Kidnapped (aka Secuestrados) (2011)

Kidnapped (aka Secuestrados) is a brutal, nihilistic home invasion tale from Spain, directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas. Going in, I didn’t know much about the film and had only heard whisperings about its brutality and shock value. It certainly lived up to what little I had heard about it in regards to its violent atmosphere, but the story left a little to be desired as we’ve seen it all before.

A family consisting of father Jaime (Fernando Cayo), mother Marta (Ana Wagener) and teenage daughter Isa (Manuela Vellés) has just moved into their beautiful new home. Their first night there, three masked intruders burst in and take them all hostage. Jaime is taken by the leader of the group to withdraw cash from ATMs in the nearby city, while Marta and Isa are terrorized by the two remaining goons. The family soon decides to fight back, with dire consequences.

Don’t get me wrong, this is an extremely well-made movie that has oodles of tension, but for one reason or another I’m on the fence with this one. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it, I’m just kind of ambivalent towards it. If I had to just use one word to sum up my thoughts on the film, it would be “meh”.

Though the direction, cinematography and acting were all decent, the story is just lacking. It’s the same storyline I’ve seen so many times that I feel like I’ve become desensitized to it. Are horrific acts perpetrated on the victims? Yes. Is it brutal? Yes. Do the victims turn the tables and fight back? Yes. It was just all so familiar that I just zoned out a bit watching this. The only surprise came with the nihilist ending, which may be unsatisfying for some viewers. I, however, enjoyed the ending as it was pretty much the only thing that went against the grain of the standard “home invasion” horror film.

Besides the story that could have used a bit more creativity, sometimes the pacing was off as well. I enjoyed how the film kicked things off right away (after gratefully interrupting an annoying family squabble), but when the villain takes the father out to withdraw money from ATMs (really? all they wanted was money?) the action stagnates a bit. I heard a rumor that the film was filmed in just 12 shots. However, I cannot confirm or deny this since I learned of it after watching the film. This would explain some of the scenes that seem to drag on and on, as well as some very long shots that also draw out the pacing.

However, when the action does come on screen, it definitely delivers. Which ultimately led to another problem with the film…the pacing and tone are never consistent and while this jarring difference between quiet, intimate moments and loud, action sequences kept drawing me back into the film, it never felt like it quite clicked. Most of the time it felt like two different films – one is a drama about a dysfunctional family and the other is a hyperviolent look at a home invasion gone wrong. I guess this goes back to the pacing issues, but, again, the film didn’t seem to flow correctly.

Additionally, the film keeps getting more and more violent as it progresses, which may ultimately please some horror fans on just how brutal the action gets. The double-whammy of the ending actually made me mutter “whoa”, but I don’t think it made up for the film’s other issues. Still, I could go both ways on the film. I certainly don’t loathe it, but I probably won’t watch it again and after a few months I’ll probably forget I saw it. Again, meh.

M (2010)

M is a low-budget indie movie from Derek Cole and Shane Cole and Masked Films. I didn’t know much about the film before watching it as there wasn’t that much online info on it. However, going into a film blind sometimes works out for the best and actually adds to the enjoyment of the film. Without knowing much I couldn’t really have any expectations of the film and so I went into M as a pretty blank canvas.

The first scene involving torture didn’t really interest me, but as soon as it moved away from that and introduced the other two characters I started to get intrigued. Roy (Stephen Twardokus) is taking time off work to celebrate his and his wife Jessica’s (Sabrina Carmichael) anniversary. However, their romantic celebration is interrupted by a masked man who invades their home, ties them up and slowly tortures them over the next couple excruciating hours and into days.

Meanwhile, the police are trying to track down a killer who has left several victims in his wake while trying to piece together why he has chosen particular victims. As Roy and Jessica’s torment continues, the police get closer and closer to discovering the link between victims…but will they solve the case fast enough to find the couple alive?

M is a very solid indie feature. The first thing that grabbed me was the competently done camera work. The filmmakers use interesting angles and different techniques to keep the viewer engaged in the story. The movie also looked very professional for an indie production. The lighting, direction and cinematography were all very well-done and made me want to keep watching.

