Title: INVOKING YELL
Director: Patricio Valladares
Screenwriters: Patricio Valladares, Barry Keating
Producer: Moral Brothers Entertainment, Diego Moral Heimpell, Vittorio Farfan
Cast: María Jesús Marcone, Macarena Carrere, Andrea Ozuljevich
Genre: Horror
Run Time: 84 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Distributor: Welcome Villain Films
The film takes place South of Chili. The year is 1997 and a trio of black metal fanatics venture into the wilderness to record video and sounds for their demo tape. Two of the twenty-something women from the band Invoking Yell document their adventure via a camcorder at the hands of another female who wanted to join the band. Things twist when the trio document their disturbing process of recording paranormal events around them.
First, this movie has English subtitles, so those who don’t enjoy reading subtitles may want to note this. INVOKING YELL is a film that spotlights black metal with many references to bands and songs of that genre. Director Patricio Valladares and crew shot this film over one weekend, and many interactions between the cast feel ad-libbed. Some of it works great and some dialogue feels repetitive, be prepared to hear the words Invoking Yell at least a dozen times or more.
The film takes the slow burn approach with much of the first and second acts having the cast walk around the woods and talk about Black metal and their plans for the demo they’re working on. The settings are isolated, which gives a great atmosphere for a film of this nature. There’s a broken-down school bus and rundown structures for the trio of metalheads to explore.
The cast consists of María Jesús Marcone (Andrea), Macarena Carrere(Tania) , Andrea Ozuljevich (Ruth). Each is believable as their characters and elevates the creepy content they convey to the audience. Andrea (Marcone) is the leader who immerses herself in all things Black Metal. She designs the cover art for the demo tape, she records noises to be included on the music tracks and she well, seemingly calls the shots. Tania (Carrere) is more of a follower and plays second fiddle to Andrea. She likes the idea of a Dark Black Metal band but doesn’t surround herself with it entirely. Ruth (Ozuljevich) is the camera operator, she wants to be the third member of the band. The audience rarely sees her on camera, but she asks many questions of the other two women.
The third act is when things hit the proverbial fan and true intentions are shown. Things get pretty dark and evil, which may turn a few stomachs. This act is the real meat and potatoes for horror genre lovers.
INVOKING YELL is interesting as a found footage film, but unlike many before, there’s less to take in here. The banter about the Black Death music culture is interesting, but if you’re not a fan of that genre this is one to skip. The acting is quite good, although sometimes the cast walks around from one location to another with little to do. The third act is when the film hits its stride and things get interesting. Overall, Invoking Yell is just another entry in the found footage genre, it entertains but isn’t breaking any new ground.
