Opening with the highs and lows of financing a house, The Reaper Man stabs its audience with disappointment as one excited couple, Jessica (Jessica Lai Johnson) and Joseph (Kenon Walker), receive the bad news of another buyer stepping in on their deal and then, as if that wasn’t enough, doubles down on that emotion of sadness and disappointment with an unexpected home invasion scenario which leaves both of them on the floor: one unconscious and the other dead.
Yes, it’s quite an opening for this low budget thriller as The Reaper Man shocks audiences with tragedy times two and then continues its tale of ghostly revenge as Jessica takes matters into her own hands and reaches out to a voodoo priestess to bring about some much needed bloodlust. Welcome to the tortured territory of The Reaper Man. There’s a gut-wrenching journey of horror and revenge ahead and it won’t leave you disappointed; just emotionally exhausted.
With an emphasis on location and a raw realness in its actors, Tennessee-based filmmaker Jason Lockridge, director of Succuba and Down Bad: Life In The Hood, returns with the chilling tale that is The Reaper Man, an unnerving peak at the after life as a grieving widow summons a dark spirit with an insatiable desire for revenge to her house.
While Detective Casey (K.J. Baker) turns the screws on one of the home invaders, a voodoo priestess, Sheba (Tarsha Gibson (Allies) enters the life of Jesssica and promises a spectral visit from the other side. Little does Jessica realize that the avenging spirit will be in the form of her own deceased husband and he, thanks to the spirit inhabiting him, is in no mood for games. Once even-tempered and kind, what has returned to her is much, much darker.
While lots of complications happened during the filming of the mood-drenched thriller, there’s no denying the talent assembled both in front of and behind the camera. Lockridge is skilled as a director and an editor and he has assembled a slow burn of a thriller which might draw come thematic comparisons to Candyman, but manages to stand on its own thanks to the dedication to tell a story of grief and empathy.
The Reaper Man is an unsettling glimpse into revenge and it is earmarked with great performances and a genuine effort to tell a solid story which connects all its thematic points so precisely. This is solid work from a dedicated group of artists.
Written and directed by Lockridge, and starring Jessica Jai Johnson (The Stix), K.J. Baker (Nashville), Kenon Walker (100 Lives), and Jeff Halton (Hongo), the horror feature will be available April 18 on Digital Platforms from Gravitas Ventures.
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime:
Director: Jaron Lockridge
Writer: Jaron Lockridge
Cast: Harlee Lowder; Kenon Walker; K.J. Baker
Genre: Horror
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "You don't have to face anything alone."
Distributor: Gravitas Venture
Official Site:
Release Date: April 18, 2023
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: A grieving wife summons a dark spirit with an insatiable desire for revenge in the chilling THE REAPER MAN.
