Test Screening 2024

 Test Screening 2024

As I pointed out earlier in our FrightFest curtain raiser, I certainly don’t mind a movie about filmmakers. For example, I am a personal admirer of Scream, The Monster Squad, and The Final Girls, so it’s really not surprising when I say that Test Screening is a film that I felt the urge to see since the very first time I heard about it. The name of the film alone appeared that it would be right up my alley and as I went over the plot synopsis it did not alter my original thoughts This is a movie I must watch.

With that in mind, I decided to call “dibs” on the movie and asked for a screener without delay.

The movie Test Screening is directed and co-scripted by Clark Baker, whereas Chloë Kerwin, Drew Scheid, Johnny Berchtold, and Rain Spencer served as the main cast. The action takes place in a small town in the year 1982 and tells the story of four friends, Mia, Simon and Penny-who have the opportunity of a lifetime. There is a test screening of a mysterious unreleased movie from Hollywood and it is scheduled to be shown in a cinema near Reels, Mia, and Simon, and they already bought tickets for it.

But as you can probably guess, this isn’t a regular test screening of any kind, Well, in fact, it is not a movie even. This is a sociological study on mass brainwashing and every person who watches the movie gets brainwashed. That initial case then gets the rest of the mental infection to its neighbors and before you know it, the entire town gets ensnared in the voodoo experiment.

If that rings bells with you, my hunch is that you will love Test Screening. First of all, the four major characters here aren’t so bad. Some of them could have used up a little more breathing space, but they will serve the purpose adequately and will never rant about being cursed in the dark trying to find each hero among so many characters.

In particular, I had a blast with Reels. His nickname says it all, he is the movie freak of the group and according to me, he is brilliantly played by Drew Scheid. The guy is so deep into the world of films that even people who don’t like movies will enjoy the experience of watching this guy explain something he is into.

One particularly mind-boggling moment, Barrett recalls his friends during the test screening of The Thing adding that they can reenact The Thing’s plot which is not only amusing but also captivating despite the audience only being able to witness the last few minutes of this performance I’m still a great fan of the Thing’s. Reels perfectly captures the essence of the feeling this particular movie gives. Because of this, it only served to elevate my thinking towards him.

The characters during the test screening were able to make me even more absorbed in the movie than what we used to see. I’d love to provide more but I don’t want to reveal the details of this film. However, the second half is not quite what I expected in terms of how fast or slow it would be.

For some reason, I was expecting something like Demons to start right after the screening, this most probably was sudden for me: but no, that doesn’t happen. I mean, with Test Screening, things besides the real plot of actually what happened are shown first, to make the body of the movie more impactful.

The invite into the horror sphere might be the first of its kind but the element of grotesqueness that it packs into its Lambasting sequences while seamlessly integrating them into a definite Lovecraftian atmosphere has to be appreciated. The pacing with which the Enigma of ‘Test Screening’ flows unfolds with such grace that one might mistake it for a romantic action thriller instead of a horror film. As gross and heart-throbbing as the movie seems, both of its moods were enhanced by the mastery of Clark Baker, the director.

Grossness paired with Gut-wrenching emotions were oh so beautifully intertwined by the director yet Gross and revolting scenes were still excessively prevalent in the 1980’s, which I have to admit were not my cup of tea. The amount of bloodshed and murder seemed understated for a movie of such caliber; the whole package was utterly shocking if I do say so myself. The title was so revealing that it only served to further compliment the plot the hints dropped made the influence unmistakable. The cool-toned practical effects blended in what these visually disgusting moments seamlessly only add and enhance the depth.

Finally, I want to stray off a bit and explain why we even bother with test screening. Under this peculiar sci-fi world, this is a film mainly about uniformity and the force that upholds it, this is about the horrors that ensue when people are forced to feel ashamed about their identity and try to fit into somebody’s perception, as a normal horror movie fan I found that quite amusing.

This is but a detail that I wouldn’t consider untouched. Test Screening, in the face that a religion, more closely Christianity is provided as ‘more than necessary’ as a church tradition, seems to me to be a church herself. Yes, all sorts of evil have been done in the name of C

Christian faith, but this film and its makers pretend that the Christians are the ones who are apparent extremists and oppressive by nature. 

In the third act, a pastor, for instance, tells his congregation that He wants them to not just be Jesus followers but act more like it, but all he is saying is that they better start soaking their minds in the doll within the doll house narrative and standard of compliance that this part of the country appears to be heading to. Now, for people that care to understand, one of the most basic requirements when a person wants to be a Christian is to turn to Jesus Christ, these are things that are not that far-fetched, so what an evil plot test screening is saying is that the effects of this faith on its believers is not at all devastating.

However, in truth, Christ’s likeness does not mean any sort of resignation of the uniqueness which is embedded in us. It is simply about love to the extent that Christ loved, and history makes it clear that there are as many different approaches in the church as there are different people. Therefore, even if Christians since ancient times have not cared much about singing the glory of man’s liberty, the core beliefs of our faith are at great variance with the sort of narrow-minded spirit of conformism that Test Screening is justified in critiquing. 

But I am glad that, that one issue exists is barely enough to mar the entire feeling. The nice horror and the characters and the mostly positive message I think prevail in the end so that if in the future you have a chance to attend a test screening I would not advise you to do so.

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