Spawn: The Recall (2014) Review

 

Spawn: The Recall (2014)

Spawn: The Recall follows a former witch and her son, trying to live away from the darkness, but when the son goes missing, Spawn is forced to step in and draw the mother back into her past life.

I’ll be real, I know virtually nothing about Spawn, but I remember all the buzz around this French fan film when it came out, so it was due time I gave it a watch. I have always thought it interesting though that a guy with a shoestring budget and a camcorder can make a better movie in under 8 minutes, unlike a big studio with money and resources. Because this is awesome. It’s short, and almost like a one-off teaser for something more, but it’s effective in it’s small runtime and ridiculously well done special effects. The whole thing is set in a supermarket, shot over 2 days, but the VFX and camerawork make this so impressive. It’s flashy, beautifully rendered, and haunting in it’s execution, giving you quite an idea about who Spawn is and the villains he faces. And it’s not even him that is executed perfectly, the witch’s fiery, molten transformation is also nuts and had me geeking out hardcore.

It’s got a small cast, starring Joahanna Genet, Tom Maurice, and Gregory Paris. I really liked Paris’s Spawn voice, with it being a deep, dark, and hollow voice that still had personality in its compassion towards the mother and her son. Genet plays off of him wonderfully, buying into her true form in the most badass way.

Spawn: The Recall, directed by Michael Paris, who has made a series out of shorts like this with the likes of James Bond, Power Rangers, and Mr. Rogers, is a short and darkly effective trip into the world created by Todd McFarlane that lacks in content, but turns it up on the special effects, which are mind numbingly impressive for being made by an amateur filmmaker.

7/10