‘Falling Stars’ Review: A Wonderfully Unnerving Take on the Witch Genre

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Witches have never been more elusive or as unnerving as they are in directors Gabriel Bienczycki and Richard Karpala’s debut film, Falling Stars.

Written by Karpala, the slow-burn horror film revolves around a small California town where evil witches are real and arrive on the first night of the harvest. While no one has seen a witch, many people have disappeared on this day, making everyone believe in this reality. Others say you can spot them in the sky because they look like falling stars.

The history of this is well-ingrained in the town, offering an almost alternate version of our world where witches are definitely real, and really scary. Everyone is nervous the night they are allegedly coming, and while some take risks, most know that the only way to survive is to stay inside.

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When the film opens, three brothers—the eldest, Mike (Shaun Duke Jr.), middle brother Sal (Andrew Gabriel), and teenage youngest, Adam (Rene Leech)—are sitting around a fire, looking up at the sky for the infamous “falling stars.” While their father insists they get inside soon, Mike has a bigger plan.

Their friend Rob (Greg Poppa) told Mike that he had seen a witch crash in the desert and that he had buried it. Of course, the three brothers want to see it, so they ask Rob to take them there. His wife Meg (Orianna Milne) isn’t too thrilled he is risking going out into the night since they have a toddler to protect, but he assures her he’ll be okay and he’ll be back soon.

The four arrive at the non-descript burial site, and Mike digs up the charred body, complete with a burned broomstick between its legs. Mike thinks it’s super cool, but Adam and Sal are a little skeptical, worrying that they might have done the wrong thing. They all know there are rules around touching a witch, and they follow the best they can, but just disturbing the grave could bring its own curse.

And curse they receive.



Much of Falling Stars centers on the characters and the constant state of dread that, at any time, a witch could snatch them away in the literal blink of an eye: something the audience bears witness to in the opening scene. The victim never sees witches. They just instantly vanish. These witches are swift. (And I love that we are shown that they clearly still fly around on broomsticks.)

Furthermore, no one knows what happens to the victims once they are taken. Are they sacrificed? Are they eaten? Tortured? Become witches themselves? The unknown is the scariest part, and it’s what the directors work so well in establishing.

Karpala has crafted this lived-in, present-day world with a touch of supernatural that doesn’t feel cheesy or out of place. We believe this is something that happens in the town (if not the world), and we are just watching as one family deals with this yearly event.



There are no jump scares here and no big “let’s take the witches down” machinations. It’s simply about curiosity, its repercussions, and how these people go about trying to amend it. And throughout, there is this mounting dread that looms over everyone and everything. At any moment, anyone outside could be snatched into infinity, never to be heard from again. So, as we watch what the brothers go through, we are always aware that they are in constant danger.

It’s a skill that the directors and actors can keep us on edge even though the typical horror film tropes aren’t on display. That’s a good thing. It’s refreshing to see a well-worn horror genre get a modern, realistic update that can make the hairs on your neck stick up throughout its brief 80-minute running time.

Credit must go to the actors, who have us believe what they are experiencing is real. We are particularly drawn to Leech’s Adam, who clearly idolizes his brothers and wants to be a part of everything. At the same time, he is still on edge, worried that he or his brothers might be taken.

Falling Stars is one of the bigger surprises of the year. It won’t be for everyone, but horror fans aching for a different sort of slow-burn horror will be happy to stir this cauldron of fear.

Falling Stars will be available on VOD starting October 11, 2024.




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