Every once in a while, a microbudget film comes along that completely knocks my socks off. I have seen many horror movies made for next to nothing by a cast and crew with little experience and the result can range from a complete waste of time to some clever ideas that get me excited for what the people involved will create when they have a proper budget. In the case of Five Across The Eyes, directors Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen show us what can be accomplished with no money if you get a great group of actors and understand how to execute a cool idea. While all movies at this level have their flaws due to the fact that resources are so limited, in this flick they are barely noticeable as we are so engrossed in the plight of the characters.

A group of five girls are on their way home from a high school football game when they become lost while taking a shortcut. They pull over at a store to get directions and accidentally hit a car while horsing around in the parking lot. The driver is not present so they quickly leave the scene of the accident before getting into trouble. Within minutes, the driver of the hit vehicle is on their ass and the girls start freaking out. I have to be fair to anyone who may see this flick and not talk about anything else in the plot as this is all I knew before watching this. I think my experience was enhanced substantially by the fact that I had no idea what was coming. All I will say is that the driver is completely batshit crazy and would have easily made our top five "psycho chicks" list had we seen this before that article was written. It should also be noted that squeamish viewers may be uncomfortable with some of the trauma inflicted on the girls and the fact that the three "P's" make an appearance: pee, pooh, and puke. These elements are not used in an exploitative manner, however, and this is not a sociopath's wankfest filled with torture and rape.

This is a chase movie and for a movie like this to be effective, the action needs to be relentless. Within five minutes, the viewer feels like he or she is part of this intense situation and there are few breaks from the action in the hour and a half that plays out in real time. When any breaks do happen, they are used wisely to further build the characters by showing us their fears and regrets and thereby establishing more sympathy for their situation. It is important that these scenes exist as they remind us that we are watching a group of scared high school girls and not a bunch of dumb bimbos or women with a secret background in military training. These girls are as normal as it gets and it is refreshing to see. This is further enhanced by the fact that the actors are all unknown as their inexperience adds to the realism. That is not to say they are not good as all five of the girls quickly establish their own personalities and play the material straight and convincing.

The look of the film could be a point of contention for some viewers. The camera tends to move around a bit wildly at times and it feels like a few different cameras may have been used as the quality goes up and down with no warning. This could have ruined the movie but I barely noticed once I got into it. This is interesting as I usually don't like frenetic camerawork but combined with the rate at which the action onscreen was occurring and the hysterics of the characters, it worked really well. It also helped that the action slowed down a few times giving both the characters and the viewer a chance to recover. I believe that every shot in the movie was taken from inside the girls' van which is a feat unto itself and is a clever way of showing all of the craziness that ensues from a supposedly safe place. The impressiveness of this debut is commendable and, as of this writing, this is one of the best microbudget movies I have seen. I hope everyone involved goes on to bigger things in their careers as they are all worthy. Hopefully the fact that this was shot in part of the same area as the original Evil Dead (Morristown, Tennessee) will bring them as much luck as it did to Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. (Josh Pasnak, 1/25/10)

Directed By: Greg Swinson, Ryan Thiessen.
Written By: Greg Swinson.

Starring: Sandra Paduch, Danielle Lilley, Mia Yi, Angela Brunda.