There’s a charm to low-budget indie horrors that Hollywood cannot capture. This is undoubtedly true as Joshua Nelson takes on a delicate subject in his horror short, I Know It’s Ben Crane.
Decades ago, a serial killer went on a sexual assault and murder spree in a small community. Ben Crane is his name, and before his death, he left behind a large number of bodies and victims. The problem is for Jenna (Debra Holtzman), the memory of her brutal encounter with Ben Crane haunts her dreams…yet today, these dreams feel more and more real today.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Danny (Tom Rockwell) has just been released from prison after five years for a crime he didn’t commit—the murder/sexual assault of his wife. Danny walked in as the crime was being committed. What no one believes is the assailant wasn’t there…as if a ghost committed the crime.
As Jenna’s nightmares intensify, she reaches out to two other survivors, Helen and Margaret, and the trio goes to extraordinary lengths to rid themselves of the memory of Ben Crane once and for all.
“…the memory of her brutal encounter with Ben Crane haunts her dreams…”
When I first thought about watching I Know It’s Ben Crane, I wondered if someone out there could throw filmmaker Joshua Nelson a hundred grand. Nelson’s tale boasts an intriguing and engaging story. He holds that tension from start to finish and slowly builds upon the legend of Ben Crane. Thankfully, a good story makes up for a multitude of flaws. Kudos to Nelson for tackling the difficult subject of sexual assault.
With a strong story, I Know It’s Ben Crane could have enhanced the terror with professional lighting, sound, and cinematography. At the same time, what comes across from the cast and crew is the fun of making a horror film and going for it. You can tell that everyone involved elevated their game to produce this labor of love.
Here’s my only nitpick: The scene where Jenna, Helen, and Margaret meet in a “support group” could have been shot better. By that, I mean Helen and Margaret are shot in profile, which lessens the impact of what they are saying. You’re looking to gain information from their facial expressions, but you only see half their faces.
Indie horror fans know that there’s a charm to low-budget horror and that Hollywood’s standards in horror are so high that it’s forced to use jumpscares to get a reaction. Writer/director Joshua Nelson captures the fun…and chills…again in I Know It’s Ben Crane.