Wuchak RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 2006 and directed/written by Dennis Smithers Jr., "A Bothered Conscience" takes place in rural Arkansas and concerns a hermit father who has "No trespassing" signs posted all around his remote property and he ruthlessly kills those who disobey. He passes this curious hobby on to his son whose conscience can't handle the mounting slayings and corresponding guilt.My wife & I saw a 'film' by a local 'filmmaker' (terms used loosely) that cost $2000 and it was easily the worst 'movie' we've ever seen. Keep in mind that I'm a fan of micro-budget indie horror flicks and am well aware of their typical limitations (bad sound, dubious 'acting,' shaky hand-held cameras, bad editing, etc.). Despite this, they CAN be entertaining, whether the creators shoot for campy & amusing, like "Backwoods Bloodbath" (2007), or thoroughly austere, like "Butchered" (2010). Yet both of those movies cost quite a bit more than $2000, likely somewhere between $10,000-$50,000, give or take. Two great examples of micro-budget indie horror are "The Lonely Ones" (2006) and "Another Kind" (2013), but they cost $100,000 and $120,000 respectively."A Bothered Conscience," by contrast, only cost $2300 and so I was expecting a real dog, like that local 'movie' noted above. Thankfully, that's not the case at all as the film has a professional indie air from the get-go with a superlative score. The entire story takes place deep in the Arkansas forests and the sylvan cinematography is superb, creating an ominous vibe (comparable to the exceptional opening credits of the TV show Tales from the Darkside). While most of the acting is okay at best they're masterful performances compared to the non-acting of that other 'film.' The first 50 minutes revolve around people getting killed in the forest whereas the last 37 minutes reveal the title of the movie. There are some effective scenes in this last act involving a currently popular 'monster' (I don't want to give it away, but it should be obvious).It goes without saying that, to appreciate this movie, you have to enjoy the woods or woodsy outdoor photography. It successfully establishes a foreboding forestry ambiance. But the story isn't tight and it gets tedious after 30-45 minutes of redundancy. It's also marred by minor anachronisms. But things like this can be overlooked in a flick that only cost $2300. Another problem is the lack of quality females until just past the hour mark; and not enough is done with her (Tina Martin) when she shows up, but she's appealing enough for her brief period.Despite these glaring problems, there are moments of greatness, like when a certain character in the last act gets shot and the song "When I Awake" by Hollow Earth Conspiracy is heard on the soundtrack (written by Paul Zlotucha). The sequence is almost worth the price of admission.THE FILM RUNS 87 minutes and was shot entirely in northern Arkansas (Cushman, Horseshoe Bend, Weaver's Chapel & Spring Mill).GRADE: C

ASouthernHorrorFan Dennis Smithers Jr's "A Bothered Conscience" is a dark character asseveration of cold, driven horror. The film stars Dennis Smithers Sr., Stephen Martin, MacFarland Martin, Thomas King, Tim Turner, Dannial McCoy and Tina O'Neal. The plot is more or less an open one with a father taking brutal measures, and cruel tutorship, in raising his son to protect the family land from outside influence and trespass. "A Bothered Conscience" really proves that indie horror can be done and done well."A Bothered Conscience" is a stark, nearly flawless tragedy of sorts, filmed with an effect that hearkens to late 70's video nasty days, Smithers captures all the raw, edgy elements in "A Bothered Conscience". It is a story that plays out harshly and matter-of-fact with characters that almost feel both protagonist and antagonist simultaneously for most of the film, until the real protagonist comes forth near the end. The dialog is minimal but effective, character dramatics are short bursts of terror or just straight chilling shock as most of the interactions are of a brutal nature.The acting is mediocre but very committed to the story. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of classic gore flicks like "Stanley" or " Let's Scare Jessica To Death". Only the surreal is almost non-existent until the last act, most of the film is a visceral nightmare that unfolds plainly, with calculative bluntness. Although there is no layered visage to the characters, "A Bothered Conscience" creates a powerful, straight forward modern video nasty that is very entertaining. Special Effects and soundtrack are mild but clear elements that really make "A Bothered Conscience" a good film for gore-hounds and horror fans. The effects are smart, thought out tricks that offer gruesome moments to kill scenes without looking cheap, or cheesy. The blood is convincing enough, the deaths are creative and effective emotionally to the scene. Honestly it is amazing that "A Bothered Conscience" was shot on a shoestring budget of 2,300 dollars.The soundtrack is an instrumental chorus of highs and lows that fit perfectly, I found myself having to keep saying "this is a modern film and not a previously unreleased video nasty from the late 70's. I didn't really expect much from "A Bothered Conscience", and true the acting isn't stellar, but everything works, and I enjoyed everything about this film.

