Cold Storage (2009)

Melissa (Leet) discovers her boyfriend Daric (Keeslar) cheated on her so she joins a play in a small Tennessee town to get away. On the way there she has a brutal car accident and is found on the side of the road by Clive (Searcy). Clive is a mentally challenged man who lives in a shack by himself in the woods. Seeing Melissa as a gift from God for his extreme loneliness, Clive takes her up to the shack and begins a relationship with her, mostly in his mind. Melissa's sister Cathy (Carter) takes a guilt ridden Daric with her to the town to discover what happened to her sister. Director Tony Elwood working from a script by himself and Mark Kimray steers Cold Storage in several different directions. It's hard at first to tell if Melissa is seriously injured from the crash of out right dead. Soon you realize she is dead and Clive is moving around a corpse which is creepy in itself. Clive is so delusional and his loneliness so fierce, he is just thrilled to have another body with him. This is when this movie is at its best. Elwood makes Clive sympathetic even though his outward appearance his gross and you actually feel his loneliness. As mentioned, Elwood takes the story down different paths including dark and intentional humor which doesn't always work. There is a lecherous neighbor named Luther Spoole (Brett Gentile) that is stupid and unwanted. The movie never really picks up momentum. It just runs along until the end confrontation with Clive and the sister and boyfriend. There isn't much horror or suspense in the film until the very end when Cathy is captured briefly. Credit must be given to Tony Elwood for resisting the urge to turn this into low grade torture porn. Nick Searcy is strong and believable in the lead role of Clive. Unfortunately 'Cold Storage' doesn't move the meter in the horror department and may have worked better as a twisted drama.

Above all, I will insist on the fact that this film is surprising, very unusual, among all the horror and survival movies we can watch since so many years. It could look like an ordinary slasher, taking place in the lost Appalachian mountains or anywhere else in the American wilderness, with the usual red necks hanging around. Clichés among clichés. DELIVERANCE was the very beginning of all this. Yes, I was very pleased to find at last a feature that could bring some fresh air to this kind of cinéma. Here, no real red necks, but ordinary people from the country side, who have weird habits - see the sheriff eating his egg yolks with a straw !!- and give us an interesting study of how they live. The best thing I loved in this film was the lonely man's character. All along the film, he is presented as a poor guy. And he is. In many other movies, characters like him are kidnappers, bad guys who torture and kill lost urban tourists. In this flick, you feel sympathy for him. After all, he did not kill the girl deceased in her car accident.The only villain on the film is killed by our lead.Our lead who is finally considered by the other characters like the REAL bad guy. I like this kind of way to build a story. At the beginning of the film, you may think that this man is the evil, and then you see you're wrong, and after one hour and a half, you finally get back, but not in a proper way. You may feel ashes or bitterness in your mouth. Because the moral is not entirely respected.And I am very fond of this. That changes.

Do not mess with those back wood inbreed mumble mouth Hillbillies, being out of touch with reality can mess up your social skills to say the least. Our main man Clive (Nick Searcy) is one out of touch and crazy boy and he has love on his mind. Nick Searcy who plays Clive is 100% convincing as a twisted redneck freak and had me squirming in my chair and thinking this is one nasty foul smelling odd ball. When a missing young lady's wimp of a boy friend and bad to the bone sister go looking for her they find Clive in all his sick glory and the fight is on. Good low budget movie with a group of fine actors make this worth a look, heck you will be planing your next vacation around Clive's Bed and Breakfast.

We have always noticed Mr. Searcy, and love him in Justified. But this movie is the absolute best performance lately by anyone in any genre. The story was presented beautifully for a horror movie, and kept us guessing. Loved the townspeople, who performed outside the normal stereotype of southern hicks. Cannot believe that a movie released years ago we finally see on cable, and it is fantabulous! For any true horror movie fan - who loves everything from the 1930's to now, serious and campy, this is one of the best movies ever. Not even sure you can call it horror, more thriller and suspense. The most horrible part of the movie, we agree with another reviewer, is the Sheriff sucking eggs through a straw! A masterful creation by writers, directors, cast, and crew. You should all be very proud of this production!!!