Director
H.M. Coakley
Cast
Shelli Boone………Monica
Charles F. Porter………Dwayne
Michael Bergin………Greg
Young Sir………Troy
Kimberly Barnett………Stacey
Robbyne Manning………Freida
DVD Release Date: October 9, 2007
Rating: R
Running Time: 86 Minutes
The Movie
Monica is the star of a popular sitcom called Baby Girl. Trust me, you’ll never forget the name of the show because the characters name drop it so often you’d think it was real. Anyway, one night Monica had a really freaky experience in which she was almost killed and it traumatized her. Fast forward two years later and she is hoping that her “craft” won’t keep her in a sitcom for the rest of her life. So while thinking over the new deal, she decides to go camping with her boyfriend Dwayne and their friends.
Along the way, the group happens upon Dwayne’s cousin Troy who also happens to be an ex-con. They pick him up since he so casually was hitchhiking on the same route they would be traveling. Once they arrive at camp, things get a little weird right away on this dark and stormy night when Monica’s agent Greg and his bimbo girlfriend show up unannounced with a flat tire. Oh did I mention that they are spending the weekend at Camp Diamond Creek? Good thing they thought of something creative and not some lame name like oh I don’t know, Camp Crystal Lake.
Moving on, the group of friends decides to celebrate after Dwayne proposes to Monica, aka Baby Girl, and it’s a call for some champagne. Troy goes on downstairs to retrieve it and that is when everyone sees a news report with a sketch drawing (?) of Troy as he is a possible suspect in a murder. From there the lights go out and it’s now a matter of survival as they try to live out the night.
This wasn’t my introduction to “urban horror,” but it certainly is the worst one I’ve ever seen. A low budget doesn’t even begin to explain why it is so bad, so don’t go thinking that’s the reason it is horrible. The script is laughable at best and will not keep you interested whatsoever because it is incredibly dull. It never delivers any type of suspense and in no way will the film scare you at all. Oh, and as you can tell by my description; Holla is going to lean towards the ex-con cousin Troy being the killer, but they hint at it horribly because you’ll never believe it’s him.
Things wouldn’t be so bad if they would have at least tried to cover up their mistakes. For instance, near the beginning when the group is driving to the camp, you can clearly see all seven or so of them get in a Lincoln Navigator. When there is an outside shot of the vehicle on the highway though, it magically changes to a Range Rover with just the driver in it. Great camera work there folks. That leads again to their obvious rip-offs of both Scream and Friday The 13th which they didn’t even attempt to hide.
Oh and excuse me if I’m wrong here, but since this is considered “urban horror,” does that mean that it is OK to say the dreaded N-word as often as possible? I just don’t understand why it is thrown in randomly during conversations when there was no need for it. But considering that this is urban horror, then it needs to become as “street” as possible I guess. It was actually very insulting and an insult to such great urban film directors as John Singleton, Spike Lee, and Thomas Carter.
The Video
The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and is not good. It can barely be seen as a matter of fact. After the group finally arrives at the cabin, the film is shot in almost total darkness. And it isn’t the type of darkness in a film where you can still tell what’s going on, but the kind of darkness where you’re stumbling in the middle of the night to find the bathroom.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it isn’t bad, but the surround sound really isn’t put to its full potential. Every now and then you’ll hear a creak or something from behind you, but nothing more. And whenever the music starts up, forget about hearing any dialogue because it overpowers everything else.
Special Features
Audio Commentary – Director H.M. Coakley, co-writer Camille Irons Coakley, and actress Shelli Boone sit down for the commentary and they do nothing but rave about the film and discuss what they had to go through in order for Holla to be made. It took them seven years to get everything finished once it finally got started. You figure over that amount of time that they would have realized how bad it is.
Horror Story: The Making Of Holla – This is a nineteen minute featurette with the cast and crew discussing more about how difficult it was to actually get the film made, but how much fun it was at the same time. It’s rather basic stuff and nothing too interesting.
Trailers – Slow Burn, Fido, Silent Scream, Haunted Forest, and Dark Storm
The Inside Pulse
Don’t bother with this film ever! If you want a decent urban horror film then go with Tales from the Hood, Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horrors, or even Leprechaun in the Hood because they are all one hundred times better. The special features are pointless because the “making of” is nothing big and you won’t want to watch the film again in order to catch the commentary. From what I understand, the Coakleys are hoping that Holla does well enough for the obviously hinted at sequel. Let’s all hold a toast hoping that it doesn’t even get enough backing for them to create a second film that is available only on Betamax.
