By Sophia DeGennaro
Number-compelled cultists? Father-daughter bonds? A horror comedy promising as much blood as there is laughter? Bowling? Sign me up!
The indie movie “Last Night at Terrace Lanes,” set in Frederick’s closed Terrace Lanes bowling alley, debuted on streaming services on Jan. 16.
Jamie Nash directed the film, which was written by young adult horror author Adam Cesare with the story developed by Jenna St. John. The movie promises great things from the beginning. The setup is simple but compelling. Frederick locals gather for one last night of bowling before the aging venue closes for good.
Amongst the evening’s patrons, we meet our core cast: Kennedy (Francesca Capaldi), a queer teen who is here under the premises of a date, Tess (Mia Rae Roberts), who was not under the impression she was on a date and Pete (Lucas Sanchez) and Cody (Elias Arnold), two of Tess’ friends who have been invited to the party for a cringe-worthy double-date.
It becomes clear that Tess’ only personality during the film is “damsel in distress,” Lucas’ only trait is “nice guy,” and Pete’s only trait is “jerk.” Kennedy may be a slightly more complicated character, but only because her father, Bruce (Ken Arnold), is a Terrace Lanes lifetime employee. The film centers around their fraught relationship, which provides both of them with more depth than they would typically have. They’re still identified as moody teen and disgruntled father respectively, and it feels like none of the cast is permitted to break from these rigid boxes.
Early on, the movie presents an interesting and unique plot. We open on a fast-paced scene of cultists led by their leader, Dove (Christopher Walker), as they kidnap and murder an unsuspecting victim. We soon learn numbers motivate Dove, and he tells his followers that the numbers have revealed to him that Terrace Lanes is their next target.
Shortly after, we’re greeted with an overhead shot of Terrace Lanes from the outside, which is a comforting sight to most Frederick natives. The movie takes advantage of the actual story of Terrace Lanes, which closed on May 29, 2022, following a two-year-long struggle to remain open after COVID-19.
It’s after this that the movie loses its charm.
The pacing of the story stutters due to minutes of aimless, gory action, interrupted by never-ending dialogue and jokes that fall flat and cannot drive the story.
There’s plenty of gore, but it’s poorly done and largely off-screen. The murders try to be both funny and scary and fail spectacularly to be either. To make matters worse, the film suffers the same curse that many indie films bear – low-budget production. This is clear not only in the gore and special effects, but in the shaky, low-quality camera work, poor audio quality, and interesting editing choices, including a series of bizarre fade-to-blacks that wreck the story’s pacing even further.
As a whole, “Last Night at Terrace Lanes” could be a great film. Its premise, setting and plot line are interesting and make a valiant attempt to make the movie likable. But an unfortunate concoction of poor acting choices, low budget and pacing make the movie a drag. However, for those particularly dedicated to the memory of Terrace Lanes, it is available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu.
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