Girl on the Third Floor finally made it’s New York premiere yesterday at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and it did not disappoint at all. If you were to tell me 10 years ago that CM Punk would be a lead in a horror movie, I would say “I can see that possibly happening one day” and now he is the lead along with an excellent cast of the film as well. Now that it has premiered, here is my review of the film.
CM Punk plays as Don Koch as Don is a lawyer and he bought a house and wanted to repair it. His wife Liz Koch (Trieste Kelly Dunn) who is pregnant, is at their original home for the first two acts of the film, but they kept in contact via facetime. During the first half of the film, Don rennovates the home since it is very old and he does this by painting the walls, fixing the pipes, installing cameras, and even fixing the roof. All of the home repair things he did mostly on his own. Don was also with his dog for the first half of the film and there were scenes that I enjoyed with them two together especially when the dog interrupted Don in different situations. His neighbor Sadle (Elissa Dowing) has lived near the house since 1984 and she and Don talked about the house. Another neighbor he meet Sarah (Sarah Brooks) during the day checks in on him and they eventually had a fling. Sarah is pivital to the entire story involving the house and she cannot leave Don alone. There were times that Don and Liz were facetiming and she kept walking in the background as Liz noticed it, but not Don. Eventually, Don and Milo (Travis Delgado) fixed the roof and Sarah even killed Milo in the basement and he is found later in the movie behind a wall that Don knocked down. Eventually after Don is taken out, Liz arrives and seen all of what the house was when she explored the place and even talked with Sarah. Liz even found out the background of why the house is the way it is and even killed the female monster in a gruesome fashion. The film also ended as a 6 month time skip happened and her baby was in the crib about to fall asleep and Don (Who is inhabitted with the house) watches over her.
I know that I am jumping all over the place, but I liked this film. There were key moments that I thought was hilarious such as the scene where Don and the bar owner having a funny conversation, Don’s scenes with Sarah, his dog, and even with Milo. The dialogue was great and did not feel forced or ridiculous at all as it flowed very naturally especially the way Punk, Sarah, and Tireste delivered them. I also love the practical effects in the film especially at the scene where the pipe exploded on Don and it was disgusting, muddy water all over his face and shirt. Speaking of shirts, I liked the attention to detail that the developers did as he sweated many times repairing the house and there was sweat stains on the same shirt for the rest of the movie. I know, call me weird on that, But I like attention to detail on the small things. There was also a moment where his dog was found in a dryer and I reacted the same way Don did and I will leave it there. Another thing I would like to mention is that the scenes where he tries to improve the house but it turns into a disaster for a moment was funny as I can relate to it since I get that way when home improvements go crazy!
That also includes the scene on after Don killed Sarah, when he facetimed Liz again, he turned his face around in an angle so that way, she does not see the blood splatter on his face. You will also see marbels in the movie, and I questioned the entire time on why they are there and you will find out during the last act of the film. Punk’s character also smokes and drinks and Punk explained why his tattoos were not covered during the film’s development as it would have took over 15 hours to do it.
Overall, give this film a shot and it is also Travis Stevens’ directional debut for a major film and it was produced very well. Girl on the Third Floor is a great thriller in a house that will always watch you. I also hope to see CM Punk in more films in the future as well.
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