies goes, go to see. (ie: “Twilight”)

“Four Stories of St. Julian” is not rated but does contain blood/gore, violence, profanity, scenes of torture and some disturbing imagery.

“Four Stories of St. Julian” can be seen in the Philadelphia area on Verizon Fios On Demand. Check your local listings and alternate cable tv providers for availability.

For more info go to: http://www.examiner.com/horror-in-philadelphia/movie-review-four-stories-of-st-julian-review

Check out the latest movie review of Four Stories of St. Julian

admin — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:40:47 +0000

Four Stories of St. Julian and Bloody Murder: A Movie Review by Michael Allen

Four Stories of St. Julian is a 4th Grade Film production, which was initially released on DVD August 24th by Vanguard, with GoDigital Media Group acting as a partner. This is a film that unfolds as the audience sees it and there are no cuts, except to change camera position. This is also a film that claims St. Julian is the saint of murderers, but this is unlikely as homicide is generally known not to be a Christian value. Bloody, vicious and offering some intimate moments in this one setting film, The Four Stories of St. Julian is a mostly entertaining story, while some of the violence can make one feel uncomfortable e.g. possible castration, amputations, threatened child mutilation (you get the picture).

The film is oddly similar in plotline to M. Night Shyamalan’s Devil, which was recently shown in theatres. Four and a half (a baby) strangers find themselves in a rundown graffitied elevator, where not everyone is who they appear to be. Sound familiar? Soon, cash, blood, body parts and other symbols of greed litter the chamber’s floor, as one man hopes to extract information from another man of buried booty. One innocent bystander relates a terrible story of trauma before showing why a mother should never be separated from her child.

For an independent film, the Four Stories of St. Julian is well-done and the use of one set, one time period, with a single premise is worthy of Aristotle’s three unities (unity of time, action, place). Surprisingly, this film flew under the radar and straight-to-DVD without telling a soul and the film is deserving of a following. There is enough blood for the gorehounds, enough intricate dialogue for the dramatists, and enough mystery and suspense for thriller fans. Yet, there is hardly a review of the film to be found anywhere. Seems strange, no?

All the basics of filmmaking have been achieved. The lighting is well done and interfered with during certain key scenes. The camera techniques are interesting enough for the enclosed space and all the dialogue can be heard throughout the soundtrack. While the budget shows itself in the lack of exterior shots, the film sets itself up to be a terse thriller, with some excellent writing. The lack of depth for the central villain is the only misstep and a common one for filmmaking of all sorts. The film is truly a horrifying and entertaining time.

For more go to www.28dayslateranalysis.com/2010/10/four-stories-of-st-julian-and-bloody.html

Four Stories of St. Julian available on ITunes!

jdoolin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:20:30 +0000

Four Stories of St. Julian available on ITunes. Buy it today!!!

Four Stories of St. Julian now available on NETFLIX

jdoolin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:09:15 +0000

Four Stories of St. Julian now available on NETFLIX. Rent it today!

Moist Nights: The ‘Devil’ Controversy

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:38:26 +0000

M. Night Shyamalan’s new ‘Devil’ movie bears some striking resemblances to our locally produced feature film ‘Four Stories of St. Julian’…. Coincidence?

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

Four Stories of St. Julian

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 05:01:29 +0000

Set entirely in one location, the film follows four strangers who become trapped in the elevator of St. Julian-a decrepit, inner-city building. An assassin, a religious zealot, a mother, and a thief…just moments after being confined, it becomes clear that one of them is mortally wounded. As the minutes tick by, a battle for survival ensues where each of them is forced to examine their sordid ties to St. Julian-the building, as well as the legacy of the religious figure.

Making Of Four Stories of St. Julian

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 03:50:58 +0000

Behind the scenes…

David Alan Graf "presents"...

Movie Magic

Shane and Nicholl preparing to dominate...

Britt. and Colin getting in a quick set of clean and jerks

Fearless

Let's try it with more yearning

A nasty sprain

Sexual Tension

James & Shane making good decisions

Justin Partridge's masterpiece

Counting the ways in which Montana is thoroughly sweet and/or sick

The unsung heros