Plank Face is the latest from director Scott Schirmer (Found, Harvest Lake), which he co-wrote alongside frequent collaborator Brian K. Williams, and it marks the second picture from the duo to be released this year (Harvest Lake was only released in April). Much like Harvest Lake, Found, and its spin-off Headless (which Schirmer produced), Plank Face is far from conventional, though you might not get that impression from the movie’s intro.

In the opening, a couple have sex in the woods before a masked man shows up to ruin their night. Shortly thereafter, we meet another couple camping in the woods, and things go pretty south for them as well. This is; however, where things take a different turn. Plank Face isn’t a typical slasher movie by any stretch. It tells the story of a man who is captured by a group of feral women who want him to become part of their deranged family. The question is whether or not he will do so and how far they’ll push him to get him to submit.

I’ve been a fan of Schirmer’s work since he turned Found, a book I very much love, into a really cool movie despite having practically no budget to work with. Naturally, I was thrilled to see its spin-off Headless come later, and it did not disappoint. While Schirmer did not direct that one, he was very much involved with it creatively. Headless also marked the beginning of Schirmer’s ongoing working relationship with Williams and actress Ellie Church, who would both work with him on Harvest Lake and Plank Face (Church was involved with numerous behind-the-camera aspects this time around as well).

While our review of Harvest Lake here at Modern Horrors wasn’t super positive, I actually enjoyed it a lot and felt it brought something fresh to the genre with its combination of writing, characters, and gooey FX work from the Clockwerk Creature Company which had previously provided the grue for Found and Headless. So long story short, I’ve gotten to the point where I greatly anticipate new Schirmer movies (full disclosure: I did contribute to the fundraising campaign for Plank Face), and it would appear that I’m in luck as he and Williams (under Bandit Motion Pictures) have a stated goal of making two movies per year. So far, they’ve made good on that.

Alas, Plank Face didn’t quite hit the mark for me. In my assessment, the movie lacks the intrigue and character depth of Schirmer’s previous films. While plenty of time is spent developing the feral family at the core of the movie (and done so admirably with minimal and unintelligible dialogue), the climax of the movie would have been much better-earned (and hence felt) if we got to know two particular characters a little bit better and learn more about their relationship. In other words: I feel the stakes needed to be a little higher and that I needed more of a reason to care for the movie to work. Because of this lack of character development and the minimal dialogue, the pacing also suffers.

The Clockwerk Creature Company’s absence is greatly felt here as well. There’s some gore to be found, but the outrageous FX were part of what made the other films stand out, and there are certainly some scenes in Plank Face that called for them.

Despite its shortcomings, I’d still consider Plank Face to be elevated compared to most movies that occupy a similar budgetary bracket. The concept behind it is interesting, and like Harvest Lake, explores an interesting aspect of human nature and what lies beneath the surface when societal constraints are stripped away. For the most part, the acting is rather good for such a small movie as well. The score (from Williams) works to keep a certain somber tone in place throughout the film. A lot of of the pieces are there–It’s just what’s not there that keeps this one from being a complete success. That said, there’s still enough to keep me interested in what this group does in the future.

Plank Face is available on limited edition DVD and Blu-ray, and on Amazon Video.

Plank Face