Revealer (Shudder) Review

3 star retro apocalyptic buddy horror.

Revealer is a 2022 horror basesd on a story by Luke Boyce, who also makes his feature directorial debut, and written by comic authors Michael Moreci and Tim Seeley, all relative newcomers to the scene. It is a Shudder Original, available exclusively on the streaming servive from 23rd June 2022.

“I have not done anything. I brought God to the world. I am not a sinner. I am not a fornicator, or a junkie. I am righteous.”

It is 1987 and in Chicago,  Angie (Caito Aase -Black Mold) is heading off to her next extra shift at the Revealer bookshop, where she performs in the Peep Show booth.

Before she even gets to work she is forced to run the gauntlet of the local “decency league”, led by her arch nemesis Sally Mewbourne (Shaina Schrooten – Scare Package 2: Rad Chad’s Revenge), who believes that she is helping to corrupt the local menfolk.

When she gets to work, she has to deal with Ray (Bishop Stevens – Lockdown, Payday) the proprietor, who consistently fails on the upkeep of the buiding. The door to her booth sticks so badly he practically has to force it open. Her shift is going well, she is quite busy, but all of a sudden the punters stop coming in. Outside something is happening, darkening skies, red lightning, could this be the apocalypse?

Ray is taken and suddenly she finds herself stuck in the booth with only Sally on the other side of the wall for company, looking for a place to hide while she awaits the Rapture. Can these two polar opposites find a middle ground and get through this together?

I can’t believe it. It is the hour of our reckoning and I have to spend it with you.”

Revealer is an enjoyable film to watch and cleverly done, getting round what is obviously a low budget by artful use of sound effects and story telling.

The lighting and sound are evocative of the eighties, lending a suitably retro feel to proceedings. Filmed during lockdown and with very few actors and only a couple of locations, the have done an amazing job of not letting it limit the scope of their imaginations.

If I have a complaint, it’t that the ending is a little bit of an anticlimax, although I suppose there was no other way to do it. Nevertheless, this is a fun film which is worth watching if only for the chemistry and growth bewteen the main characters. Excellent work and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

“You think I’m actually afraid of that hellspawn? My inner light gives me strength. It can come for me all it wants, I can’t be compromised.”

Revealer is available to stream on Shudder from 23rd June 2022.