The film is good overall, but I had issues with it from the beginning. J.C. Doler’s first feature made its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival, playing in their Dark Matters Features section. Genre fans will be able to view it at a second screening during the festival. Doler co-wrote the screenplay along with Paul Petersen, based on a story by Doler, Taylor Bracewell, and Chris Alan Evans.
The minute the film started with a child who was scared because an adult voice creepily calls his name “Nicky” (Tucker Grumbles) and there is pounding on the bedroom door, I was ready not to view the film. I am not fond of films that introduce horror through scenes with children. It is a terrifying first few minutes in this film. There is a scene with the shot of a book cover regarding “fetch.” Unless someone is already familiar with the term, it may not be obvious, or a connection might be missed. This film does not provide the meaning or significance of the term at the beginning of the film as others have done recently (as another film at this festival did). It would be helpful for someone viewing a film using a culture or country’s folklore as a basis for their story.
After the scary scenes of the elementary-age young boy, the film jumps forward about 15-20 years when a couple has a young boy about 4-5 years old. It is not immediately clear if this man, Nicholas (Logan Donovan), is now the traumatized boy who has grown up with a son of his own. It is not until the wife, Charlie (Aleksa Palladino), makes a mention of paperwork about his grandmother’s home as a first clue, then later after tragedy hits their home. Once Charlie drops off Nicholas at the grandmother’s house for recovery after hospitalization, then the story loops back to the grandmother, who has passed away as described in the film. There is no reference to the child’s mental health after the trauma in his grandmother’s home, where he grew up after his parents and grandmother’s death, and/or if he had any treatment into adulthood. A little more about his life might have helped this appear more authentic.
Synopsis: Following the death of his only son, a grieving father is haunted by a terrifying demon known in Irish folklore as the Fetch.
I suggest that more viewers read about Irish folklore before viewing the film.
The Fetch also stars Robert Longstreet, Shannon Cochran, Tripp Toupal, and others. It is produced by Donovan, Doler, Alexander Jeffery, Paul Petersen, Brittany Fallow, and Chris Alan Evans. Jaime Schwartzberg, Andrew Schwartzberg, Ben Hoeller, Holger Fuchs, Christian Jantscha, and Tamra Corley Davis serve as executive producers on the project.
The Austin Film Festival’s world premiere was on Sunday, and the next screening is on Wednesday, October 30th, at 5:45 p.m. at the Galaxy Theater.
Source: Austin Film Festival