REVIEW: New Jersey’s Ocean Grove plays pivotal part in new slasher film
Photo: Michael Reed and Augie Duke star in the new horror movie 6:45. Photo courtesy of Cascrator Film & Media / Provided Foundry Comm with permission.
The new horror movie 6:45, directed by Craig Singer, has a familiar premise — perhaps too familiar — but its execution is nearly flawless, making for an exciting and unsettling feature film. Singer’s 93-minute work is a variation on the tried and true Groundhog Day plot, this time with a man named Bobby Patterson (Michael Reed) who keeps reliving the day when an unknown assailant violently attacks his girlfriend, Jules Rables (Augie Duke). When the killer turns his masked gaze on Bobby, the soon-to-be victim wakes up, and it’s 6:45 a.m. all over again.
The story is old hat at this point. Besides Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, which is likely the originator of this déjà-vu concept, there’s also the recent horror flick Happy Death Day. Singer riffs on the narrative device, but he keeps his variation intimate, dark and solemn.
Bobby and Jules are struggling with their relationship because of a past issue that still haunts them. To revitalize their love for each other, they travel to Bog Grove, a tucked-away island, during the offseason. After they arrive, the two are somewhat surprised to find vacant streets and silent Victorian homes. Anyone who knows the Jersey Shore should be able to identify Bog Grove as Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a beautifully picturesque town south of Asbury Park (in fact, Asbury is featured as well). The Great Auditorium and tent structures of Ocean Grove, a historic Methodist community, are featured prominently in the film.
The couple checks in to a quaint bed and breakfast run by Gene Pratt (Armen Garo). He seems pleasant enough, although there’s an aura about him that seems slightly off. He’s a strange caretaker in charge of a strange hotel that seemingly has no other guests. Hmmm.
Bobby and Jules rekindle their relationship in various stages of undress, and then they grab a bite to eat in town. They have some good times in a local thrift shop and run into a few strange locals, and then the violence ensues. The masked killer is a true oddity, sporting a visage that is both terrifying and discomforting. This strange shape of a man is voiceless, à la Michael Myers, and his origin and motivations are left to the audience to figure out (this reviewer has a few theories).
Then, this horrible day repeats itself, over and over again, and the violence becomes unbearably consistent.
Throughout this horror flick, which feels more like a thriller, the story is held up by the believable acting of Reed and Duke, who are the anchors for the entire movie. Their characters’ relationship is clearly fractured, but the repeated déjà-vu exercises allow Bobby the chance to explore what is going on in the eternal present and what went wrong in the past. It should be noted that Bobby is the only character who is self-aware of the time relapse, which means Jules wakes up each morning not realizing what supposedly just happened and what will happen again. This drives Bobby mad and tests his grip on reality.
6:45 has a well-worn plot, for sure, and there is a general dearth of answers to figure out what’s going on and why. However, once audience members settle into the story, letting Reed and Duke’s acting chops win them over, the movie becomes an engaging commentary on broken romances, the pervasiveness of violence and the inability to escape foregone conclusions.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
6;45 (2021). Directed by Craig Singer. Written by Robert Dean Klein. Starring Michael Reed, Augie Duke and Armen Garo. Running time: 93 minutes. Rated R for strong violence and gore, sexual content, nudity, and language throughout. Rating: 
