Cassadaga (2011)
Directed by Anthony DiBlasi
Writers: Bruce Wood and Scott Poiley
This film is an overall good mix of ghost story and serial killer suspense. It takes a while for the action to develop and I usually prefer more horror scenes, but what makes up for the slow start is a fully engaging character portrayal of the main 
character, Lily (Kelen Coleman). Lily is having a sad and tragic life and ends up living on a campus in Cassadaga Florida where she will also be teaching art to young students. A chance meeting with a psychic (a fun dare) awakens something inside her and forms a connection to a female spirit. There’s a good chance this woman was murdered on the campus property. She will not stop tormenting Lily until Lily finds her remains and reveals the killer. The killer nicknamed ‘Geppetto’ (for reasons you will learn) has well-developed psychotic motivations and his tortures are brutal but true to his psychotic fantasy. Not nearly as gory as the poster art would suggest, the film portrays the violence as necessary to the horror, without being exploitive or distasteful. There are some good plot twists and suspense sequences, making the film enjoyable to watch. A small role by Louise Fletcher adds some credo to the film. It gets a little too syrupy at the very end for me, but that doesn’t detract from the rest of film.
Worth a watch for well-written, character driven horror and suspense.
I give it 4.0 severed limbs out of 5 for crazy killer conflict and horror thriller action.
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The Real Cassadaga
Cassadaga, Florida is known as the ‘Psychic Capitol of the World’ due to the high number of psychics and mediums that live there. A spiritualist camp was set up there by George Colby in 1894 which later became the town of Cassadaga. It was named after a similar camp for spiritualists in New York, for which Colby had attended. The word Cassadaga is a Native American word that translates to, ‘water runs beneath the rocks’ and was first used in New York by the Seneca Tribe. Today, Cassadaga, FL is still home to the Spiritualists Camp which teaches the ways of spiritual living. Many psychics reside in the small quiet town.
parlor of horror 