ATTACK OF THE MORNINGSIDE MONSTER has something going for it that few indie horror films have: well-written characters played by superb actors.

The story follows a sheriff, Tom, in a small town where the local pot dealers begin disappearing and then re-appearing…dead. It’s up to Tom and his department to track down the SCREAM robed, masked killer before it’s too late.

Again I must emphasize that what makes this one to watch is the well- written characters and the performance by the entire cast, especially Mike Stanley as Clyde, Tiffany Shepis as Deputy Sudtin, and Robert Pralgo as Tom. Directed by Chris Ethridge, ATTACK OF THE MORNINGSIDE MONSTER is certainly a film that kept my attention, I truly cared about the characters and wanted to see what journey this particular story took them on. There are many interesting sub-plots (the drug dealers, Tom’s friend whose wife has cancer) that kept me watching. The actual murders and killer is actually a backdrop to getting to know these characters, and the characters ARE the best piece of the story.

The highlights here are the writing and acting, well acting; I’ll get to the writing issue in a moment. The camera set-ups and blocking were nothing to squeal over, the camera was set up to capture what the script was telling it to capture and nothing more. Not much artistry in the DP department, and the editing at times was awkward (shots seemed to linger a little to long after an actor exits frame or the camera lingers to long before action enters frame) it wasn’t bad editing if it’s what was intended, but it made the shots certainly awkward and off kilter.

The film is certainly entertaining, especially watching these amazing actors work within these characters, they really do suck you into the story.

And yes there is some blood, nothing for the gorehound to jump for joy over, but there was just enough to get the point that the killer wasn’t a nice guy, and not over doing it to cross any lines of exploitation.

If you enjoy some good acting and a entertaining story, pick this one up; you surely could do worse by randomly choosing a horror flick at Redbox, and did I mention Tiffany Shepis was in it?  That’s a reason for a purchase in itself!