A Chronicle of Corpses

Andrew Repasky McElhinney (22) prefers not to call himself an ‘independent filmmaker’. He does not want to identify with splinter groups, even though he does assume he’ll be making lowbudget films all his life. McElhinney keeps socalled modern camera shaking at arms length and concentrates, along with cameraman Abe Holtz, on long, powerfully framed shots, beautiful shadowy lighting and actors muttering monotonously.A Chronicle of Corpses is a Gothic horror story in the classic tradition, with a trace of suspense and black humour. It’s set on a plantation in rural America in the year 1807. The actors come from a theatre group from Philadelphia, with the exception of the grandma of the family, for whom McElhinney chose a wellknown soap star.The once stinking rich Elliott family lives on a plantation that, just like the family itself, is slowly in decline. The head of the family, grandmother, suffers from senile dementia, as a result of which the everyday running of the plantation is in the hands of her children, grandchildren and partners, who are primarily interested in alcohol abuse and sexual excesses. The only two with any sense of responsibility are the attractive butler and the youngest member of the family, the teenage Sara. Together, they have to do battle with the evil that engulfs the house while the mountain of corpses seems to get higher and higher.