Fantasia Film Festival Movie Review: NEVER TEAR US APART (2016)

Have you ever wondered about the existence of potential long lost relatives? Maybe your mother told tall tales about a crazy great Aunt who used to wear her undergarments on the outside of her clothing. Perhaps you had a second cousin on the Italian side of the family that may or may not have been involved in the mafia. Or maybe, just maybe you had cannibalistic grandparents you never met. Yes, that’s right: cannibals.

NEVER TEAR US APART begins with two friends in the woods, and a cabin. Think EVIL DEADor CABIN IN THE WOODS. Typical horror movie stuff, sure, but that doesn’t stop writer/director Sid Zanforlin and co-writer Chris Bavota from creating a suspenseful and mysterious mood, complete with some good old black comedy.

Straight up, I totally enjoyed NEVER TEAR US APART. It was funny, bloody, brutal and used every second of its barely 7 minute running time to good effect. In other words, it didn’t waste any time telling the story. Within the first minute the short shocked me with a fantastic impaling and then in the second minute had me laughing, which isn’t an easy feat. I’m a tough crowd y’all, and if a filmmaker can conjure a giggle out of me I’d say their comedic attempts proved fruitful.

Actors Matt Keyes, Alex Weiner, James Rae and Leigh Ann Taylor were all wonderfully effective in their roles and honorable mention must go to Mark Antony Krupa for his “stiff” (wink) performance. Zanforlin proves his filmmaking talents with witty dialogue, decent direction and cool visual effects. NEVER TEAR US APART was made as a proof-of-concept for a full length feature film. It was produced with a very modest budget as a teaser and to test special effects. It has been shopped around at different film festivals and is currently being shown at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada. These guys are the real deal and I look forward to seeing what else they have to show us.