Veneno

Yes this brings back memories, the times were movies that were classified under horror were rated R. It also gets credit for having two slasher movies come out in the same week, though technically speaking, Cry Wolf isn't a slasher.

The movie would have probably done much better during the 80s, a time when a Friday the 13th sequel hit the screens so many times, people lost count. The movie is your typical, teens outside in a wild area (this time a swamp instead of the woods) and are stalked and brutally murdered off by a killer who is literally unstoppable.

If you want to go see a movie were people get killed and their is a lot of blood and gore, then go see this now. If you want a movie that has good acting, great story, and is smart and suave, hold off of this and check out Cry Wolf.

Or better yet, try to go out and see booth.

This was okay. The beginning was really good but as it kept going I thought that it was nothing special I've seen movies with plot like this hundreds of times but it was still nice to watch it sure had its suspense. The main character which I've seen in other movies really carried this whole film and saved it from complete disaster. I still think they should have done a better work in this it could have been a gem.

***May Contain Spoilers***

This movie is a pleasant surprise. While it is marketed to resemble a dozen movies similar to it, Venom has better than average plot development, an effectively eerie mood, and good suspense. The actors are unknowns, but they are believable. The film also avoids many horror movie clichés that would have otherwise dragged it down to a lower level.

Venom is evocative of many Wes Craven movies, especially Cursed, where another kind of "monster" is out attacking young people. In both, there is constant mayhem and suspense and the plots are easy to follow and moves quickly. I enjoyed the voodoo subtext here and even wished the story explained more of it and its role in motivating the killer.

Well worth a view on cable or DVD.

Of course this is no genre classic but once you've seen some more typical slasher flicks of this decade, you have to conclude that this movie is not all too bad in the long run. Nothing too memorable but just good enough to watch it.

People tend to call these type of movies new age horror but fact is that these type of movies have been around since the '70's, in which a bunch of hot looking teenagers are all getting killed one-by-one by a maniac/monster. Not much has changed since the '70's, except for its style and look.

Storywise this movie is of course very formulaic in every way thinkable. It's actually a very simple written story, in which basically nothing out of the ordinary happens and everything progresses and happens by the book. It's the type of screenplay that makes you go think; Hey! I could have written something like this! The story is perhaps the movie disappointing aspect of the movie, since otherwise this is basically a fine and well made movie.

I liked the movie its style. It kept the movie going, even though when nothing was happening in the movie. It makes sure that you never get bored. This is also thanks to the editing by Paul Martin Smith, who is a good editor but hasn't really been given good movies yet to proof his skills to the world. The directing was good and fresh and it seems to me that Jim Gillespie has some talent as a director, even though he hasn't really showed it with his movies yet. Perhaps he needs to stop working with Kevin Williamson, perhaps then he will get some better movie propositions to direct. Ever since "Scream" Kevin Williamson hasn't done a decent thing for the genre anymore but he's still active in the business, probably because he is the guy who wrote "Scream". For this movie he serves as a producer. He also wrote the previous Gillespie directed movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer", which became a success, though probably only because it got released so shortly after the success of "Scream" and the genre was hot and popular again at that time.

This is not the type of horror movie that should ever scare you, it's more a movie that entertains with its horror, perhaps of the reason that everything happens in such a predictable way. But Jim Gillespie obviously understands the genre though and knows what is important. So there is some gore and good make-up effects as well as a good 'killer'. You don't really ever start to care about the rest of the characters though, mainly because they remain so superficial and obviously also aren't being played by the most talented actors.

The movie brings zombie movies back to its roots; Voodoo. The earliest zombie movies, from the '20's on, always featured voodoo themes, whenever zombies were involved with the main story. Just too bad that the didn't really used much of the voodoo concepts to make this movie a bit more interesting and original to watch.

It's enjoyable enough for the fans of the genre and certainly not as bad as everyone tries to make you believe it is.

6/10

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So shoot me...I have a soft spot for slasher films, so "Venom" was a fun little horror film for me. I had never heard of it, but luckily I have access to rental screeners before they are released, otherwise I never would have seen this film.

Typical story, guy gets killed, guy comes back to life, guy starts killing people. Though this time it takes place in the swamps of Louisiana instead of Camp Crystal Lake. A bit of voodoo gets thrown in just for good measure.

Sure, the story isn't the greatest, and it's not going to win any Oscars for best actors, but the film still is a fun little time waster for all horror fans out there.

If you enjoy the slasher films of the late 70's and the 80's, be sure to check this one out. Could be a surprise for you. Otherwise, steer clear of this film.