For a film that mostly takes place in the small room where the victims were held, M does a fine job at building tension. Sure, there were a few instances where the pace dragged (the beginning got off to a rocky start and a dream sequence seemed out of place), but for the most part it was suspenseful. I also liked the overarching mystery of what linked all the victims together. The explanation why the masked killer was torturing and murdering people was pretty satisfying as well.

Speaking of the killer, I loved the design of his mask! It also helped that he was stoic and never talked. He reminded me of a mix of Jason from Friday the 13^th and Michael from Halloween…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I think more could have been done to make him stand out besides his face mask.
The killer did dole out some pretty cringe-worthy torture, though! For a low-budget film I thought the effects were really well-done! Now, there was nothing too complicated here, mostly just lots of blood and a few body parts, but it definitely looked realistic. Various gory scenes included: a man getting a screw drilled through his leg, a woman’s leg getting chopped with a machete with some chunky gore being pulled out of the wound, someone got a spike through a thigh, and so on.

M certainly isn’t a terribly original film, but it is entertaining and does make a nice calling card for the Cole brothers and Masked Films. And it definitely makes me interested to see what they do next!

Visit Masked Films’ Official Site!

Burning Bright (2010)

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

-from William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The above is an excerpt from one of my favorite poems of all time, so when I heard they were making a film called Burning Bright a few years ago, I was pretty stoked. As time passed and I learned more about the project, things got…interesting. For one, the synopsis had me a little worried; it was basically about a young girl and her younger brother trapped inside a house with a killer tiger during the middle of a hurricane. Pretty silly-sounding, no? Secondly, it never got a proper theatrical release and was unceremoniously dumped on DVD a few weeks back. Another bad sign. However, I decided to give it the old college try anyway. I love tigers, I love Blake’s poem, I love nature-run-amuck films…how bad could it be? Well, while it certainly wasn’t terrible, it also wasn’t grrrrrrreat!

Teenager Kelly (Briana Evigan) is looking forward to attending college and healing from her mother’s recent suicide, but before she goes she must check her autistic younger brother Tom (Charlie Tahan) into a special home where he will be taken care of while she is away at school. One problem…her irresponsible stepfather (Garret Dillahunt) has squandered her savings meant for Tom’s medical care on purchasing a tiger for his planned “Safari Farm”. Kelly is forced to return home with Tom as a hurricane bears down upon their home. The despicable stepfather has other plans on top of spending all her dough, though.  During the night, with the house safely boarded up against the hurricane, he releases the tiger into the house with Kelly and Tom fast asleep upstairs. When Kelly awakens, she finds herself and Tom trapped in the house with a hungry, hungry tiger that hasn’t eaten in two weeks.

Ok, so besides the ludicrous sounding synopsis I was nonetheless intrigued. I mean, at least it wasn’t another remake and was actually trying something new. So starting off I was pretty interested in the film and willing to give it a fair shot. Now, the film had plenty of positives going for it, but I found myself quibbling over  illogical plot points more often than I found myself actually enjoying the action on screen. First, though, let’s get into the positives…

For one, I thought the characters were very well-done. They are developed just enough so that you hate the skeezy stepfather and feel empathy for Kelly and understand her frustration with having to care for tantrum-throwing Tom (“no touch!!”), who is both a burden and a responsibility. The tiger even takes on a personality all its own…though I mostly sympathized with the tiger and thought it was only doing what came naturally since its a-hole of an “owner” didn’t feed it for two weeks.

Speaking of the tiger, yes, a real one (actually, three separate trained tigers) is used…no CGI tigers here. There are a few scenes where the tiger is super-imposed on the background that look fake, but looking fake is definitely better than having a real tiger get hurt crashing through a glass door.

Since this is more of a “cat and mouse” suspense film, there isn’t much blood and no gore, but this film doesn’t need it. Director Carlos Brooks does quite a good job creating tension without needing to use flashy effects or grue.

