For his second feature, Eric Pennycoff has decided on something completely offbeat and at times, supremely dark.
The Leech is led by genre stalwart Graham Skipper as a local priest, who is manipulated into taking in a couple who make up the titular title.
There are some many scenes that will have you screaming for Skipper’s Father David to ring the necks of his new housemates its untrue. This is a credit to Pennycoff who has created a memorable pair of despicable characters in Lexi and Terry.
As alluded to previously though, The Leech has a real dark edge, with the couple drugging the priest, whilst also attempting to blackmail, which ultimately leads to a confrontation that our three main characters can’t come back from.
It may not work for all audiences but The Leech is a well-written and expertly shot genre piece that really feels like it will find a home on the festival circuit.
The fact that the film is set at Christmas only heightens the potential Christian guilt amongst Father David and possibly leads to decisions he may not have made at another time of year.
The Leech screens at Arrow Video Frightfest 2022.
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