Test Screening: Husk

For quite awhile now, Hollywood has been engaging in what is known in the business as Test Screenings. This is when a hired market research company rents a local movie theatre, solicits a key demographic audience to show them a television show, movie or trailer, in order to gage their responses to what they see on the big screen. And then (hopefully) improve the final product by making changes based on comments and/or suggestions from said test audiences. This is done by filling out a somewhat lengthy questionnaire at the end of the film and sometimes participating in a smaller discussion panel, which used to be a paid experiences. Though now that there are so many budget cuts, even in the entertainment industry, they will only offer free movie passes if even that.


I use to go to these test screenings on a weekly basis if not more, but lately I just haven't been feeling it and have not bothered to attend. Despite the fact that I am on several mailing and call lists and am invited to at least one screening per week. Hence last night marked the first test screening that I have been to in a very, very long time. For like I said I simply got tired of waiting in long lines just to get in, and then having to be searched for secret recording devices before I was finally admitted to the thdatre. In fact the only reasons I even went in the first place is because I have not been in quite awhile, and the screening was being held by a new or relatively unknown testing company. Hence I thought I would see how they are compared to NRG, Janet Dublin and the Screening Exchange, the three major test Screening companies here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately the Horror film they screened was really not all that good. Not in the sense of production values, set or anything like that, but as a whole I thought the horror film Husk was just so so. Although in all fairness I am not really a horror fan. Plus I am personally tire of seeing the dumb white suburban kids repeatedly making stupid decisions that inevitably lead to their certain and gruesome deaths! Like wandering around alone in a deserted dark house where they know the scarecrow killers have been to seen or going back for obviously dead friends instead of making a break for it. Plus the soon-to-be-victims in this Horror film supposedly cannot escape because they are surrounded by a corn field filled with killer Scarecrows. Yet no one thinks of setting the corn field on fire?! Even if they are not able to burn all of the killer scarecrows to death, the subsequent fire should be more than enough to get the attention of local law enforcement officers and/or the fire department. All of whom could provide a very convenient decoy allowing the hapless victims to escape while the civil servants are killed in their steed. Alas this is a horror film and intelligence is not a prerequisite for any of the characters therein.


The film HUSK is apparently feature film version of a previously made short film by the same name and part of some annual Horror Film Fest, most likely 8 Films to Die For. The film is produced by After Dark films, a copmpany that is rather well known for producing (somewhat generic) Horror fair as it were. The film should be out sometime in February or March I believe...or it might just got straight to video, or in this case DVD. There are no well known actors or stars in this film aside from Devon Graye who plays the young Dexter of the show of the same name.