There are people who have completely forgotten how 2020 was a massive hellscape year. Recently stuck on my Twitter feed was a person raving about how cheap gas was in 2020 without recognizing why the price was so low. We were stuck at home in an attempt to isolate from catching or passing on a certain airborne illness. You could fill your gas tank for less. But outside of the grocery stores, drugstores and the Taco Bell drive-thru; there was nowhere to go. You didn’t want to visit your friends in fear that their kids were angels of death. Some people might have “happy memories” of watching every episode of Columbo, wearing sweatpants for months or finally doing all those projects around the house that you swore you’d get to if you had the time. We had plenty of time in our homes. You’d contact people online or even call to make sure they were well. The year 2020 was a proper nightmare when the lockdown took effect. It was even worse if you were stuck with people that made you uncomfortable and there was no real escape. Terror Firma is about such a lockdown time, but for a nightmarish different reason.
Lola (All Souls‘ Faye Tamasa) flees her apartment, hops on the Los Angeles subway and arrives at the house of her brother Louis (Burt Thakur) before a lockdown takes place. The military helicopters are flying overhead to make sure the streets are empty. Why has the lockdown been called? Nobody is quite certain, but things are serious enough. The only thing uneasy for Lola about staying with Louis is his roommate Cage (The Get Lost Losers‘ Robert Brettenaugh). He’s already a bit odd. This lockdown is serious since the government delivers a box of provision including a cooler of meat and an unidentified bag of seeds. With nothing to do, they plant the seeds in a nearby compost pile. Instead of the usual sprouts, a hole appears in the spot. They reach in and find a gooey syrup in the bottom. Being bored, they take a taste. Whatever it is, it contains hallucinogenic elements. Lola starts to see a vortex in her room. Things get even more freakier for Louis and Cage. Are they going to stay sane during lockdown?
Terror Firma is a remarkable small film. It brings back the vibes of 2020, but takes the experience into a completely different direction with the seeds. You get the intense cabin fever of the three people trapped in the house because of the lockdown. Cage is creepy enough since he’s expecting Lola to eventually hook up with him since there’s not much else to do. Cage turns out to be even weirder than when we first meet him. The strangeness involving what the goo from the seeds (and eventual plants) does to the roommates is a great science fiction angle that turns into horror. A bigger and deeper hole appears in the compost pile to add more jeopardy to being in the yard. There’s a question of what happens when one of the roomies decides to shoot up the goo instead of drink it. There’s a great brink of madness on display here. The trio of performers seem like they’ve been stuck in the house for quite a few months. Faye Tamasa expertly handles the part of the woman confused as to what happened to her brother while making sure nothing happens with his roomie. Robert Brettenaugh is super creepy and keeps finding new levels of creepiness. As a writer/director/cinematographer Jake MacPherson keeps things interesting on the screen. He makes the lockdown more than three characters watching episodes of Columbo and finally painting the ceiling stains in the kitchen. He does remind us why home gardening is dangerous. Terror Firma will remind you that the lockdown of 2020 was bad although not as messed up as being stuck with Cage and the strange seeds in your house.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The film looks good, creepy and psychedelic. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Stereo. It’s fine mix so you can here the cast getting weirder on the screen as things progress. The movie is subtitled.
Extended Director’s Cut (95:05) gives us over 10 more minutes of the film.
Director’s Commentary has him recording his track at his home since this was an ultra-low budget film. Jake hand drew the credits. He admits to stealing shots for the opening except they almost got caught while shooting on the L.A. Metro. They shot in Charles Bukowski’s old neighborhood. He gets into working with is small cast and crew.
Photo Gallery (9:50) includes behind the scenes shots with the crew masked up since it was still the pandemic. The special effects of the plants are shown. There’s also a great looking cat that was lurking behind the scenes.
Theatrical Trailer (1:30) sets up the statewide lock up, the roommate and the special seeds.
Dark Arts Entertainment & Entertainment MVD Visual present Terror Firma. Directed by Jake MacPherson. Screenplay by Jake MacPherson. Starring Faye Tamasa, Robert Brettenaugh, Burt Thakur & Max Carpenter. Running Time: 82 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 27, 2024.
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