A Murderous Diary

A Murderous Diary

Bruce Von Stiers

Rob Gabe wrote and directed the micro short horror film, Return Haunted. That got his feet wet for eerie, noir styled horror. Now Gabe has put together another film. This one has a slight supernatural flair to it.

The title of this new film is Phantom Rain. The production company for the film is Mad Man With A Camera Productions. The film was produced by Jeremy Moran and edited by Rob Gabe.

The film opens with Otis, a man on a bed. He has a yellow wig on and smoking a cigarette. There is a narration about the story beginning with someone named Walter Blackwell. Otis is played by Ben Gold.

Otis is a loner in a new location. He's hunting for a job and has some kind of a loose arrangement with a woman named Rose. She is played by Sugez Cruz, who had roles in films such as The Mutated Hiker and Saving Springville.

Otis finds a diary from somebody who left it in the house. He begins reading and learns that the diary is from Walter Blackwell, a notorious trans serial killer.

Then he is transported to a scene as shown from Walter's perspective. He's in a bar watching a woman being snooty. That woman is played by Erika Minnick. I reviewed a film last year that Erika starred in and produced called Behind Her Makeup. Walter is played by Griffin Scially.

Walter connects with the woman, and they leave the bar together. They get into his car and then he bludgeons her with a hammer. Then later Walter wears the woman's panties, having taken them when he dumped her body. There isn't any overt violence, it is only implied.

Then Walter goes to visit Mandy, a hooker he frequents. He thinks he might be able to kill her. And if he does, he can become her. What? Mandy is played by Ruby Teaser, who is an exotic dancer and OnlyFans content provider.

Well, Mandy gets murdered by him and then we're off to the races. Walter's psychosis is that if he kills the women, he can absorb them and become them. Too strange by far.

Through Otis reading Walter's diary, the audience gets the story of how Walter kills someone else. He's lured a man to a motel room by being in drag. Then he takes the guy's own gun and shoots him with it.

Then Otis, having absorbed the essence of Walter's psychosis, thinks he has to replicate the murder. Andrew Lodge plays Otis's intended victim.

Phantom Rain is definitely a different film. I guess what I mean by different, is that it is a bit strange. There is a noir lilt to the film, but it doesn't quite have that necessary grit that you find in true noir.

Gabe has stated that he was not making an anti LGBTQ film. His goal was to have the film come across a bit like Brian De Palma's Dressed To Kill. It doesn't quite get there either. But there is a redemptive spirit outlook to the film that I wasn't expecting.

The lighting seemed to be a bit too stark at times, but I think that was for effect. And the dialog could have been a bit more fluid. But overall, the cinematography was fairly well done.

One cool thing about the film is that it has some great music in it. The film has songs by Garbage, The Haxan Cloak, Lustmord and Iamamiwhoami.

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