User Reviews

"Cocky investment analyst Sam Larson has a lot on his mind. After a financial scam goes horribly wrong, he hits the road in a desperate bid to outrun his guilt. A fragment of a radio broadcast that may or may not be a distress call lures him to an isolated transmitting station and into a terrifying mystery of murder, madness and the insatiable hunger of a power beyond his comprehension." - David Prior (author)

"AM1200" is the perfect example of a movie that adjusts its length to the extent of the story it wants to tell. This short horror in its 40 minutes achieves more than the vast majority of feature-length horrors I have ever seen. The story is developed just enough to make sense without revealing too much. Characters and situations are realistic and convincing. The use of light and darkness, simple and striking effects and excellent directing and editing successfully attain the creepy and tense atmosphere that will keep you on the edge of the chair with occasional scared jumps. And at the end, not a twist, because the story is quite linear, but surprise, that will especially delight fans of Lovecraft's mythos. I can not say I'm thrilled, but I certainly recommend it. And be sure to watch it in the dark and silence, otherwise the film loses much of its strength.

8/10

"They say it's better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. What about serving in Hell? What if the only option is to serve in Hell? There's a kind of freedom when you don't have a choice."

Writer/producer/director David Prior's short horror thriller AM1200 follows in the great tradition of PSYCHO and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN in both its high quality and its story structure: a taut protagonist-on-the-run thriller that devilishly morphs into an atmospheric, razor-sharp tale of supernatural terror under your very nose.

Eric Lange is solid as Sam Larson, an almost sympathetic white-collar everyman (if that makes sense :-)) whose company is going downhill fast. Going into Dick-Over or Be Dicked-Over mode, Sam makes a bad, no-turning-back decision to embezzle company funds before his slippery boss (Ray Wise, in the kind of role at which he excels) beats him to it. Sam escapes in his Audi on what seems like an endless desert highway, literally scared sick whenever he sees a police cruiser in his rear-view mirror. But his nerve-wracking flight from the law feels like piña coladas and Key West sunsets compared to what happens when, in the dead of night, he hears and responds to a desperate SOS broadcast as he tunes his car radio into the titular evangelical AM radio station.... Refreshingly, unlike so many other protagonists of his ilk, Sam sees the red flags (metaphorically flapping in the breeze), and does his best to avoid the station until he's truly left with no other options.

AM1200 is an original story by Prior, but once Sam enters the all-but-abandoned station and discovers the terrifying truth, the film becomes a brilliant modern-day homage to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu tales. It packs more potent suspense, dread, and eerie atmosphere in its 40-minute running time than many feature-length horror films. It also looks and sounds amazing, thanks to Brian Hoodenpyle's crystal-clear digital cinematography, and the brilliant use of sound and light (and dark) by Prior and his crew. The sparingly-used special effects are so artfully rendered that they seem quite natural, as opposed to the kind of F/X which practically scream, "Hey, look at me! I'm a special effect!" Great use of music, too, ranging from Bela Bartok to Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street." Among the rare, fleeting instances of comic relief, my favorite was when the seemingly millions of unseen crickets that have been insistently chirping -- nay, screeching -- away in the background suddenly STOP -- just like that! AM1200 was like having a knife to my throat for forty minutes -- in a good way. It's well worth seeking out and recommending to others. I give it an A+!

"AM1200" is a 40-minzte horror short film from 7 years ago written, directed and produced by David Prior. The lead actor is Eric Lange, but I must say I am familiar with neither him nor his co-actors in this little movie here. All in all, there were a couple solid moments, but as a whole I was not convinced. It's not as atmospheric or scary as I hoped it would be and that's usually what defines a good horror film. It also almost felt more of a thriller to me. I cannot say that this got me curious in checking out any of Prior's or Lange's other work. Fairly forgettable short film and also an occasional drag even at only 40 minutes. Not recommended.

While I think this started out stronger than it ended, I was very impressed with this film. I get sick of comic relief in the short blocks which is quite inappropriate for Lovecraftian horror, so this was refreshing. I feel that the sequence from where the protagonist hears the AM broadcast and then is stranded next to the radio station is the strongest part of the film. The sense of being in the middle of nowhere is better done in this part than almost anything else I have seen. I really miss seeing stunning films like this or Maribito at the HPL film festival. I am wondering where I could get a hold of this to see it again...I do see that they showed it again at this years HPL fest 2010 which I was not able to attend.

The story of how the main got into this situation and the tension leading up to his car breaking down outside of the recording studio feels like filler. It does help suspend the audience's disbelief of him entering into this situation because he assumes the police are after him for a crime, and calling a tow truck might get him caught, but all the backstory with Leland Palmer was really boring. It was very stylish, however, when they used that long zoom to focus on the road of a local map, then transitioned to a helicopter shot of said road with the main's car, followed by another zoom upon the car and transitioning inside of the car, but not much else is notable for the first half.

A broadcast on AM1200 arouses his attention and his car breaks down when he investigates. Great use of the mysterious man with the flashlight. Inside of the building, the lighting and sound design are at their peak, with plenty of lighting practicals, flickering light, and ominous industrial music and white noise.

The confrontation with the rambling mental patient is amusing and hints and some greater, Lovecraftian evil. A demonic entity seems to be able to transfer itself from host to host via some unexplained manner.

Probably the most interesting unexplained element is the man with the flashlight, who the possessed main character signals by turning the lights on and off (it's very peculiar that he allowed the man inside to remain handcuffed, even though he seemed to be doing... the "devil's" work? Flashlight man is the star of the film and will make any viewer swoon!)

Then the possessed main feeds a strange monster inside of a hole with a massive face, which we only ever see part of--an eye here, a mouth there. Since he feeds the last man who was possessed, it seems to be a cycle, where, whoever is lured to the station, becomes possessed by the entity, and hacks up the former servant. I feel like too much of the creature was shown (which might be okay if they were using more traditional effects, instead of the CGI).

Overall, it's an okay supernatural horror that's fairly well-made, but there's nothing very interesting about the story, and while there are some unexplained elements, it doesn't present itself like a wonderful mystery or great cosmic horror and it has a rather slow start.