However, there were so many unbelievable events occurring that I found myself questioning the logic of the script too many times. Perhaps it was a matter of too many cooks in the kitchen, as there were three writers on the film, but the plot holes were annoying no matter what the reason! Now, I’ve seen a ton of positive reviews for Burning Bright, so maybe it’s just me or maybe I was missing something, I just know that I was rolling my eyes way too many times during the film. And it bugs me that I was annoyed so many times because most of the time it was small stuff…but nonetheless these small instances added up fast and affected my overall enjoyment of the film, so I felt they should be noted. For one, Kelly was wandering around the house before she became aware of the tiger. Seriously, if the tiger was hungry it totally could have nabbed her then. Plus, you think the tiger would have heard/smelled Kelly and Tom upstairs while they were sleeping and busted into their rooms then. Later on, Tom is caterwauling as they are trying to hide – why didn’t the tiger go after them then? He could obviously hear them! All the while this was occurring in the early morning hours back at the house, the stepfather was sitting at a bar drinking beer. I don’t know what state the film is set in, but do bars usually open that early? Gah, I’m annoyed that this film makes me seem like a major nitpicker, but seriously all these (and more) nagging questions kept irking me!

If you can ignore the small stuff, Burning Bright is a pretty competently done film. It never really scared me, but it had its tense moments (especially when Kelly is hiding in the laundry chute). While it definitely doesn’t burn as bright as I would have liked it to,  I still think it at least deserves a rental.

Available on Amazon!

Book Review: Under by Bradd Quinn

Growing up in the country, I’m no stranger to the nighttime sounds of wildlife crunching and skittering through the undergrowth. There is something deeply unsettling about something moving around in the dark that you can’t see…but you feel like it is watching you. Though I now live in the city, there are still those strange nocturnal noises, whether they come from the bushes or the dumpsters, that make my heart skip a beat. Who knows what could be lurking in the inky black shadows, watching you? I certainly don’t want to stick around to find out! Author Bradd Quinn’s debut novel, Under, explores the these very fears of what lurks in the darkness just out of your eyesight…something that very well may be watching YOU!

When the rural town of Gaston is the location of a gruesome massacre, the authorities are quick to blame the viciousness of the attacks on a pack of wild dogs or coyotes. The numerous victims were attacked in their homes and appeared to have been partially devoured, causing skeptics to point out that wild animals generally don’t enter homes to attack, especially multiple homes. Their concerns are ignored by the authorities, who insist the massacre was the work of wild animals.

Weeks later, in the nearby town of Jennisville, Jacob Drake has begun finding an abnormally large amount of dead birds, rodents and other small animals in his yard. He then discovers a large hole that leads underneath his deck, which the family’s black lab Samantha can’t leave well enough alone. Pretty soon, pets in the neighborhood are missing and neighbors find one of their dogs ripped apart, like it had been eaten.

Jacob begins to see similarities between the events leading up to the tragedy in Gaston and the warning signs popping up in his neighborhood. He begins to think that whatever killed the animals and pets is living under his deck and is too close to his family for comfort. In an effort to protect his wife Christine and five-year-old daughter Genna, Jacob decides to peer into the darkness and finds something so terrifying, so unknown, that no one else will believe that it’s real. It’s up to Jacob and his friend and next-door neighbor Rod to try and convince the town that something evil is lurking…before it’s too late for everyone.

Under is a fast-paced novel that had me so engrossed I couldn’t put it down! I usually do my reading at night, but with Under I kept stealing away to read a few more chapters whenever I could! Author Bradd Quinn really did an excellent job at getting me invested in all the characters. I really enjoyed the character of Jacob Drake, especially the smartass humor he used throughout the book. It really made Jacob likable and made me give a damn about him and his family.

I am just astounded that this is Quinn’s debut novel. The fast pace, great characterizations, perfectly-timed “reveal” moments and a suspenseful finale all make Quinn appear like a seasoned writer. While there are typos throughout the novel, you have to remember it is self-published and Quinn even included a cute disclaimer telling the reader to “Think of them as easter eggs”, so they are forgivable. Plus, it’s easy to skim over typos when you are so engrossed in the story!

