{"id":31686,"date":"2024-09-28T19:16:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T23:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/?p=31686"},"modified":"2024-09-30T16:38:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T20:38:45","slug":"lyvias-house-2024-film-review-gregg-w-morris-the-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/lyvias-house-2024-film-review-gregg-w-morris-the-word\/","title":{"rendered":"LYVIA&#8217;S HOUSE (2024) Film Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lyvia&#039;s House | Official Trailer (2024)\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/950937438?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Producer-Writer Patricia V. Davis said she was determined that her first movie, set in a California farming community, would avoid the worn out Hollywood trope of a chainsaw-yielding maniac and aw-shucks yokels that seem omniscient in horror films set in farming commun<\/strong>ity.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31801\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26-560x311.jpg 560w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26-260x144.jpg 260w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LYVIA_S-HOUSE-press-kit-2024_Page_26-160x89.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Movies that impress aficionados like me, we usually see at least one more time. Those that really impress, we usually make time to see several times. And those that blow our minds, we may see ad infinitum.<\/p>\n<p>Banking on their marketing, promotion and publicity designs, one doesn&#8217;t have to be a film aficionado to see that\u00a0 LYVIA\u2019S HOUSE\u2019s filmmakers were shooting for a towering grand slam of a film \u2013 that their derring-do, panache and creativity had them anticipating a VAVA VOOM.<\/p>\n<p>They did well \u2013 got recognition from several film festivals\u00a0 \u2013 but fell short of the anticipated VAVA V though the film definitely deserves a resee or two \u2013 maybe even three. Nevertheless, many who see this film ready die, so to speak, to know what the filmmaking folks are planning for their next grand surprise. But this reviewer-writer believes <strong>VAVA<\/strong> V is still possible if the filmmakers consider editing 30 minutes out of the 114 minutes total runtime minutes-there-abouts running time as well as use sage tweaking and nip-and-tucking here and there.<\/p>\n<p>Hint: <em>I-can\u2019t-believe-they-did-this<\/em> and <em>I-can\u2019t-believe-they-dared-to-do-that <\/em>moments, scenes, passages are ubiquitous. Cinematography? At least four-stars. Film score, soundtrack and other essentials are more than worthy of mucho thumbs up, ardent backslaps and incredibly more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Director:<\/strong> Niko Volonakis<br \/>\n<strong>Writer:<\/strong> Patricia V. Davis<br \/>\n<strong>Cinematographer:<\/strong> Cody Martin<br \/>\n<strong><em>Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Cosmic<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"1\" width=\"60%\" \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Insights<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIn LYVIA&#8217;S HOUSE, we tried to create a sense of duality with the light,\u201d writes Cinematographer Cody Martin, Director of Photography and Lighting CodMartin Films. regarding \u201cthe juxtaposition of the shadowless, sun-drenched day scenes, and the moody, contrast-heavy night scenes.\u201d He also wrote that \u201cduring the day, the orchards are inviting and playful, but at night they turn into looming silhouette giants that stir up fear and unease.\u201d A brooding sense of fear and unease exists throughout the film \u2013 from the opening scenes of the movie. A melancholic eerieness is imbued in the essences of this film.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31803\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-codymartin-at-1.49.12\u202fPM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-codymartin-at-1.49.12\u202fPM.jpg 200w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-codymartin-at-1.49.12\u202fPM-160x183.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the most noticeable creative lighting choices you&#8217;ll see in the film is the use of green moonlight,\u201d he also writes, adding that he was Inspired by Guillermo Del Taro&#8217;s PAN\u2019S LABYRINTH Pan&#8217;s Labyrinth in the way he says it used subtle sea-green in place of the dated &#8220;blue moon&#8221; cinematic cue for moonlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did utilize blue moon, in flashbacks, as an homage to old cinematic cues, but I loved working with greenish\u00ad blue moonlight! Shortly before we began production, I watched the HBO series Chernobyl, which managed to invoke visceral feelings of sickness in me. So much so, I could only watch a few episodes at a time.<\/p>\n<p>There is a theme of surrealism throughout the film. \u201cWe wanted to bend that reality with the light \u2026 We wanted the emotional states of the characters to be reflected in the lighting, and as they descend into madness the lighting unhinges itself from reality, with the use of fire light, shadowy negative space, and otherworldly colors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn one of the final and most intense scenes of the film, the color is a fiery orange, to depict the anger and rage the characters are feeling, even though the color is not relevant to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For films, he says, the fastest way to communicate emotion is to use light. &#8220;As Director of Photography and Lighting Director, I want to speak to the audience about how they should be feeling before a sound was heard \u2013 or a word was spoken.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"1\" width=\"60%\" \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-31799\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-768x542.