Introduction:
I’m always on the lookout
for horror films with a Lovecraftian feel to them. But it is pretty tough to
find movies that really capture the feeling of cosmic horror. Then I heard
about this film which combined elements from The Thing and In the Mouth
of Madness two of John Carpenter’s more Lovecraftian films. This sounded
like just the kind of horror movie I could get behind, but were all the rumors
true, or was the real eldritch horror the fact that the film doesn’t quite
measure up to the hype?
Summary:
Officer Daniel Carter (Aaron
Poole) is having a rough night. He finds an injured man on the road and takes
him to the nearby hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital is undergoing renovation
and is operating with a skeleton crew. Luckily Dr. Powell (Kenneth Welsh) is on
hand to help. But the injured man seems a bit, well... crazy is the best word for it.
Then everything goes south
quickly as two deranged men enter the hospital with an arsenal of guns. They are
after the injured man with murder on their minds. Then the hospital is
surrounded by hooded figures with strange symbols on their robes. Officer
Carter finds himself trying to make sense of the motivations behind these
interlopers and some of the hospital staff. As things escalate bodies mutate,
offerings are made and a door to The
Void is being opened. Does Officer Carter stand a chance in any dimension
of stopping the insanity?
Good Points:
- Impressive visual and make up effects
- Handles the crazed cultist and dimensional horror really well
- Manages to capture some really disturbing moments.
Bad Points:
- None of the characters feel quite fleshed out.
- Pacing feels off for most of the movie
- Lovecraft fans may be disappointed at the movie not quite meeting its potential
Overall:
Love the concept behind the
film. It really nails that Lovecraftian feel of cultists attempting to bring
about trans-dimensional forces into our world. Unfortunately the execution
doesn’t quite hit on all cylinders. The pacing feels off for nearly the entire
film. If it had slowed down, and built up to the tension instead of going full
bore with the intensity it might have worked better. But the impressive visual
effects and practical creatures and gore makeup work really well. This movie
has some real gross visuals, and is worth a watch for fans who like their
cosmic horror with a dash of graphic violance.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 4
Sound: 4
Acting: 3
Script: 3
Music: 3
Direction: 3
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
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I missed this one completely, but extra points for using make-up instead of cgi. The latter is fine when it's just to expensive to, say, destroy a real city for a good action shot, but it too often is a crutch when practical effects would work better.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree. CG has its place, but a good mix of all the techniques is the best option. CG gore in particular looks really bad still. This movie certainly avoids that with plenty of real fluids splattering everywhere. The CG is used sparingly and for moments where the otherworldliness can only be captured using the technique. Worth checking out for an October nightmare journey.
DeleteI might add it to my Q. I've been looking for a horror movie to enjoy this coming Halloween with. Nothing much has appealed to me however. It seems the older I get the less interest in the genre I have, however, I don't think it's my interest--I just don't care about many of the films.
ReplyDeleteFor instance: It Follows--as a film, I didn't think much about it, but I had these "analogy" type films, ie they mean something else like a social disease or whatever. Raw, a French film, was in that mode too. No scary, but had some gore, but not much else. Just give me an old fashion monster flick.
I did enjoy The Witch and The Babadook however. I also liked Hush, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Don't Breathe.
I liked "It Follows" a bit more than you did. I liked the idea of the thing following being invisible to everyone else, and yet only obvious to the victim... if they weren't in a crowd. I thought the climax ran out of steam a bit, but all in all, an effective movie.
DeleteFor some reason "The Witch" didn't click for all that well. I need to give it another shot. I really liked elements of it, and the performances were really good. I just don't think it was what I was expecting, so it didn't quite work.
Want to give "Don't Breathe" a shot. That one sounds good. And I'm glad you liked "Hush". That one was really well done. That director has done some really good work in horror all the way around. Even his film "Occulus" was pretty well made even if the story didn't work for me.
Hope you like "The Void". It certainly has its share of monsters and crazy visual effects.