User:Sosothe76/Absinthe (film)

Absinthe is a 2012 American horror film starring Austin Lyon and directed by Justin Thomas Billings.

Background
Shot in found footage mockumentary style in two locations located near the Lake of the Ozarks, the film is about a group of college graduates that celebrate an engagement party at a relative's lake house, captured as 'real footage' on a video camera, with the actors themselves serving as cinematographers. Although the film is inspired by the real murders committed by Jean Lanfray, the actual story in the film is fictional. The film took one month to write, eight days to shoot, and one month to edit.

Plot
Eight college graduates gather at a friend's lake house for the weekend, and the next morning all but one of them are found dead. To celebrate the recent engagement of Conor (Austin Lyon) and Roxy (Lexy Roth), eight friends travel to the Lake of the Ozarks to stay the weekend at the lake house of Roxy's stepfather. Brooklyn (Alicia Leanne), a bartender, arrives with her boyfriend Sid (Tim Sauerwein) and several bags of alcohol to get the party started. Conor, using his brand new video camera, records everything taking place until his best friend, who is also an aspiring filmmaker, Mitch (Justin Thomas Billings) arrives and takes over recording. Even with outsiders Natalia (Alli Dyer), a promiscuous flirt seeking the attention of Sid, and Jimmy (Tyler Morgan), a local townie who crashes the party, the group is able to enjoy the night. Roxy's stepsister makes a brief appearance. Noticing the large amount of alcohol they plan to drink, she politely gathers everyone's keys. Although the lake house is still undeveloped, located miles away from any other house and lacking any kind of phone service, the guests are able to use Conor's satellite mobile phone to order a pizza. Sometime during the party, Charlee (Kendall Ryan) stumbles upon an old bottle of absinthe in the freezer, a surprise to Roxy who doesn't believe her stepfather drinks absinthe. Despite Brooklyn's attempt to stop them because of the legendary hallucinogenic rumors behind the drink, Charlee and Jimmy are able to convince the group to drink it. Soon afterward, the guests begin to experience the effects of the drink and engage in strange behaviors. Charlee, an out and proud lesbian, attempts to seduce Jimmy and invites him to video tape their romantic encounter. Suddenly, the camera drops. The guests find Charlee on the floor with a large abdominal wound from shards of glass. Immediately accusing Jimmy of foul play, they try to locate Conor's satellite phone to call the police. Chaos ensues as they realize the phone is somehow missing and that the pizza delivery was given the wrong address. In order to save Charlee's life, Conor and Roxy send some guests to the next lake house located at least two miles away. Jimmy, still experiencing the haunting effects of absinthe and fearing the blame for a crime he may have not committed, locates two revolvers from the basement. The rest of the night spirals out of control as each guest begins to fall under the influence of the absinthe and turn violent towards one another. The next morning, local authorities discover that all but one of the guests are dead. They also discover the tape from the video camera, which they use to explain the mysterious events that took place.

Cast

 * Austin Lyon as Conor Young
 * Lexy Roth as Roxy King
 * Justin Thomas Billings as Mitch Kennedy
 * Alli Dyer as Natalia Medina
 * Alicia Leanne as Brooklyn Walsh
 * Tyler Morgan as Jimmy Daniels
 * Tim Sauerwein as Sid Harris
 * Kendall Ryan as Charlee Gallagher

Production
Filming began in August 2011 and lasted eight days. The director had the entire production team and cast live at the lake house used in the movie for an extended week. There, the actors served as crew members as well. The actors were denied phone access and were encouraged to live as their characters throughout the entire week.

Release
The film will premiere at the 2012 Fantastique Semaine du Cinéma.

Reception
Absinthe has garnered favorable to mixed reviews between critics and the public. Dread Central praised the film by commenting on its "slick and unique" approach to found footage filmmaking. The British blog Horror Cult Films enjoys the film's target to "delve into what can happen if you drink the stuff." However, there has been widespread backlash on the film's portrayal of the drink. Many absinthe connoisseurs and experts have criticized the film, commenting that it depicts the drink in a negative light and some even believe it "could prove worrisome to the absinthe industry, even with it being a small scale production." One critic exclaimed that the filmmakers "could have swapped out all the booze with meth and it would have been closer to reality."