Perkins' 14

Start off with this, is a grade "D" horror-movie not a Merchant Ivory production of "WINDSWEPT MANOR". So you leave this film be ya-hear it ain't hurting nobody. Start off with the movie jumps around a bit and when it lands you have the dysfunctional Sheriff still grieving the loss of his son and hitting on his daughters friends. His boyz arrest a creepy guy who tries to talk his way out of jail. A further investigation leads him to believe this guy is responsible for the disappearance of his son and other kids. A deputy is sent to do an illegal search of the suspects residence. he releases the now grown son who starts infecting everyone with the crazies. The father kills the creep before he can tell them whats going on. the father won't let anyone kill his son which would've nipped this in the bud. It all culminates in a deadly stand off inside the local cop-shop.

Of all the '8 Films to Die For' that I've seen (which is most of them), this one is undoubtedly the best (though that isn't saying much). It's not what I'd call brilliant horror, and certainly could have been a lot better, but there are some really good ideas here and they're well carried off by the director and his cast. The film could be called a zombie film - although I think that isn't really an accurate description. The film does take some influence from said genre, but the monsters in the film aren't zombies - instead, they're teenagers high on PCP. The plot focuses on a small town cop, who is devastated by the loss of his young son some years earlier. He's called into work after one of the other cops took the night off sick, and is intrigued by one of the prisoners in his cells. He notices the guy is missing a finger, and jumps to the conclusion that he's holding the man who kidnapped his son. After sending another officer to the prisoners' house, all hell breaks loose when the fourteen maniacs being held in his basement are let loose!

The whole film takes place at night, and director Craig Singer (who previously made the half-decent 'Dark Ride') makes best use of this as it gives the film a tremendous dark atmosphere that serves the central plot line well. It's basically a film of two halves; the first half focuses on the interaction between the two central characters - the cop and the prisoner. The best thing about the first half is the suspense and intrigue drummed up as we wonder exactly what is in the guy's basement - the sequence that reveals it is really well done. The second half is much more action packed and sees the maniacs let loose on the streets, and then we watch as the cop desperately tries to keep his family safe. The film is rather savage in the gore department - though to the director's credit, he's restrained with the gore and uses it only when needed - which ensures the biggest impact. The fact that the special effects are well done is also to the film's credit. The plot line flowing throughout the film regarding the officer's son is interesting; but soon gets silly. It also has to be said that many of the character decisions throughout the film are questionable. Still, this is an interesting effort and I would say if you only see one 'film to die for', make sure it's this one.

After searching years for his abducted son, a small-town cop by a psychotic local and is now part of a team of similarly-minded people raised to seek revenge on the town for years of neglect and must protect his family and the town from their sinister agenda.

This here wasn't that bad of an effort. Most of what works here are the films' use of the small-town atmosphere which is evident throughout the first half. The way the central mystery unfolds, from the central backstory of the child kidnappings that are plaguing the town and how the case affects him, set this off rather nicely with a creepy air and rattles on through the main half of the film which works nicely alongside the scenes with the daughter out partying with friends. Once it moves beyond that into a fantastic extended action/stalking sequence through the town where the deranged killers are showing to ravage the town in numerous high-energy affairs, from the attack on their friends at the remote hideout to the rescue at the motel as well as the small side-encounters along the way. This leads into the rather frantic and stellar sequence of the group trapped in the police station where the ferocity and cunning of the killers are put to great use for these scenes, the frantic barricade procedures to keep them out on the escape attempts that are failed spectacularly while all taking place inside the dimly-lit, claustrophobic location and a cramped, confined setting. Alongside the fine splattery gore, these here are what helps this one out over it's few minor problematic areas. Frankly, the biggest issue here is that the first hour of this is pure, unadulterated boredom merely through the continued insistence and focus on material not in the slightest bit interesting. Although this features a fine backstory about the history of the town and the killers, the rest of the film isn't exciting at all by the utterly inane side-plots which do nothing for this one. The troubled and fractured family life that takes up the majority of this one is insanely dull, as going through it all isn't that interesting with all sorts of cliched tactics to display this, from the alcoholic father, the unfaithful wife and rebellious daughter which has all been done so often there's nothing special about these characters and that leaves this one with an incredible mountain to overcome that is given an admittedly decent attempt to right it through the action later on. Likewise, that leads into the utterly idiotic idea later on where his judgment gets clouded unnecessarily into believing something that puts him in danger against his survival instincts. Had the beginning featured material we cared for, this one would've been really good.

Rated R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity, a mild sex scene, violence-against-children and heavy underage drinking.

Or maybe breaking bars? Who really knows, when something like that plays mostly in a prison/police station? The viewer should actually know or be able to make up his own mind of course, that's why I'm leaving that up to you. Richard Brake is a delight, though I would have liked it even more if he'd been the main police character, but hey we'll take what we get.

Very paranormal, very intriguing and very violent. Things that you should embrace and not be fearful of. Having said that, I hope you don't mind the many flaws. I almost deducted one point of my rating because of how irrational one female ran off outside from a safe room almost near the end ... it was to move away from that location, but it didn't make actual sense. Apart from giving us (the characters) a reason to get outside and in peril again ... ah well, still decent enough for what it is, low budget horror

On the tenth anniversary of his son's abduction, Deputy Dwayne Hopper (Patrick O'Kane) thinks he might have the kidnapper in one of his holding cells. Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake) was picked up and all of the info he has been giving up isn't matching up. Sending an off duty buddy to Perkins' house, Hopper soon finds out that Perkins is indeed the Stone Cove Kidnapper and a man with a sinister plan. Part of After Dark Horrorfest III, this little film started off so good. It has a great premise and set up, but the major plot action ends at 40 minutes in, leaving me wondering what in the world they were going to fill the remaining 50 minutes with. The rest falls into standard "people being stalked" territory. O'Kane and Brake are interesting leads, both men having unique looks that set them apart from the usual shiny teen lead casts we see nowadays. Director Craig Singer (DARK RIDE) does an excellent job of disguising Romania for Maine and the film is incredibly well shot. Too bad he kinda blew it with the handling of the plot. Look for former Misfits replacement singer Michale Graves in a supporting role.