The creatures (yes, there are more than one) that Quinn has dreamed up are nightmarish creations that screech and howl in an unearthly manner and whose appearance is shocking. I’ve never seen or read about these creatures in any horror film or book, so kudos again to Quinn for picking something refreshing rather than the standard vampire/werewolf/zombie-like creatures we are so used to seeing in the horror genre. From the way they move to the way they communicate to just how they look unsettled me and yet left me craving more. Quinn gives us just enough towards the beginning of the novel to keep us reading and keeps giving us more and more tidbits on the nature of the crafty creatures until the slam-bam finale. And what a finale it is! I thought the first half of the book was tense, but the last half really puts you through the wringer! You’ll find it nearly impossible to put Under down once you’re reading the nail-bitingly suspenseful conclusion!

For those that have wondered just what is hiding under the dark, dank spaces beneath their homes or what the strange nocturnal scratching noises coming from their basements are, Under, the debut novel from Bradd Quinn, is definitely for you!

Buy it on Amazon!

My Little Eye (2002)

You really can’t seem to flip channels without coming across some reality show. Whether you are Keeping Up with the Kardashians, hanging with The Girls Next Door, taking in Deadliest Catch or another one of the hundreds of reality shows, there is a glut of reality programming that shows no signs of slowing down. Are we really that obsessed with watching other people’s lives instead of living our own?

Our reality show contestants in My Little Eye certainly hope that’s true, especially since they’ve entered in a contest where they must survive six months in an isolated, creepy old house with every second of their tenure there filmed for an eager, voyeuristic audience. At the end of the six months, they will all get a nice paycheck of $1 million…but there’s a catch. If any of them leave before the six months are up, then none of them get any of the dough.

The film picks up during the last week or so of their six month sentence, and everyone is particularly antsy. Snow is falling thick and heavy outside and supplies are dwindling. Not to mention that the myriad of cameras installed within the house follow their every move. With just mere days to go, strange things start happening. One of the guys gets a letter saying his grandpa has died and funeral services will be held before his time on the show is up. Another girl finds an eerie phrase from her childhood written on one of the windows and a bloody hammer in her bed. The group begins receiving strange “supplies” – like a box of bricks and a loaded gun. Then, a lost skier stumbles upon their house and claims he’s never heard or seen anything about their reality show. Is the reality show company responsible for these strange occurrences? Are they trying to trick them out of their hard-earned cash? Is it all being done to boost ratings? Or is something more sinister going on?

Horror films that feature a reality show usually don’t fare too well (see Halloween: Resurrection), but My Little Eye is different. It is full of tension, interesting characters and an intriguing storyline that will have you guessing until the end. Though it starts slow, with the group suffering from cabin fever from being cooped up in a house all this time, it does a good job in slowly building dread. Things just get creepier and creepier, until the satisfying ending that will just leave you saying, “wow…”

I also love how the film is shot and all the action is captured on the cameras that are wired throughout the house. Whether the action occurs in creepy green-tinged night vision or is seen through a grate in the bathroom, it really gives the film a voyeuristic edge, almost as if you were watching a snuff film. I’m not sure what the logistics were in the shooting of the film, but it truly does look like it was all shot on those security cameras! Fantastic job by director Marc Evans!

The story, written by David Hilton and James Watkins (Eden Lake and the upcoming The Descent 2), is a slow-burn but one that immediately sucks you in, especially when strange occurrences start happening and the pace picks up. There are also a few nice surprises toward the end that caught me off guard and grab your attention!

The characters are all pretty likable or at least interesting. There’s bad-boy Rex (Kris Lemche), sexy Charlie (Jennifer Sky), all-American Matt (Sean CW Johnson), sensitive Danny (Stephen O’Reilly) and skittish Emma (Laura Regan). Their interactions and relationships with each other ring true and it really does feel like they’ve been roommates for the last 5+ months. Each of them has their own dark secrets, which slowly come to light as they are tested in their last week or so of the show.

