Consumed
Directed by Mitchell Altieri
Written by David Calbert
Starring Devon Sawa, Courtney Halverson, and Mark Famiglietti
Unrated
89 minutes
In Theaters and On Demand August 16

by Rachel Shatto, Staff Writer

On a recent walk in the nearby woods, I watched in horror as my partner slipped on a pile of loose rocks, tumbled, and rolled down the rocky path. Ultimately, aside from some scrapes and bruises, he was unharmed. But in those few seconds which dilated into an eternity, his mortality and our relative isolation met in my mind’s eye. I was reminded there are few places where we’re simultaneously more at peace and more vulnerable than in the woods. Hence it is the perfect location for a horror film like Consumed, which attempts with varying levels of success to interrogate the fragility of the human body when facing down attacks coming from both external (a skin-stealing monster) and internal (corruption of body through disease).

The film sees a couple, Beth (Courtney Halverson) and Jay (Mark Famiglietti), heading deep into the woods. Despite the stunning woodland setting, there’s a palpable tension between them. It’s not long before we learn that Beth is a breast cancer survivor whose treatment left both of them bearing emotional scars. The trip is intended to give Beth and Jay the reset they need and to allow them to reconnect. Sadly, the secret Beth is keeping, the creature stalking them, and the man stalking it (Devon Sawa) through the forest complicate those plans in deadly fashion.

The ideas the film wants to explore are worthy ones. The parallels between how both stepping into the wilds and facing down a debilitating illness can lead to the profound terror of isolation. That even surviving a brush with death can leave deep psychic scars, not only for the person in that fight but for the people who love and support them. That revenge is just as corrupting to the spirit as cancerous cells are to the body. These anxieties are timeless, but unfortunately Consumed lacks the subtlety in the writing and performances necessary to make any of these themes hit with any profundity.

The result is a film that falls flat in its emotional stakes, which in turn robs it of the stakes needed for any effective scares. What the movie does right is in its final act, when it delivers to the audience an awesomely bizarre and practically created creature that harkens back to the charming mixture of silliness and horror of earlier monster movies. There’s a simple and innate pleasure of seeing your hero tossed around by a giant practical effect, and one with just enough of the uncanny to get under your skin. Also, Sawa stands out in his role as the tortured hunter Quinn, although his arc is rushed and a gruesome discovery in his home doesn’t quite add up. Still, he adds a bit of camp to the proceedings and is one of the film’s bright spots.

Anytime Sawa returns to the genre, it's a boon for horror aficionados. But while he gives the performance his all and infuses Quinn with as much pathos as the script allows for, the rest of the film doesn't quite rise to meet him. There are some interesting ideas on offer and Consumed makes the most of its forest and ruins setting. In the end, though, it just nibbles around the edges rather than offering a viewing experience with real bite.