Baphomet

At just over an hour, this film's pace is a little too brisk for its own good. I could have used a little more development on the evil cult, especially with some more personality to some of the members. It's cool to see 80's Italian exploitation star Giovanni Lombardo Radice in an American movie and in a decently large part as the main antagonist. I got a kick out of hearing Radice's actual voice and thick accent and whiney demeanor, which serves to make him somewhat of a sympathetic (or just straight-up pathetic) figure rather than the all-powerful mage I'm sure they were going for.

Horror fans will also notice Chromeskull himself Nick Principe in sort of a thankless role as one of the cultists who gets in one good scene toward the end. I'm pretty sure a lot was left on the cutting room floor in favor of making this an action movie, which is unfortunate because its strongest scenes are the ones high in creep factor.

The first half of the film builds some decent tension, but unwravels a bit when it slips into action-exploitation territory toward the end. When the shooting starts, the realism and scares drop to off the chart, but the film is just so gonzo (people get killed by dynamite, snakes, sharks, and random eyeball explosions!) that it didn't lose my interest. There's an interesting twist I've not seen in any other movie, namely an upside-down take on PET SEMETARY. I'll grant it that the movie is very unpredictable as it doesn't really follow the usual conventions and a has a few hilarious out-of-nowhere moments.

Sure Dani Filth is kinda wasted and some of the acting is a little flat (the lead girl Rebecca Weaver is okay when she's speaking lines, but looks bored and unsure of what to do with herself when other people are talking). However, the film kinda works as a throwback to Lucio Fulci / Lamberto Bava type flicks from the 80's and features a better musical score than usual. I was surprised they didn't go the hard rock route and feature a bunch of Cradle of Filth songs and torture porn.

Generally speaking and if you have seen some of my other reviews, you know that I sometimes tend to be or rate generously. That being said, I have to admit that I may be a bit more biased this time around. But having been at conventions and having met certain people, brings that "risk". Remember, behind every movie there are people who have put their blood and sweat into making something that they hope will entertain you.

And if you are able to cut this some slack (I don't know what the budget was, but I can only imagine it was quite low), the cinematography and the special effects (the few that this actually has) are more than well done. Now acting wise, there are some ups and downs. I personally wasn't too fond of the "wife" myself and there are other moments where it seems that certain people have a hard time to convey their dialog. The man behind this all though, does a really good job juggling his many roles. And I for one think he does more than a decent job in front of the camera too.

Now as I've already established, I may be considering the people who appear in this in a certain way, that you or others who watch this may not feel inclined to do. But as you have the right to not care about those making independent movies like this one, I feel quite differently about a thing like that.

So while I recognize a certain imbalance in the acting department (I dug some more than others for sure), it did not take away from the overall entertainment the movie was able to provide. Yes this is not a masterpiece, but it is also way better than the current rating suggests - at least in my humble opinion.

Makes youre wheels lit a spiritual fire inside yourself it is a must see.

For the rest of us, its the most ridicule of the ridicullest devil entertainment ive seen for ages. They shall have a clap on the shoulder for extensive bloody gore, but its doomedf to fail due to bad acting, terrible sound, incoherent story, complete lack of any sort of realism, and a story that doesnt end anywhere.

Drop dead somebody once said to me, but im still here, still old and grumpy enough to tell that rubish like this shall not be recommended...

The acting's bad; the dialogue is so bad it's almost funny (but not enough); there's no horror or thrills to be found; the main antagonist pronounces Satan as Saton (sounding more like satin); no atmosphere; 72 minutes seems like 3 hours. The score was good though; it belongs in a better movie.

This movie stereotypes satanists as evil cult members and further perpetuates the hatred towards satanism as a whole.