The acting was surprisingly great, with all the actors giving solid, believable performances. Laura Regan really gave a stand-out performance as the fragile Emma, but the rest of the cast was equally impressive. There is even an appearance by Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Midnight Meat Train) where he plays the lost skier. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see him in this film!

Now, this film is more about building tension than showering the audience with blood, so there isn’t that much gore. Again, though, this doesn’t hurt the film at all! Instead, when the grue finally does show up at the end of the movie it makes much more of an impact than had it been shown throughout the entire film! There is one particularly nasty scene at the end involving someone’s head getting unexpectedly blown open that is really an “oh sh*t!” moment!

My Little Eye is a suspenseful film that relies on the mystery of the characters’ situation to keep your attention. Its slow-burn works extremely well in building up a tremendous amount of tension, and it also helps that we actually care about the characters and want to know as much as they do who is pulling the strings and behind the strange occurrences. Not too many people have seen this movie, and that’s quite a shame! It is a gem of a horror movie that deserves more fans!

What do I spy with My Little Eye? A fantastic horror movie, that’s what! Now go check it out!

Available from Amazon!

Evil Things (2009)

Let me take you back a few weeks to me standing in from of the mailbox, perplexed by a package stamped “official business” and with a return address of the FBI! My first thought was, “They’re onto me!”, but inside the package was an evidence baggie containing a DVD marked “confidential”. Along with the DVD was a very official-looking letter asking for my  help in a missing persons case. At this point I thought, “Whew! At least this doesn’t have to do with that unfortunate ‘incident’!” As I read the letter, I quickly clued into the fact that this was the marketing package for the indie film Evil Things. I remembered watching the trailer, which intrigued me but didn’t stand out all that much, but the clever marketing materials and packaging really made me eager to check out the film.

I popped in the “evidence” and sat back for what was to come. The film starts with five friends from New York City leaving the wintry confines of the city and heading upstate for a fun, relaxing weekend. It’s Mirian’s (Elyssa Mersdorf) birthday, and her aunt has let her use her isolated vacation house for a party with four of her friends – couple Cassy (Laurel Casillo) and Mark (Morgan Hooper), bratty Tanya (Torrey Weiss) and amateur film student Leo (Ryan Maslyn) who insists on filming everything with his hand-held camera. Before they even get there, though, they have to make it upstate through a treacherous snow-storm. Not only that, but some asshole in a van keeps messing with them and later it appears that he is following them. When they finally arrive at Miriam’s aunt’s house, everyone is relieved and they start to celebrate!

The next morning they all decide to trek out into the snow-covered woods to find some caves. When it becomes apparent that they are lost, they try to find their way back to the house…but they keep getting turned around. As night falls and they are still lost, they begin hearing strange noises just outside the beams of their flashlights. After being spooked, they finally find the house again…but what awaits them when they are inside is much more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

It seems as if the “found footage” technique is being used a lot in horror nowadays. From Cloverfield, [REC], The Blair Witch Project to Diary of the Dead, this technique really does work if done properly, especially since we are now a YouTube generation where anyone can have their 15 minutes of fame. While some might jump the gun and instantly compare Evil Things to the grandaddy of all hand-held camera films, The Blair Witch Project, I would ask that you hold off comparisons until AFTER you watch Evil Things. While it might share some similarities to Blair Witch, Evil Things is still a frightening, effective film that just begs to be seen! I thought the idea to shoot the film on handheld camcorder was pretty genius, especially considering the small budget filmmaker Dominic Perez had to work with. I also liked how the scary scenes came out of nowhere, and while you never really “see” anything, the sounds and reactions of the characters are enough to make you crap your pants!

