Available July 15th, 2025 from Arrow Video
A newly married couple low on funds heads to the bride’s boss’ country house to spend a few days together and have some quality time. Issues soon crop up and the appearance of a strange couple demanding their attention for a presentation.
Written and directed by Chris Skotchdopole, from a story by Chris Skotchdopole, Larry Fessenden, and Rigo Garay, the story here has potential, but it all falls apart quite quickly when none of the characters at hand are likable. Everyone here is some form of crappy person with some redeeming qualities, but most of these only show up near the very end of the film. The characters may be well-written, but they are well-written people this viewer wants to spend less than no time with. This here kills the story from the get-go, creating a story around people who don’t seem to want to be there and who offer very little positive to about themselves. This is the most massive issue with any given film and here the writing jumps into the unlikable characters pool with both feet and floaties. Yes, a story with bad characters can work, but there has to be something there to make the viewer want to see the story and watch the characters evolve.
The cast here works well with what they have, making every single one of the lead characters people you just don’t want to spend time with. From the groom played by Rigo Garay who is morally gray at best, to the bride played by Ella Rae Peck who doesn’t seem much better. Then we have the “bad guys” who in this case are the worse guys played by John Speredakos and Lorraine Farris who do great at being the people you never want to meet. So, if the goal here is to make the viewer dislike all the characters who have any sort of proper screen time, well, bravo, well done.
The cinematography by Adam Carboni is this film’s saving grace. Once the characters get to the house and the final third of the film looks fantastic, even in the darker scenes. Everything here is well lit, well framed, and well shot. The film looks fantastic and makes you want to have characters you care about and a story that doesn’t feel like it was clobbered together haphazardly. The visuals here far outshine any other aspect of the film.
Overall, Crumb Catcher is a film that likely appeals to a fairly small audience and one that most folks will likely not want to rewatch again and again. This new release does not, however, worry about this and goes full on with a ton of extras and a solid presentation of the film in 1080p with good sound quality. The extras here have 2 short films by the writer/director, a brand-new commentary by the director, a making-of featurette, the original trailer, a new booklet with writing by Tori Potenza, Richard Newby, and Larry Fessenden as well as new artwork on a reversible sleeve.