Mark DeCarlo | Through the Shattered Lens

2021’s 616 Wilford Lane is an odd film that has a twist ending that makes the entire film difficult review. The easy solution would be to just give away the ending but it’s actually a pretty good (if somewhat implausible) twist and I really don’t want to ruin it for anyone watching the movie. So, just take my word that there’s more to 616 Wilford Lane than meets the eye.

The films open Paranormal Activity-style, with grainy security footage of an apparently possessed young man killing his parents and his younger sister. The murders occur at 616 Wilford Lane, a lovely house in a wealthy town. The house sits empty for nearly a year until the real estate agent, Austyn (Jasmine Waltz), is able to sell it to Jim (John Littlefield). Jim explains that his wife just died and he’s looking for a nice house for himself and his teenage daughters, extrovert Randy (Jessica Chancellor) and intellectual Staci (Alyson Gorske). Austyn, realizing that she finally has chance to sell the murder house, doesn’t tell him about 616 Wilford Lane’s past.

No sooner have Jim, Randy, and Staci moved in then strange things start happening. Staci sleepwalks. Randy thinks that she sees someone looking through her window. There are strange sounds throughout the house. Staci starts to give lingering looks to the rifle that Jim owns but swears he has never fired. Jim seems as if he’s too busy sleeping with Austyn to notice what’s happening in his house. Meanwhile, the town’s mayor (Eric Roberts) warns Jim not to call the police every time something strange happens….

There are a few odd things about this film’s plot and specifically the way that some of the characters behave and talk to each other. When I was watching the movie, my first assumption was that it was just a case of an inconsistent script. However, the twist ending reveals that the film know exactly what it was doing. All of those strange moments — especially where Jim was concerned — suddenly made sense during the film’s final 10 minutes. Moments that I originally dismissed as just being a case of poor writing actually turned out to be clues as to what was going on in the house. 616 Wilford Lane is not a flawless film but it’s one that still turned out to be considerably more clever than I was expecting it to be.

Plus, the film feature Eric Roberts! And, for once, Roberts actually gets to play a real character. As the Mayor, Roberts is all smiles until he starts to suspect that Jim might bring some bad publicity to his town. Roberts gives a good performance here. Also giving good performances were Jessica Chancellor and Alyson Gorske, both of whom brought their characters to life in a way that made the twist ending all the more interesting. Randy had red hair, spent a lot of time talking about her boobs, and flirted with almost every guy she met so, for once, I felt represented in a movie.

I recommend 616 Wilford Lane. Make sure you stick around for the twist at the end.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Last night, the Snarkalecs and I watched the latest SyFy original film, Finders Keepers!

Why Was I Watching It?

I had been watching Big Driver over on Lifetime but that film proved to be unusually disturbing and I really wasn’t in the right mood to deal with it. Sometimes, you need to just be entertained and SyFy original movies are always entertaining! So, after watching an hour of Big Driver, I turned over to SyFy and watched Finders Keepers.

What Was It About?

Recently divorced writer Alyson Smith (Jaime Pressly) moves into a nice, old house with her daughter, Claire (Kylie Rogers). At first the house seems ideal but soon, cracks start to appear on this perfect fantasy of home ownership. Claire starts to act strangely. A crazy old cat lady (Marina Sirtis) keeps coming by the house. Alyson does some research and discovers that the reason the house was empty was because, years before, it was the scene of a brutal mass murder. And, of course, Claire finds a creepy doll in her bedroom and becomes extremely attached to it.

Soon, everyone who knows Alyson and her ex-husband (Patrick Muldoon) is turning up dead. Could it be that the doll is evil or could it all be a coincidence?

Actually, there’s really no question. That is one messed up doll…

What Worked?

SyFy hasn’t been showing as many original movies this year as they did last year. Fortunately, the ones that they have shown have all been excellent and Finders Keepers keeps the streak going. Finders Keepers is an effectively creepy horror film, featuring excellent performances from Jaime Pressly and Patrick Muldoon, atmospheric direction from Alexander Yellen, and a clever script from Peter Sullivan.

Incidentally, Finders Keepers probably featured one of the bigger body counts that I’ve ever seen in a SyFy film. Nobody’s safe from that doll!

What Did Not Work?

Over the course of the film, two cats and a crazy old cat lady are killed. As most of you know, I am about 40 years away from becoming a crazy old cat lady so that was a little bit difficult for me to deal with.

“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments

So, beyond the crazy old cat lady and her two cats, this film also featured a vivacious, 20-something redhead who ended up being murdered by the evil doll. And then, once the redhead and the cat lady had been dispatched, we were introduced to an incredibly efficient office administrator and guess what happened to her? That’s right — murdered by the crazy doll. Speaking as a vivacious and efficient redheaded office administrator and future crazy cat lady, I really have to wonder just what exactly this film had against me!

Lessons Learned

Do not let your daughter keep any creepy old voodoo dolls that she just happens to find in her bedroom. If she won’t get rid of the voodoo doll, consider giving her up for adoption because, seriously — voodoo is nothing to mess with.