The Leech – Frightfest Movie Review
Director: Eric Pennycoff
Writer: Eric Pennycoff (Screenplay)
Cast
- Jeremy Gardner (Spring)
- Graham Skipper (VFW)
- Taylor Zaudtke (After Midnight)
- Rigo Garay
Plot: A devout priest welcomes a struggling couple into his house at Christmas time. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly becomes the ultimate test of faith once the sanctity of his home is jeopardized.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Leech starts as friendly priest Father David (Skipper) opens his home to a homeless couple Terry (Gardner) and Lexi (Zaudtke). David believes he can help the couple find their feet, letting them stay over Christmas.
As the couple starts pushing David’s patience, he finds his own faith tested as his own home becomes jeopardized. David sees his whole life turned upside in his own moment of good gesture.
Verdict on The Leech
Characters
Father David is a priest that has always opened his doors to people in need. He shows that he has helped others before, as he takes in a homeless couple. David finds this to be a testing time, leaving him questioning his own faith, where his patience is worn thin. The people around him see the change happening in him.
Terry & Lexi are a homeless couple that gets offered a roof to keep them safe over Christmas. They don’t believe in God and start taking advantage of Father David’s good nature. The loud behaviour starts pushing David to the edge of his teether. They are the typical ungrateful guests who overstay their welcome.
Performances
Graham Skipper is great as Father David, we get to see the slow descent into madness his character goes on. This isn’t only going to be from the guests, but other problems he has been through.
Jeremy Gardner and Taylor Zaudtke do an excellent job at being the loud unwelcoming guests. They never hold back on how their behaviour which adds to the madness David is sent through.
Story
The story follows a devout priest that welcomes a homeless couple into his home. Only to see everything he loved tested. Seeing his faith questioned and his true self coming out in rage they push him through.
This is a story that starts by offering a friendly religious welcome before falling into a descent into madness for the priest. It mixes ideas of unwelcome guests with a priest who is already on the edge, feeling more like a truly dark comedy than a pure horror movie. The movie does tease the lines between faith and good gesture. Leaving us with a darker comedy version of what we saw in ‘Saint Maud’.
Themes
The Leech is a horror comedy that leans heavily into the dark comedy in the movie. Showing the slow descent David is pushed through because of the ungrateful guests. When it does come to the horror, a lot is held back being more about the mindset of David over anything else in the movie.
Final Thoughts – The Leech is a deliciously twisted dark comedy.
