Desert Cathedral (2014)

DESERT CATHEDRAL | OFFICIAL TRAILER from Travis Gutiérrez Senger on Vimeo.

Haunting as all hell DESERT CATHEDRAL is the sort of film that make you wonder why the hell this film hasn't made it to theaters sooner. This is one of those times where an excellent little film has been kept off the radar for no good reason. Thankfully Random Media and The Orchard are releasing the film on Sept. 27th, as well as holding special events before that in LA Seattle and New York.

Set in 1992 and based on a true story and using some of the actual video footage, the film tells the story of real estate developer Peter Collins who disappeared from his life, leaving behind a stack of VHS tapes that form a kind of video diary. His wife suspects that something is wrong and hires a PI to track her husband down.

Beautifully shot, with a haunting score and a truly perfect use of voice over, DESERT CATHEDRAL gets under your skin from the opening moments. By no means a thriller or horror film this is simply a story of a man lost in his own head who wandered off  kind of unaware of  what he was leaving behind. We know early on this is not going to end happily, but we are still compelled to ride it out to the end as we see Peter on his quest, his life before and the search by the people who loved him. Its a beautifully modulated tale that leaves you kind of broken at the end.

I would love to single something out to pick on or praise,but there is nothing to single out. This is quite simply a great film from top to bottom. The cast is perfect, the score heartbreaking, the images are worthy to be hung on a museum wall. Everything comes together to form one of the most haunting films I've seen in 2016. If had to pick one thing that really surprised me it would be how the actual video tapes blend into the film. Yes its clear that the voice of Collins changes, but it doesn't really matter  because how its handled it  just blends perfectly.

An absolute must see film.

Truly this is one of the films that Unseen was set up to highlight and help find an audience. See this film on the 27th when the film is released to everyone. Trust me you will thank me.