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Special

Written by: Joshua Nelson |   Directed by: Joshua Nelson |  Genre: Horror / Thriller

 Someone is dying mysteriously, and during a meeting, we are introduced to the man responsible. Paulie (Tom Scorzone) is the man to call when you want someone whacked; his methods are unknown and very effective. There is no official explanation of how his victims die, even the term natural causes fits, so Paulie’s services are in demand. We also have Paulie’s girlfriend whose father just happens to be one of Paulie’s new victims, all orchestrated by the mob boss of the area. It seems like it could become complicated, and it does when Paulie’s girlfriend finds out what Paulie does, and that her father is on the hit list.

 Paulie’s secret weapon is his daughter, who is psychic. Think Carrie from the film with the same name. She kills using her special powers, but she’s not alone and that brings us to another woman in the story who has the same powers. This other woman has problems of her own. She was adopted by her deceased father and her remaining family, who have always hated her try to kill her. The 2 gifted girls come together at a meeting hosted by someone looking for people with special powers, connecting the story. We also have another side story of a woman looking to get her drug addicted boyfriend killed. All these plot points converge and Special ends on a to be continued kind of note. I believe there is more to Joshua Nelson’s film to come.

 Special aims to tell a dark story with its characters and succeed to a point. There are some gruesome deaths and some psychic carnage but this is a really gritty film with some gritty people. Nobody is instantly likable except maybe the daughter, and by the end, you may find yourself questioning that. The acting is also kind of hit and miss. There is one scene involving the other woman with powers, finally giving in and attempting to kill her mother and stepsister. As she is dying, the stepsister stops her pain induced shaking long enough to place an Epi-Pen, or something, carefully on the table. I kind of laughed at that. There’s also a lot of really wishy-washy acting spread in the film but there are also enough good solid performances to keep things interesting. This is a micro budget film so you can’t expect everything to be perfect.

 Special is a solid and successful 35 minute run of film. It has a story that is dark and gritty, and some nice writing from Joshua Nelson. Enough of the story is told to wrap it all up but also hint more may be to come. It also reminds everyone that micro budget doesn’t always equal really bad. If you’re looking for some solid entertainment during these crazy times, look this one up. Thank you for reading.

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