Gut (2012)

Dan and Tom used to be great friends in childhood but unfortunately, as many friendships do, that bond has faded. Now the two work together at an extremely dull office job where the cycle never seems to change. There is simply no light at the end of the tunnel and this fact is taking it's toll on Tom. Dan does his best to get the friendship back where it used to be but Tom just isn't having it. Now that he is married and has turned into a model citizen he doesn't have time to sit around at Dan's house watching cheesy horror flicks.

A sudden turn of events occurs when Dan receives a disc that Tom simply has to see to believe. Sadly once Tom views what appears to be a snuff film there is no turning back. Once they view the film Tom just wants to forget it altogether, but these movies just keep appearing in Dan's box. Eventually familiar faces get involved in the snuff flicks and Tom finds himself in too deep. Suddenly the office job seems less menacing in the grand scheme of things. Let the downward spiral begin.

The first thing that sticks out about Gut is the overall look of the film. This looks very professional from start to finish and there was never a moment where the words "low budget" crossed my mind. Everything in this aspect of the film was done perfectly. The lighting, shots, locations and everything down to the closing sequence just felt right. There are only a handful of characters in Gut and fortunately there isn't a weak link in the entire cast. The two main characters did an amazing job of capturing the daily grind of an office job and really did an astounding job setting the mood of the film. Then, much to my surprise, when shit hit the fan in Gut and things took a much more serious turn the acting still remained solid on everyone's behalf. This is a rare occurrence in this type of film.

The film leans more towards the drama/thriller category. With that being said, even though I can't really call this a straight up horror flick it definitely has a dark enough atmosphere to appeal to all of you horror freaks. Overall the film has a pretty original storyline and everything unraveled without a hitch. Any independent filmmakers looking to get into making feature length movies should check this out and take notes. Gut was incredibly well thought out from start to finish and Elias really hit all of the nails on the head with this one. Highly recommended.