At a large estate, a group of worshippers attend an ominous ceremony led by a cultist who they’ve watched on television for a long time. Honored to be there, most of the members are happy with the roles they are given. Onyx, on the other hand, isn’t so sure, but his role may be much more than the organizers could have ever expected.
Written and directed by star Andrew Bowser, this is the kind of film that some will adore, and others will be absolutely bored with. The story is written to be extra nerdy and to appeal to a particular crowd, which it most likely will. However, to this reviewer, the film comes off as self-important, a vanity project that lands flat. The story has a lot of aspects that should have been interesting, but not a single one landed and it quickly became a bit of a chore to watch. For those who will be into it, the humor and the nerdy references, the way the film is directed and shot will most likely all land just right. As it is, it’s not something that everyone will love, far from it.
The cast here is mostly ok. They work with the material just fine and all are in the same frame of mind and tone with their work. Of course, the writer-director being the lead, the part that gets the most attention is clearly his. Thankfully, Jeffrey Combs is here, and he is always amazingly good. Combs can take anything and make it so much more than the sum of its parts. His presence here is a saving grace and really entertaining, thank you Mr. Combs. Barbara Crampton also is involved here, and more of her would have been more than welcomed. She’s her usual talented self. The rest of the cast is ok here, some of them definitely better than the others, but given that the film didn’t hit the right notes for this viewer, having some decent performances was something that was beyond needed and that is something to be grateful for.
The film as a whole looks decent with solid cinematography by Dan Adlerstein and special effects that work fairly well, giving the film some good images throughout. The look here helps keep the viewer for who the story doesn’t connect involved with the film. The practical effects do suffer from the lower budget, but there is a charm to them, especially when characters are turned into sort-of zombies who are a mix between old school gross and some oddly adorable design. It’s entertaining and it does give the film some fun bits here and there. The CGI effects are actually not bad, so there is something here as well.
Overall, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls is one of those frustrating wasted opportunities films where there is something there, there are many things there, but most of them develop in ways that just don’t connect. Thank goodness for the presence of Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs, for fun special effects, and an occasional enjoyable song on the soundtrack. The film is not that great unfortunately and it’s, as mentioned, frustrating and it leads to hoping perhaps this was less of a vanity project and more of something where others had more input to help move the film and direction along into more interesting paths.