Written and directed by Jaron Lockridge, an evil presence attaches to a lonely widower who intends to guard it for as long as he can. Starring: Keith Lamont Johnson, Ketrick ‘Jazz’ Copeland, Crystal Jones, Jeff Haltom, Nichole Tate-Jackson, Lauren Taylor, Brown Anastasia and Christopher Allen.
You don’t find a lot of horror films today that take advantage of an understated, slow-burning and bubbling under the surface style. Most audiences want slashing, bloody, fast-paced films so it’s refreshing to see Jaron Lockridge go old-school with Succuba. There’s no reliance on special effects, it doesn’t rush, it has a patient and tense movement to it and doesn’t try to expand the story into something convoluted.
One of the aspects Lockridge’s writing does well with is never treading too far into religion. It’s a theme that’s vastly used in horror but it can suffocate supernatural and horror elements, with Succuba, it’s like a flavouring to the story rather than the main event. Another interesting choice is how the story progresses, with a classic switch from its opening to a completely different character. For a moment it may feel disconnected but that simply makes you question what’s happening which ends up feeding your curiosity and attention to the story.
The lead performances from Johnson and Copeland are another element that do a great job of keeping the tension going. It’s also another way that the film uses an understated style to its advantage. Both performances make the great choice of focusing on the dialogue and the conflict between them, putting pressure on one another rather than throwing themselves full force into a battle. They both create personalities and principles to these characters in a rather short amount of time, they’re also both sympathetic and easy to watch.
While the story does hit the right notes of suspense and mystery, the cinematography can feel somewhat muted. The colour palette is holding back a bit too far, which can have a dulling effect on the detail of the visual. It can also move slow at times which draws back the energy, occasionally needing an extra injection of fear or danger to keep pushing forward. Although introducing Succuba’s titular creature is an unexpected choice, another old-school touch using practical effects and makeup rather than CGI. The design is somewhere between the 1980s horror and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Succuba steps away from your usual gory, slash-happy horror and takes things down a notch for a slow-burning, tense affair. Jaron Lockridge does well to recognise the power of a convincing atmosphere, building plenty of suspense and mystery to drive the story without having to rely on violence or effects.
There are moments which could have used a bit more energy and areas of the story which could have been further explored but it feels like the film was cleverly shaped to fit time and budget. It’s an aspect which is often underestimated by filmmakers and they try to go beyond their means, whereas Lockridge had a good handle on what could be achieved within the constraints of indie filmmaking.
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