Question: what would you do if after being robbed of your opportunity to attend college you became trapped in a boarded-up house during a hurricane with your autistic younger brother and a starved ex-circus tiger hungry for blood? This is the basic setup of Carlos Brooks’ Florida-based horror/thriller Burning Bright (previously titled Ravenous), a film with a scenario so outrageous that if it were put in the hands of a clueless, gun-for-hire director would most likely end up being a cinematic train wreck. Thankfully, this old-school survival pic is far more intelligent and skillful than you might expect, instantly putting anything similarly produced by the SyFy Channel to shame by comparison.
The movie opens with an exchange between circus dealer Howie (Meat Loaf) and self-centered entrepreneur Johnny (Garret Dillahunt) whom, unbeknownst to his son and daughter, is looking to start a local safari by purchasing a ‘domesticated’ tiger with the intention of training it himself. Meanwhile, daughter Kelly (Briana Evigan) is rejected care for her mentally handicapped brother Tom (Charlie Tahan) after an unexpected lack of funds disables her bank account, crushing her plans for intended college study. When Kelly learns that her father has exhausted the finances in order to fund his get-rich-quick venture she is understandably heart broken, however it quickly becomes the least of her problems when she is left to fend for the life of her brother and herself during a ferocious hurricane, the onset of which unleashes a certain wild, big-cat through the front door...
Like any home invasion movie, the filmmakers behind Burning Bright had to provide a solidified reason for their characters to be boarded up within a confined space, let alone introduce a justifiable enemy to drive the threat of death further. With that said, it’s a fair to say that screenwriters Christine Coyle Johnson and Julie Prendiville Roux perhaps conjured up a scenario so ludicrous the chances of it actually occurring in reality are somewhere between 100 to 1, thus immediately calling into action viewer disbelief. Ironically, herein lies director Brooks’ immense talent for taking a potentially laughable situation and turning it into a genuinely exciting and legitimately menacing 86 minutes that delivers some of the best suspense sequences in recent memory. Paying careful attention to pacing and geography, Brooks effortlessly turns the whirlwind home that enslaves its two occupants into a virtual maze of horrors, keeping the beast hidden for much of its screen time and only choosing to reveal it when the tension is at its most palpable. The film is also incredibly well shot and, with the exception of a couple of brief moments, combines its green screen tiger FX into the action remarkably well to create an almost seamless impression of roaming danger.
Interestingly enough, as technically proficient as Burning Bright is the real heart of the movie lies within the heartbreaking relationship shared between its two leads and the dramatic baring their personal lives has upon their fight for survival. In a breakout performance by Briana Evigan (Sorority Row), an authentic sensibility of both frustration and affection for her mentally scarred brother is created that helps drive the story into deeply emotional areas many films of the same ilk wouldn’t even consider exploring, let alone touch upon fleetingly. The same goes for little Charlie Tahan who is utterly convincing as the young boy in question.
While it’s by no means an instant classic or perhaps even a film you’ll remember vividly a decade from now, Burning Bright is a refreshingly welcome little rollercoaster ride in an age dominated by beyond-bland remakes and pathetic attempts at franchise inception. For a fun horror film it’s certainly a smart one and that alone is something you can’t say a lot these days.
Dir: Carlos Brooks
Writers: Christine Coyle Johnson and Julie Prendiville Roux
Cast: Briana Evigan, Charlie Tahan, Garret Dillahunt, Meat Loaf
Country: USA
Run Time: 86mins
Rating: M15+
Looks like a lot of fun. Movies with big cats are one of my favorites. I'll check it out.
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