Woodyanders Vicious redneck patriarch Keller McGavin (well played to the stern'n'steely hilt by Dennis Smithers, Jr.) and his wimpy bumbling son Lucas (a solid performance by Stephen Martin) protect their secluded forest land against trespassers through the most harsh means imaginable in rural Arkansas. After Keller gets bumped off by a sleazy cocaine drug dealer, Lucas is left to fend for himself and exact revenge on those responsible for his father's death. However, Lucas is soon plagued by unsettling visions of all the people him and his dad have killed. Writer/director Smithers, Jr. ably uses a mean'n'lean style in order to effectively create and sustain both a gritty no-nonsense tone and a creepy atmosphere which becomes more progressively bleak and spooky as the unsparingly grim story unfolds towards a genuinely startling surprise bummer ending. The outbursts of raw savage violence pack a really nasty punch. The remote sylvan location projects a truly harrowing feeling of dread, isolation, and vulnerability. Of course, we also get a handy helping of grisly gore and a good deal of nerve-rattling tension. The rough widescreen cinematography by Smithers, Jr. gives the picture an appropriately grainy look. Doug Johnson's neatly varied score alternates between harmonic hillbilly jamboree music and shivery ooga-booga moodiness. A cool little indie fright flick.

Paul Andrews A Bothered Conscience is set in Arkansas & starts in 1974 where Keller McGavin (producer Dennis Smithers Sr.) is very possessive about his land, he hands out rather brutal justice to anyone who trespasses on his land. Jump forward '20 Years Later' over the course of which Keller has tried to teach his son Lucas (Stephen Martin) to follow him in his murderous footsteps, that's about it really...Photographed, written, produced & directed by Dennis Smithers Jr. who is also credited with the special effects one has to say this glorified home video is awful. This is the sort of film that makes you want to give up on the medium, seriously A Bothered Conscience is maybe the worst film I've seen this year & believe me I've seen some stinkers. This is one of the most plot less, pointless, boring & downright awful films I've ever seen. Hardly anyone is even given a name, character development is absolutely zero, there's barely any dialogue in it, no-one is given any motivation for anything (one guy puts a gun in his mouth & commits suicide because his mate might have killed someone. Eh? How does that work?), there's no logic behind anything that happens (one hunter tries to shoot Keller but he has no bullets in his gun, what would a hunter being doing carrying a gun with no ammo in it? Seems a bit pointless to me) at almost 90 minutes in length it feels like it goes on forever with shots & scenes drawn out to tedious lengths & to top it all off there's one of the worst most pointless twist endings I've ever seen. This is a horrible film in every way, seriously it's one of the most plot less & amateurish films I've seen.Director Smithers was working on a low budget but that's no excuse for making such a crap film, if I released my holiday video footage badly edited together as a film that wouldn't automatically make it any good. This is literally home video stuff, these days it seems like anyone with a camcorder think they can make a film & all us horror fans are mugs who will put up with any old crap aren't we? Not me, this is crap of the highest order & I honestly don't know how else to describe it. Although set in 1994 the cars on show are modern contemporary vehicles, during the flashback to 1974 the woman has a brand new modern camera with an LCD display & Keller mysteriously doesn't age a single day between the flashback to 1974 & the later day events of 1994. The gore consists of some fake blood, a few zombies & a headless corpse. The effects are rubbish & the blood doesn't look like blood.With a supposed budget of about $2,300 you can see why this is such a poorly made, conceived & executed film. Shot on location in a patch of forest in Arkansas. The production values are rock bottom & generally speaking it's an eye sore. The acting is awful as well & the guy at the end looks like an idiot in that bright orange hat.A Bothered Conscience is awful, it's one of the most plot less & pointless films I've ever seen & I urge you not to waste your time or money on it. I have nothing against low budget films or the makers but that doesn't mean they are immune to criticism.