Though the last 30 minutes or so of the film are incredibly tense, I felt that the first hour of the film dragged on and on. The scenes of them driving to the aunt’s house went on far too long and really should have been edited down. However, I did enjoy the mounting tension when they kept seeing the van that had been harassing them. The characters reactions to seeing the van repeatedly really felt genuine. One thing I will say about the first hour is that you really get a feel for the characters. They are just a group of normal-looking college kids and they have enough personality to make them all likable and stand out. I also liked several funny scenes that were in the film, including one where they all bust in on Leo taking a bubble bath, turning his camera on him and another scene where Cassy dons a wig that was lying around the house and pretends to be Leo’s mother. These kind of scenes really make the characters endearing and that much more sympathetic when the terror sets in…

As for the actors, they all did an amazing job. Usually in indie films the acting is the worst part of the film, but in Evil Things it was one of the best. Every single actor felt natural, like they really were just a bunch of people being filmed by their friend during a vacation. As mentioned above, all the actors were likable and you really didn’t want them to succumb to “evil things”.

When the terror does arrive it is unrelenting and very frightening. We get the first clues that something is amiss with the creepy van following the group and again with the eerie noises in the woods, but the sh*t really hits the fan when they get back to the house towards the end of the film. Here, they realize they are not alone and haven’t been for a while. Though nothing is explicitly seen, everything, from the terrified reactions of the characters to slamming doors to strange noises to creepy camera angles, keeps the atmosphere tense and you on the edge of your seat. The finale will leave your jaw hanging wide open and wondering exactly what just happened, while scenes that roll over the credits ensure that the terror continues.

Writer and director Dominic Perez has done a fantastic job with Evil Things. The story, the direction, the location and the scare tactics were near perfect and make this an exciting film to watch. I do think the title isn’t descriptive enough of the film and is too generic. Still, despite that Evil Things is definitely a must-see! What makes it even creepier is that Perez was inspired to make this film after an incident he experienced as a young child:

“The inspiration for this movie came from an incident in my own life when I was a 10 year old boy.  I was sleeping over a childhood friend’s house and his mom left us home alone for a few hours while she was out working late.  So we stayed up eating ice cream and watching TV.  Then a knock came at the door.  We were taught never to open the door to strangers so we politely asked, ‘who is it?’  There was no answer.  We looked through the peephole, but it was broken.  Another knock came at the door.  We said louder ‘yes, who is it?’  There was still no answer.  We could see under the crack of the door that someone wearing big black boots was standing still on the other side of the door, but they never answered.  There was just a soft terrifying knock knock that came every 30 seconds.  After about the fifth knock knock we were screaming at the top of our lungs ‘who the F**K is it?’  I have never been so incredibly scared in my entire life.  There was never an answer, just silence for 10 terrifying minutes.  That was more than 30 years ago, and I’m still scared to death wondering what would have happened had we opened that door.”

The creepiness of that incident translates extremely well to Evil Things and despite some of its flaws it is one of the most gripping and frightening indie films I’ve seen this year!

The film is currently seeking distribution and has been submitted to various film festivals, so jump at the chance if you get to see it!

Buy on Amazon!

For more info and lots of extra goodies, visit Evil Things’ Official Website!

Vacancy (2007)

I had skipped Vacancy in theaters, partly because I was sick of slick Hollywood horror and partly because I just felt “meh” about it. When it was released on DVD this week, I decided to give it a shot because I had heard some positive reviews on it. Big mistake…now I’ll know to trust my gut instinct on horror releases in the future, because, as I suspected, this movie was just “meh” bordering on bad.

A soon-to-be-divorced couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) is driving late at night when their car starts having trouble. A friendly mechanic (Ethan Embry) helps fix it, but they only get about a mile down the road before it completely breaks down. Of course the husband of this less-than-dynamic duo took a shortcut off the interstate and now they are stuck in the middle of nowhere. They grumpily trek back to the gas station, but the mechanic has left for the night. Lo and behold, there is a questionable looking motel right next to the gas station. When they decide to spend the night, the odd motel manager (Frank Whaley) upgrades them to the honeymoon suite, complete with unwashed sheets and a serious layer of dirt covering the place. The bickering couple decides to pop in a few unmarked VHS films for a desperately needed distraction and end up face to face with snuff films that were filmed in their very motel room.

