The 3rd Floor
Review by Mari Lynne Rupp

The Ring.
The Grudge.
Blair Witch Project.

This little locally shot independent film blows them out of the water with Corn-O-Copias' first effort, The 3rd Floor.

It starts out like any other ghost story film, with surprisingly polished acting by the players. Tom Dolan and Victoria Parrish do the lead characters much justice with their portrayal of Howard and Sandy, looking for the ideal apartment. Tipped off by his ne’er-do-well brother Buck, they try for an apartment in downtown Paducah (I didn’t realize Paducah was such a metropolis!) they move into a building which had been a “sort of hospital”, as told by the strange and mysterious superintendant Mrs. Fish. Things go downhill from there as the couple experience strange banging, whispers, nightmares, and quirky neighbors, played to the hilt by Leif Erickson Rigney and Audra Hall. Mysterious origins and deadly secrets are slowly revealed as Howard is harassed more frequently by his bad dreams and knockings and whispers from the Third Floor below.

There is little blood spilled and scare tactics go back to the basics, banging, whispers and disembodied voices. I’ve seen hundreds of scary films, and experienced many, many special effects, while not unnerved nearly as well as this film has.

Hollywood should take note to keep it simple when an independently done film can give me more willies for a smaller price tag than their million-dollar flops. From the beginning scene, which features troublemaking kids being scared off by a rattling window, to the predictable yet suspenseful climax, this movie is a delicious treat for horror fans.

This may be Corn-O-copias first film, I hope, I hope, it is not the last….The classic scares still work, fellas!

Website
The 3rd Floor