Forty Five

Directed by Bazz Hancher

2026

White Raven Films

We open, as many a scary movie does, with an ominous quote from the bible - this time from the book of Daniel - before the film introduces us to a police team who are investigating the brutal murder of a young woman.

But after the authorities' investigations go nowhere, we jump forward 3 years to find the father of the murdered girl still seeking answers for his loss. Boyd Fallon (Kemal Yildirim) is the frustrated but determined man, and his enquiries lead him to various clues including a priest who is certain the killer is linked with far deeper spiritual aspects.

As he continues his search for the truth, haunting visions traumatise him including the apparition of his daughter and as he becomes more desperate, his own violent instincts begin to rise as the threat gets more real. He subsequently runs into a number of peculiar people who all provide random pieces of the puzzle which eventually leads him down a path of satanic horror.

As a horror, Forty Five contains a number of elements seen before and despite its best efforts unfortunately doesn’t do enough new things to get excited about. And the script relies heavily on extended speeches within a scene, and it’s always a struggle to deliver this kind of dialogue.

It’s mostly of the dry “explaining” type rather than the character-developing conversations needed. We simply get told everything we need to know, including a number of monologues, where there’s no conflict or audience discovery.

The music is the second area that could do with a tweak. It’s a solid orchestral score but too often overbearing, and doesn’t always fit with the moment. One example sees some intense John Williams-style strings - perfect for an intense visual montage or somesuch - but here it's used as someone parks a Ford estate car and goes upstairs in a barn.

To be fair, amongst the struggles of Forty Five is an interesting idea itching for another pass in the editing suite. Toning down the music and re-cutting some dialogue back-and-forth to get the pace moving a bit quicker overall would really be a benefit. And at 40 minutes, I’m not sure the content justifies its length sadly - all the information you need is dolled out in standard dialogue without further needing to engage with its mysteries. A shame really.

And so the frustrating take-home from Forty Five is that of a competent film in search of consistency. One moment it’s a police procedural, the next a supernatural splatterfest, then before you know it you’re in an art-house horror. Maybe using the tropes of just one of these may have really focused the filmmaking within a more recognisable genre.

Yet, other aspects are all solid with the look of a relatively high production for a local film, a host of weird and intriguing characters and some decent VFX and gruesome make-up. So for me, it’s a bit of a missed opportunity and if there’s ever a tighter edit I’d be the first to take a second look. But as is, Forty-Five’s investigative horror merely gives us small clues about what the film could have been with some more detailed work.

★★

2 / 5

Michael Sales

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