Interesting indie about an unwanted house guest

Written and directed by Robert Luke, The Man in the Garage begins with a simple yet effective opening credit sequence that uses a child’s drawings of the characters with the actors’ names scrawled on the paper. The film is about the Brown family, which consists of parents, Jack (Nathan Gray) and Mary (Maggie Maye), and their daughter, Rachel (Jasmine Serre). The quaint family inherits and moves into Jack’s parents’ house, which features a garage so cluttered they can barely walk in it. This doesn’t stop Rachel from befriending a man who she claims resides in there. The parents, naturally, dismiss it as an imaginary friend, but soon things begin to happen that are too real to ignore.

The premise itself is nothing new, but the film does manage to stay fresh. I went in expecting a supernatural story, but the plot takes a slasher twist. The acting is mostly mediocre and the film’s audio and visual quality is subpar, but overall it’s a well made picture held together with a good story and strong direction from Robert Luke. The kills are pretty good for the budget to boot. There are also scenes that pay homage to Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The maniacal killer (played by a man credited as Disco) is brooding but at the same time almost childlike, hearkening back to the innocence of Frankenstein. His appearance — long, greasy hair covering his face and wearing what appears to be a dirty, old poncho — adds to the inherent creepiness of a mysterious person dwelling in your home. The screener I was provided with also included The Boy in the Garage, a short that works well as a prequel. The Man in the Garage was rightfully picked up for distribution recently, so support good independent horror and check it out. While it’s not the best indie flick I’ve ever watched, it’s interesting enough to keep your attention and shows promise.

Horror 101 gives The Man in the Garage a 73 out of 101