Suspension

I don't like to bash movies as I know every actor, screenwriter, director, etc. needs to get a start and may make a flop now and then but since this is in the After Dark Horror Line I thought I would give my opinion on this. Take it as you will... While I really was looking forward to this, as I enjoy most After Dark Horror movies, it was just too predictable. Yes, it's obvious that it gives nods to Halloween and tries to add it's own twists but you can see them coming a mile away. None of these actors look or act like high school kids (something in movies that always annoys me), even though their performance may be below that of some high school plays I have seen. The gore quotient is average for a slasher flick. May have given it an extra star if they would have at least been more creative on that. Go in with lower expectations and you may enjoy it.

Okay, in order to put my rating as well as my predominantly positive comments into perspective, I should probably state first that when I watched "Suspension" – at the Brussels' International Festival of Fantastic Films – I had just finished watching another wannabe intelligent and innovative but incredibly dull and pretentious horror movie, so I was in desperate need for some straightforward and unhinged splatter entertainment. I was in the mood for mindless slasher fun and that's exactly what "Suspension" delivered, nothing more or nothing less, but that's also why I honestly can't bring myself to be too harsh about this modest little flick even though I damn well realize it's a totally unmemorable and by-the-number genre outing. In case you also manage to set your expectations low and turn your brain functions to a much lower modus, you will enjoy a nice '80s slasher throwback complete with a high body count, nasty massacres (knives, axes and pitchforks!), delightful horror stereotypes and a traditionally indestructible and masked psycho killer! The introvert and timid Emily is bullied and treated as a freak by her classmates because her father was a deranged serial killer who slaughtered 8 people. Emily processes her traumas by drawing graphically violent comic book adventures of her father, which naturally makes her look even more freakish, especially when her drawings are openly confiscated by the über-religious teacher in the middle of class. Later that evening, when the entire school is at a house party and Emily is at home narrating bloody comics to her mute little brother Jeremy, the school's most popular jock Jason suddenly decides that he fancies Emily and drives up to her house. Unfortunately, however, Emily's escaped dad simultaneously also decides to return home and continue his murderous hobbies… You clearly don't need to be an experienced horror fanatic to predict where this is going. In fact, "Suspension" has the kind of end-twist that you can predict straight from the beginning, but throughout the movie you're beginning to doubt if the twist will actually happen because it's almost too obvious. And then, in the end, the all-too- obvious twist really does get shoved down your throat and you'll be like: "Ha! Figures…" Again though, I'm not complaining because "Suspension" is a cool genre homage with plenty of gooey make-up effects and old-fashioned axe-in-the-forehead bloodshed! The film could have used a little bit of sleaze and nudity, though, especially coming from the luscious Courtney Paige Theroux. Her supportive character Theresa behaves like a textbook '80s school bimbo so badly that she also should have taken her top off, to say the least! "Suspension" is primarily a love letter to old school horror, and thus I'm fairly surprised to find out that director Jeffery Scott Lando only has straight-to-video CGI garbage on his resume so far.

While I wont reveal the identity of the masked killer, it is very easy to figure out way before the ending. Some pretty cool kills and some intense scenes throughout. Very good After Dark horror fest film!!

This horror has a teenage girl getting picked on at school all the time due to the fact that her father is a murderer serving time. She takes recluse in her graphic novels she draws where she has a Michael Meyerish type killer wreaking havoc (usually on whoever upset her the most that day). The drawings merge into reality as soon as her father escapes and returns home piling up bodies almost immediately.

This one zips along pretty good. The film bounces between the present and what is going on her novel by using a different technique (kind of like Sin City) to show the change. It still has major Halloween (1978) vibes but it's still entertaining. The end rocked in this one as well.

I will start out by saying that I'm a huge horror fanatic. I have now seen 4 of the 8 ADH Films that released this year. I have seen Bastard,Unnatural and Lumberjack Man all of which were Phenomenal. I will now review this film. I will start out with the story which is your typical girl is bullied in school and then there is a killer aloof and killing of the cast. I would normally be fine with this though it was done so haphazardly that I can't even give it the credit it deserves. I will now move onto the acting and no offense the only decent actor was the main protagonist female and even then it was borderline atrocious. I found all of the cast to be extremely cliché and annoying and typical horror trope stupid. I will now move onto the kills which while they were bloody they also lacked any creativity or originality. The sound design was minimal with no cool music cues. I will finish with the cinematography which was alright at best. I will say that there was a somewhat shocker to the ending but even that was dulled out by how elementary the film was in my opinion. I will now conclude by saying that if you have nothing else to watch then watch this but I found I had to force myself to finish this film even though I bought it. I have also reviewed the other 3 movies I mentioned prior and I would check those out well before this film.