PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’m a huge fan of folk horror and creature features so when I heard about Round The Decay, a film that seemed to combine the two, I got really excited. I recently had the chance to check out Round The Decay. Read on for my thoughts.
Synopsis
A young woman returns to the site of her broken engagement, Newport’s Valley, a sleepy tourist town with an all-consuming secret.
Round The Decay was written and directed by Adam Newman. (Everwinter Night). The film stars Victoria Mirrer (Everwinter Night), Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey At Night), Sienna Hubert-Ross (Terrifier 3), Melody Kay (The NeverEnding Story III), Phil Duran (Breaking Bad), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Rachel Pizzolato (Mythbusters Jr.), and Roger Clark (Red Dead Redemption II).
I really enjoyed Round The Decay. One of the strongest parts of the film is the cast and the characters. Victoria Mirrer is Kenzie, the lead of the film. She’s been through a lot and she comes back to the town for closure. Victoria Mirrer does a great job of making you feel the weight of everything Kenzie’s been through. Sienna Hubert-Ross plays Roz, a single mother trying to support herself looking for a job. Sienna Hubert-Ross does a wonderful job of making Roz likable. She’s really just someone who wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Cary Hite is Bart, the new owner of the local hotel who visited the town as a child and always hoped to return. Bart seems like an all around decent guy and it sucks that he finds himself caught up in everything. I really enjoyed Cary Hite’s performance as he portrays Bart as the kind of guy who will go out of his way to help others. Alexis Safoyan is Aida, a young hiker with an unrequited crush who gets separated from her friends. She’s very likable and relatable and she just might be my favorite character in the movie. Alexis Safoyan plays her with just the right touch or humor.
Damian Maffei is Munroe, a hunter brought to the town to kill the creature. Munroe is kinda an asshole and he knows it. Munroe is a big source of the movies humor and Maffei executes it well.
I appreciated that Round The Decay leans heavily into practical effects, which for the most part are executed well. it’s always nice to see a practical creature in a movie. The Wrexsoul is pretty unsettling, taking on vocal tics from the people she’s killed. She senses movement and that makes it hard to escape her, which is kinda a funny recurring gag in the film. A character will tell everyone to stay put and they all take off running. The film features it’s fair share of gory kills, which is something that’s always appreciated in a creature feature.
If I had one real complaint it’s that the folklore aspect isn’t well developed. They give you the origin of the creature in the opening but they don’t really set up rules for the creature or what the community gets out of it.
Final Thoughts
Despite some small issues, Round The Decay is a solid creature with a great cast and some nice kills. Recommended.
