The same day that Kelby (Ward Roberts) proposes to his girlfriend Amelia (Christy Jackson), he receives a phone call to inform him that his father has died. Kelby returns to his home town for the first time in thirteen years, where he is forced to confront the demons of his past.Released on Fangoria's Gorezone label, Joshua is proof that bags of talent and enthusiasm, and a strong story are worth a whole heap more than a good looking cast, a glut of Hollywood style special effects, and an overpaid music-video director looking to break into feature films. Writer/director Travis Betz's twisted debut is truly the stuff of nightmares and, even though it might lack the sheen and gloss of your 'Saws' and 'Hostels', it is a damn sight more disturbing and a lot more memorable.Opening with the brutal murder of a young woman by a man with obvious mental health issues, Joshua quickly establishes the fact that it's not suitable viewing for the whole family. The rest of the film, however, employs a slow burn approach, with Betz gradually revealing pieces of information that slot together to gradually reveal the true nature of the story. And what a warped tale it turns out to be, with the deliberate, prolonged physical and mental torture of a child forming the core of the ingenious and prevocative plot, and plenty of other weirdness and depravity littered throughout (including tons of violence and even a dab of incest!).If you're bored of big budget 'torture porn' or glossy remakes of Asian ghost stories, and are able to see beyond the occasional iffy bit of acting, check out Joshua: it's got the makings of a classic.

Joshua is a rare treat for horror flick fans such as myself. Here is a film that exceeds any expectation I had for it, and was truly disturbing in every sense of the word. I can't give away too much of the plot, because the twists are what make this film disturbing. In a nutshell, it is about a man who decides to go back to his hometown for a funeral, accompanied by his girlfriend. Needless to say, his family is pretty strange (a nymph sister who has sex with family members) and his friends are not much better (a serial killer who slaughters women he picks up in bars). It doesn't take long before things get a little fishy and creepy and we realize that something is definitely up. Kelby (the main character) seems to have something in his past that is pretty bad, as his serial-killer friend begins pressuring him to "not forget about what we did." And it is what the two boys did when they were younger that will truly shocken and disgust anyone with a conscience and sense of morals. I wouldn't have seen the plot twists coming a mile away, and the last 5 minutes of this film are more disturbing that anything I have seen in quite sometime.It's apparent why this film never made it to theaters: its low budget. But let me assure you that this film is more disturbing and original than any horror flick that has been put into theaters in awhile. Keep an open mind when watching it, and remember that it is a low budget DTV film. The pace is a little slow at the beginning, but the last half hour are exceptionally. If you are a fan of horror, pick this little gem up and enjoy. 9 out of 10

I first became aware of "Joshua" on the IMDb message board for "Blair Witch Project" when a user mistook it for a sequel to the ailing franchise. Out of curiosity I scouted out the website for the indie venture and found the following proclamation:"Our mission is clear: reinventing one of the oldest film genres known to man: the horror movie.Horror is the release for the everyday person who needs an outlet into the dark and twisted. Fear is the most honest emotion anyone can experience, which is the reason we all enjoy a good scare now and then. That's why Drexel Box Productions is hard at work on its first feature film, joshua.In the last few years, horror has suffered from an onslaught of bad scripts, poor acting and unimaginative directing. We at Drexel Box are committed to resurrecting truly terrifying movies. Our hope is that even adults will once again check under their beds, close their closet doors and plug in the nightlight before going to bed. We want to reach into the audience members' soul and hold it for the duration of the film, so that every breath they take in the darkened theatre feels like their last.Joshua, promises to exercise the dark corners of your mind, and tap into fears you never knew you had. You have two options:1. Run away from this movie as fast as your fear-engulfed legs will allow. 2. Live the nightmare."I thought the statement was pretentious and, well, boring. It's one long, misinformed boast, that is just begging to be proved wrong. The fact is, innovative horror is nowhere near as extinct as these guys suggest; one need only look outside of Hollywood -- and often the US market -- to find well written, well acted, well directed, and well crafted horror. So, are they as good as they think they are?Joshua has a great underlying concept. Some kids find an abandoned baby and raise it in an abandoned cabin. As time goes on, the baby becomes their play-thing and their sadistic natures begin to evolve. As years of torturing and abusing the child pass, they begin to form a plan for their subject: he will become a soldier of Satan. The story is told by flash-back as one of the kids, Kelby, returns to town to face down the remnants of his actions, and the people he left behind."Joshua" is at its best when dealing the tortured souls captive to the memories of their actions. How could you live with the horror of what has happened? What has become of those who stayed put in the town? Close to the core of insanity, reminded day after day of what they did.Technically, "Joshua" is severely lacking visually and mechanically. Lighting is often over-bearing with little aural quality. The camera work, while sometimes unique, is text book at best. The looping is a painful mix of onset sound and punch ins with no normalization and no attention to consistency. The editing, well, therein lays the problem. If I were to guess, I'd bet that "Joshua" has an outstanding screenplay. The dialogue, at times, is laughably pretentious and could have used a polish, but broken down to its elements there is a good story here; lacking are the skills to tell it well. For all it promised as a departure from the cookie-cutter mentality dominant on the big screen of today, "Joshua" emulates the same old "spiraling towards revelation" twist-based formula that is SO overdone today. In the end, that revelation is really not powerful enough to close a story with as much potential as "Joshua". Technically immature. Poorly executed. "Joshua" is not the reinvention of the horror genre.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this little gem. I was expecting another super low budget attempt at horror with a camcorder in place and fake blood splattered against the wall every 5 minutes. Not at all what i got. Instead, I watched a very creepy little film, with a very interesting, and for once original (aside from the resemblance to Frankenstein)indie film. On a technical level, the film was shot well, very different, and interesting camera choices, but only once or twice do those odd choices detract from the film. The special effects are decent enough (the face ripping scenes were achieved very nicely) but the make-up on our stories heroine was a bit too "make-upy". I couldn't quite understand how this guy could make a small girl look like that in a realistic mannor, but thats the only failing. A more naturalistic approach to her look may have been more believable. The skin suit as well was a bit cheesy looking, but again, it never detracted from the film. All in all, I picked this one up for some entertaining background noise, but wound up rather immersed in the movie. A very nice surprise, and I highly recommend it to any and all genre fans out there!