MOVIE REVIEW: The Shasta Triangle

I went into this film with high hopes, I’m a big fan of indie movies and when done right they are a treasure to behold.

The story centres around five very different characters who are connected by one of their own (Paula) returning to Mt Shasta to investigate her father vanishing under strange circumstances when she was younger. Couple this mystery with all the years of the characters growing up together and potentially that could have made for some deep and involved moments.

It’s also always great to join characters at a certain point in their lives and just through conversations understand how much they’ve grown or changed, this is the power of words and something I adore about indie or lower budget movies.

There were absolutely moments like that but there were also weaker moments where you see that some people never change and will still resort to shaming and mockery, whether that was the intention or just filler remains to be seen but it detracted from the movie for me.

Visually this had a classic eerie feel to it; the aerial shots of them walking through the woods and a haunting vibe to the score were definite pluses. The idea of the five characters coming together after years, coupled with the surroundings, did give it a kind of IT feel but didn’t have its gravitas.

Once the weirdness begins it certainly had pros and cons, the strange backwards whispers had the desired effect as they were creepy as hell but then the loud horn (which kind of sounded like my brother practicing the trombone in the next room) was a low moment. Then (spoilers) the portals open and other versions of themselves from different dimensions dressed like extras from the matrix appear then more weirdness ensues, which was a tad confusing.

What started as high hopes and potential became confusion and unresolved aspects of the film. I was left wanting more.

TheÂ ShastaÂ TriangleÂ starsÂ Dani LennonÂ (The Love Witch, FEARnet“s Bite Me),Â Ayanna BerkshireÂ (Twilight, NBC“s Grimm),Â Helenna SantosÂ (CW“s The Flash, ABC“s The Good Doctor),Â Madeline MerrittÂ (The Guest House, Auteur),Â andÂ Deborah Lee SmithÂ (Here Awhile, Last Three Days).