Director: Josh Stifter

Writer: Josh Stifter and Daniel Degnan

Starring: Josh Stifter, Daniel Degnan, Kieth Radichel, Samantha Kirchoff and Aaron McKenna

Rating: ★★½

Josh Stifter, co-wrote, directs and stars in Greywood’s Plot a body horror film that explores the search for success online making videos in a generation where it feels half the world is doing just that.

Dom (Josh Stifter), lives in his mum’s basement making videos about the unexplained. He’s on the verge of committing suicide but can’t bring himself to do it. After a mysterious video tape is sent to him, Dom and his best friend Miles (Keith Radichel) go on an adventure to se if the video is a hoax or a real sighting.

This film feels like it is massively inspired by Kevin Smith’s career. The first part of it feels very much like his comedy Clerks with the black and white visuals and young adults not really doing much with their lives and the later half really feels like Tusk. The film parallels Tusk throughout. Instead of a podcaster it’s a vlogger, instead of a walrus it’s supernatural creatures. It doesn’t feel like a rip-off in any way, but Greywood’s Plot really puts its influences in the open.

There’s a lot of comedy at the start of Greywood’s Plot. It’s funny and charming and the performances are decent. The effects when it turns full horror are really good and the make up is exceptional. It looks a lot better than a lot of films with bigger budgets.

The first half of the film is surprisingly great. The characters are relatable, and the simple set up works really nicely. There are so many creative people out there who must feel the same as the main character. Just seeing that play out is really interesting. The film starts to fall apart when it turns into a body horror film. The effects and make up are fantastic. There’s no faulting it. But the story just isn’t engaging. This isn’t Tusk. It’s very dull and really feels dragged out by the time the ending finally arrives.

Greywood’s Plot feels like something that is on the verge of being something great but just doesn’t quite make it all the way. The first half an hour is a great character study on struggling young adults trying to make their way in the world. It’s engaging and has some genuinely funny moments. The last half hour just drags out horror to no real effect. The point it makes is clear, but by the time the credits role you just don’t care.