Soon, they are being terrorized by masked killers and they discover that they are also being filmed by hidden cameras. To paraphrase the film’s tagline, how can they escape if the killers are watching their every move?

Now, while this movie wasn’t a complete waste of time, I still felt underwhelmed by what I saw on screen. I appreciate that director Nimrod Antal tried to do something different with the horror genre, but the whole movie just felt so damn familiar that it failed to deliver any thrills.

Let me start by saying, Wilson and Beckinsale – not their best work to date. Now, these two aren’t known for their Oscar-worthy performances but their whining and fighting really took its toll here. Their characters weren’t at all likable or well-developed here, but that wasn’t a problem for me. I believe that it was Antal’s intention to keep us so detached from them. It’s like he wanted us to view them as if they were in an actual snuff film – with just a whiff of a backstory and no emotion towards the two. No, my problem wasn’t with the character development but rather how the characters were played and the unbelievability of their actions. I’m not sure these two downtrodden schmucks could face off against some backwoods snuff filmmakers. It just didn’t seem all that believable.

Next, the whole premise was, well, pretty boring. When the couple first arrived at the motel and the banging and rattling on the doors began, I was intrigued. But from there it all went downhill and fast. The next hour consisted of the couple running in and out of the motel room, trying to evade their attackers. And this was the point where I decided to do a little light housework and even bake a cake.

Yep, folks, I was that bored.

The constant musical cues that tell you something big and spooky is just around the corner made me role my eyes and keep reaching for the mute button. Egads, is it too much to ask to actually be surprised at a scare for once instead of being TOLD I’m about to be scared?? It was obvious from the opening credits that director Antal was trying to mimic some Hitchcock-style suspense, but, let me tell ya, Mr. Antal, you failed miserably.

Vacancy comes off staler than the air in a seedy, roach motel.

Available from Amazon!

The Dark Hours (2005)

The Dark Hours is a psychological horror film from Canada that features some cringe-inducing bits and a solid (if familiar) plot.

Dr. Samantha Goodman works at a mental hospital dealing with dangerous patients, most of whom have committed sex crimes or have violently assaulted and killed women. Her husband is a writer and her sister is his research assistant. The two go up to a cabin for a weekend, and after seeing the results of a CAT scan, Samantha decides to join them. When she arrives, she tells them that the tumor inside her brain is growing and there is no cure for the rare condition. As they look on with shock, sadness and disbelief, the doorbell rings. An awkward and twitchy 20-something comes in, looking to get out of the snow while he waits for his friends. He's not he's all he appears to be, though, as seen in one shocking scene. He takes the trio hostage with a gun until Harlan Pyne arrives to take care of business. He is Dr. Samantha's patient and had been stuck in a coma for years. He has now arrived to give the psychologist a taste of her own medicine. He plays mind games with the family, trying to get the ugly truth out of all of them. If they don't play along with his games, things could get pretty messy...but he shares more with Samantha than any of them think...

I love that this movie, from the first shocking turn of events, keeps its fast and tension-filled pace. The psychological terror that Harlan puts them through is intense, and yet his intelligence and wit kinda makes you like him. There are a few solid scares in the film and some great gory parts, such as when Harlan forces Samantha to rip her own pinky finger off with a pair of pliers.

The performances are all great and very believable. I love Aidan Devine as escaped psychopath Harlan Pyne and Kate Greenhouse as Samantha Gordon. For an independent film, everything looks great and I love that the director chose to focus solely on the horror of the mind games being played instead of using flashy camera tricks.

My only quibble is that I saw the ending coming from the first 10 minutes of the movie! The woman has a tumor...hmmm...and it's growing...could this lead to hallucinations? An altered reality? The rest of the film follows the basic home-invasion plot that has been done many times (with the "twist" thrown in to change things up a bit), so it's all pretty predictable. Yet, it is the acting and the sheer brutality of the proceedings that make this movie work.

I also love anything that's not your typical Hollywood-style, dumbed-down slasher flick. Check out The Dark Hours yourself, if anything for something a lil' different than the standard fare nowadays.

Order it on Amazon!