I just finished When the Trash Man Knocks from writer/director Christopher Wesley Moore, who also co-stars in the film. What a delightful discovery this was! Just gonna say right out of the gate that, as with a lot of movies, I feel like this could have been trimmed up 15-20 minutes, but that’s my only complaint. This is a really effective ’80s micro-budget slasher that uses a lot of classic tricks to make up for what I’m sure was a nothing effects makeup budget. There are a couple of moments where you can see they said, “alright, this one if going to be a set piece,” and applied budget to really solid effect. Otherwise there are a lot of quick cuts, super close-up stabbing and cutting, and lots of fake blood splatter, thankfully the easiest special effects makeup in the world, and used to great effect here. I can’t say I felt a lot of suspense, but that’s not the film’s fault at all. I’ve just seen so many of these at this point, so they don’t really get to me anymore, but I can still appreciate a good eample, and this is one. There are some scenes lit in a very Dario Argento way, lots of color washes, especially blues and reds. It’s very much a throwback without feeling retro, if that makes sense. They didn’t shoot on 16mm or add digital aging or anything. Looks like maybe it was shot on well-managed iPhones or something, but not in a bad way at all. Really solid psychological thriller slasher stuff, with a rad indie vibe, highly recommended. See it on Tubi! – JDP