The Burningmoor Deaths
Written and Directed by Jonathan Williams
Co-Written by J. Andrew Colletti
Produced by Tony Guida and Lisa G. Myers
Actors: Geoff Tate, Erin Baltsar, and Amanda Bedulla
DVD – February 14, 2017
Reviewed by A. Renee Hunt
The Burningmoor Deaths is a mockumentary on the serial murders of James Parrish. In 2005, the Parrish family was savagely murdered, with James, the father, as the primary suspect. Parrish managed to disappear into thin air, until a video surfaced, showing the murder of two teenagers in an abandoned home in Bayside Queens. In the video, a man who resembled Parrish was the killer. He remained in hiding from police, until the cast and crew of Gettin’ Hammered decided to purchase the house for rehab, and turn it into a bed and breakfast.
Through a collection of “raw” footage from static cameras set about the house, viewers got to see exactly how Parrish moved about, lurking in shadows, taking lives. With each murder more gruesome than the next, viewers saw just how much of a psychopath James Parrish had become.
The Burningmoore Deaths is set like a documentary, with interviews and news clippings. It makes the viewer believe the case is real – I looked it up, to be sure. The remaining movie is supposed to be found footage. I enjoyed the genuineness of the supposed reality show, with cast members’ quirks and playfulness, but blending Parrish’s sinister activity, so far in-between, blanched the horror theme.
When the murders became primary focus, it was frenzied and, in a case or two, even comical. I also found, for the movie to have been raw footage, how was there a soundtrack? It took from the movie’s authenticity.
All in all, The Burningmoore Deaths was interesting and a bit intriguing, but I don’t know if placing it in the horror genre was fitting. The movie was on the mild side; even the gore was cut to a minimum, but a good watch nonetheless. The Burningmoore Deaths released on February 14, 2017.
