Industrial tow truck driver Will (Steven Grayhm) returns to his childhood home following the death of his father. Suffering from insomnia stemming from trauma in his past, Will discovers that there’s a paranormal presence in the house and he finds out that it was built on sacred land. Meanwhile, two police detectives – Carrie Donovan (Tamara Austin) and Drew Carter (Nate Boyer) – investigate the murders of a mother and daughter. Are the cases linked to the paranormal entity haunting Will?
‘The Secret of Sinchanee’ is the directorial debut of Steven Grayhm who also wrote and stars in the film. Opting for a slow burn approach, Grayhm informs the viewer of the Sinchanee, a peaceful mixed-race tribe who were locked in a battle with pagan witches. With that mythology drawing you in, it’s a surprise that the film doesn’t bother to do very much with it over the course of nearly two very long hours. Instead what you get is a horror film that moves at a glacial pace with two seemingly unconnected stories, at least for the first half.
Grayhm’s story and script doesn’t really know where to go and that’s the biggest problem the film has. It’s packed with ideas but none of them are realised in a satisfying way. Are we watching a crime thriller? A horror? An exploration of PTSD stemming from childhood trauma? A supernatural thriller commenting on the treatment of Native Americans? Grayhm tries to tick off all of those boxes, which makes the film incoherent. It’s also, I’m afraid to say, just a bit dull. Had the plot been more focused and the film trimmed to 90 minutes, it would have been far more effective.
While the film looks great – it really does draw out the darkness and the cold of its setting – it’s let down by a mediocre cast. The only exception to this is Tamara Austin who gives a performance way beyond the material here. She’s the only character you believe and that makes her the only character you’ll care about. Grayhm’s performance is so restrained that it often veers into bland while Nate Boyer delivers his lines as if he’s reading them from pages hidden around the set. It’s a real shame because had the acting been better, the film may have felt more compelling.
‘The Secret of Sinchanee’ is ambitious but it falls short of its mark. Grayhm has big ideas but his inexperience shows with the film’s complete lack of focus. While he’s adept at building atmosphere, he doesn’t succeed in delivering a story that draws you in and keeps you hooked, and he doesn’t get great performances from the majority of his cast either. On the positive side, there are signs that he can grow as film-maker but this project is too flat meaning we can’t see what he’s truly capable of.
Cast: Steven Grayhm, Tamara Austin, Nate Boyer, Laila Lockheart Kraner Director: Steven Grayhm Writer: Steven Grayhm Certificate: Unrated Duration: 115 mins Released by: Vertical Entertainment Release date: 8th October 2021
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