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-560x395.jpg 560w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-260x184.jpg 260w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM-160x113.jpg 160w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.37.07\u202fPM.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Patricia V. Davis Producer-Writer&#8217;s Statement reveals how fortuitous and serendipitous circumstances &#8211; plus the success from her best selling novels based on her real-life experiences \u2013 propelled her across the goal line of cinematic success for her first deep involvement with filmmaking. She seems to have a muse that many writers would be willing to die for.<\/p>\n<p>An essence of the following historical facts were some of the fertile seeds that got her juices flowing. Juan Corona Vallejo was convicted of slaying 25 Mexican migrant farm workers whose buried bodies were eventually found in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County, California, in 1973. An appellate court overturned the conviction in 1978 because of evidence of incompetent legal representation and he was granted a new trial.<\/p>\n<p>In 1982, he was again found guilty on all counts.<\/p>\n<p>He was sentenced again to a life in a California State Prison, Corcoran, and died in 2019. \u201cThe film diverts completely from the horror from which it sprang,\u201d she writes, but acknowledges LIVIA\u2019S HOUSE is \u201cwhat might have been the fallout, in my imagination, of those murders 20 years after they were committed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-31796\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-writer-2024-09-28-at-1.43.01\u202fPM-300x284.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-writer-2024-09-28-at-1.43.01\u202fPM-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-writer-2024-09-28-at-1.43.01\u202fPM-260x246.jpg 260w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-writer-2024-09-28-at-1.43.01\u202fPM-160x151.jpg 160w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-writer-2024-09-28-at-1.43.01\u202fPM.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe couldn\u2019t afford to produce a period piece, so I set the killings in 1998, with the main focus of action taking place in 2018\u201d She showed her script to a screenwriter friend who helped her sell it. \u201cThat\u2019s what gave me the courage to take the leap to produce it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA good portion of the money we raised came from my readers, which was wonderful of them, and we even procured a few investors,\u201d she also writes in her statement<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Blissful Coincidence:<\/strong> Cinematographer Cody Martin was born and raised in the area. His family operated a walnut orchard. \u201cIf I had to guess, I\u2019d say he\u2019s probably the only son of farmers who became a filmmaker.\u201d Cody, according to Davis, heard through a community grapevine about the filmmaking and offered support. Other filmmakers in the area contributed a wealth of film equipment for nominal fees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it was our farm neighbors who really got behind us. It was a kick for them that a film about life in a rural town was being made by the wife of one of \u2018the Davis boys.\u2019 They assisted in every way they could, from offering us locations and vehicles \u2013 even a single-engine plane \u2013 free of charge, to volunteering as background actors.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31798\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-560x314.jpg 560w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-260x146.jpg 260w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM-160x90.jpg 160w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pub-LI-2024-09-28-at-1.38.59\u202fPM.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir help, along with the fantastic direction, score, and editing by Niko Volonakis, the incredible acting, raised the production value on Lyvia to far beyond the five figures for which she was produced. I\u2019m so thankful for all of them\u00ad \u2013 our sponsors and supporters, our neighbors, our team.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_7155\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone nonalign\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7155\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-7155\" src=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-560x560.jpg 560w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-260x260.jpg 260w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/hunterword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/gwm-700x700.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Publisher, Editor Gregg W. Morris<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Can be reached at gregghc@comcastnet, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Regarding LIVIA&#8217;s HOUSE, Producer-Writer Patricia V. Davis said she was determined that her movie would &#8220;avoid the worn-out Hollywood trope of chainsaw-yielding maniacs or \u2018aw-shucks\u2019 yokels whenever a film was set in a farming community.&#8221; She more than succeeded. \u2013 Article-Review by Gregg W. Morris <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/lyvias-house-2024-film-review-gregg-w-morris-the-word\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":31760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2174"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31686"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31826,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686\/revisions\/31826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunterword.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}