It Cuts Deep – Movie Review (2/5)

IT CUTS DEEP is a new horror-comedy of the very dark variety. Don’t expect to laugh out loud, but do feel afraid. Quinn Jackson practically has the role of “straight man” for the comedy bits and she is brilliant as the heart of the story. Read our full It Cuts Deep movie review here!

IT CUTS DEEP is a new horror-comedy and a very dark and sinister one at that. I did not laugh out loud much while watching this movie, but I did feel very afraid. And also, a bit confused at times, but we’ll get back to that.

Overall, I couldn’t help but feel that this should have been a short film rather than a full-length feature film. Or rather, the story needed a few more details to really keep it from feeling too slow during the final half. Still, it does end on a brutally high note – just as you would hope from a horror-comedy.

Continue reading our It Cuts Deep movie review below.

Quinn Jackson steals the spotlight

Actually, I don’t feel that Quinn Jackson “steals” the spotlight. She just makes you want to keep watching her, so she earns the spotlight. So yes, I feel a need to highlight the fact that co-star Quinn Jackson is absolutely brilliant.

After watching her in It Cuts Deep, I just want her to be a final girl in an awesome horror movie. She practically has the role of “straight man” for the comedy bits in this movie. Maybe that’s why she feels like the most realistic and organic character in the movie. She is certainly the heart of the story and you should wish her well throughout her trials – of which there are many!

I don’t know that I’ve watched Quinn Jackson in anything prior to her role in It Cuts Deep. However, she has been in an episode of The Blacklist TV series, so you might recognize her from that. Hopefully, we’ll see more of her soon.

Playing opposite her in this movie, we have Charles Gould, who is carrying this movie for most of the runtime. However, if it wasn’t for Quinn Jackson’s “straight man” performance to balance it out, I would not have enjoyed this story at all. It becomes too much, too soon.

After watching the entire movie, I have no idea why these two would ever be together. I never saw why she would be interested in his self-indulgent “comedy” that never seemed to focus on actually making her laugh or feel good.

Finally, we have John Anderson (Ratter) as the last of the three main characters and he worked really well for me. Often, he had to switch between styles and attitudes within split seconds and it worked perfectly.

Watch It Cuts Deep in Theaters and on Digital/VOD

Nicholas Santos is the writer and director of It Cuts Deep. This is his feature film debut and while I get a clear idea of his intent, I don’t feel it works entirely well. Then again, I really did enjoy parts of this movie and found both Quinn Jackson and John Anderson to deliver performances that continuously lifted the movie.

The bottom line for me is that I don’t feel I ever get the complete story. Also, what we do get told doesn’t exactly fit all that well with what we see. I’m thinking specifically of the relationship between Sam (Charles Gould) and Ashley (Quinn Jackson). I have no idea why they’re together and her actions do not fit with what she also tells him.

Also, the whole background story we see through flashbacks never really makes all that much sense to me either. Look, I don’t want to be all negative, so let me finish by saying that this horror-comedy started really strong and had some great moments along the way.

Overall, however, it wasn’t really my thing. Except for a stellar performance by Quinn Jackson and some clear potential from debuting writer-director, Nicholas Santos, who I hope we’ll see more from soon. Just with a tighter story and a better-paced runtime.

It Cuts Deep is out in select theaters and on Digital/VOD from Friday the 13th of November, 2020.

Details

Director: Nicholas Santos
Writer: Nicholas Santos
Stars: Charles Gould, Quinn Jackson, John Anderson, Chloe Roe, Jackson Quinn Gray