What started as a “micro” short film in 2015, Dogged and it’s writer/director Richard Rowntree have won multiple awards leading to the hugely successful kickstarter campaign that enabled Rowntree to start production on the full length feature in early 2016 and have it completed by November the same year.
Synopsis-
“Sam is forced to return to the remote tidal island where he grew up to attend the funeral of
ten year old Megan Lancaster.
As it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems in this idyllic rural community, Sam makes a
horrifying discovery about the circumstances surrounding the little girls’ death, and his life
begins to spiral out of control in a macabre descent of paranoia.
He must race against tide and time to expose the seedy underbelly of the island – and to save
the lives of those he loves.”
“Dogged” is a disturbing folk horror film which taps into our primal fear of what lurks in the
woods.
Dogged is definitely a slow burn kind of film that moves deliberately paced as to build the growing tension, develop the intricate story and foster excellent character development. From the very beginning something in particular catches your attention and wont let go—The score. The music moves you beautifully through the story and actually plays as a sort of extra character in the movie.
As the tension builds for the first half of the movie, the director does not try to hide the fact that certain people aren’t what they seem to be and that there is something very wrong with this sleepy tidal island.
While watching I couldn’t help but see similarities to such films as The Wicker Man, The Strangers, Funny Games and The Sacrament, yet he took those similarities and expanded on them expertly to create an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and being trapped due to the island being cutoff from the mainland via tidal influences.
Dogged is Rowntree’s first feature length film but it seems as though it was directed by a seasoned horror veteran. The cinematography, score, character development and pace are all expertly crafted to create a folk-horror film that will stand up to multiple viewings.
They currently have confirmed festival screenings at San Antonio Horrific Film Festival for 21 October (where the film has been nominated for 7 awards, including best feature, best screenplay, best director, best actor and best actress) and for the RIP Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles in November – with more to follow! Anticipated release of the film is early 2018.
I am a huge fan and supporter of independent horror and the dedicated people involved. I grew up watching all of the great slasher films of the 80s and also have a love for creature features and anthology horror. As horror fans the best way to help indie horror is to talk about it and to spread the word.
