La hoguera del diablo

After just viewing the DVD of THE FURNACE...UNRATED, I suppose I got what I expected - not a whole lot to shout about, but not a complete waste of an hour and a half.

It's got a fairly well known cast, mainly made up of C Listers, Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore, Michael Pare...and Ja 'Jeffrey Atkins' Rule, where the hell did they drag him up from! (he even has his mug slapped smack bang on the centre of the cover - errr!) - To be fair the acting was OK, could have been a total disaster.

The film has a fairly good atmosphere, just don't expect THE EXORCIST type atmosphere - aim more at the more recent Ghost movies like THE RING. And yet again, what is with this UNRATED tag they keep putting on the covers, there's nothing here that would'nt have been in an 'R' rated version.

I must just finish by saying the make-up effects guys, have done a great job - the burns and gore are actually pretty realistic, just hoped for a bit more on that front.

My advice...whatever you do DO NOT buy this film, unless it's really cheap, give it a rent or wait for Cable/Satellite.

While opening the abandoned south wing of the Blackgate Prison to receive three hundred new inmates, one security guard and one prisoner enters in the furnace room. In the evening, the guard commits suicide and later the inmate is found dead in his cell in weird circumstances. Detective Michael Turner (Michael Paré) investigates the suicide case and he notes that the guard had just lost two fingers. He drives to the prison, where he discloses an uncanny event in the furnace room.

"Furnace" is a lame movie with an awful screenplay that does not develop well the characters or the situations, which are absolutely disconnected, senseless and without explanation. The conclusion is terrible, with many people dying (security guards, coroner, prisoners etc.) and the only action is sealing again the wing of the prison without any further consequence. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "A Fornalha" ("The Furnace")

There is nothing like an old prison to add to the creepiness of a horror film, especially if there is some old murders that are at the root of the horror.

Looking at this from just a detective thriller, it is very interesting as Michael Paré looks into a couple of suicides related to the prison. He hooks up with the prison psychiatrist (Jenny McShane) to investigate.

Lots of creepiness and excitement for those that like Ring-type horror.

Always love a chance to see Danny Trejo.

They had to add that irritating rap during the credits! Biggest disappointment: Just who in the world runs out of a shower screaming at the sight of the ghost and takes the time to put on a bathrobe? You have to be kidding me!

I can't understand why this is considered "unrated". There was no significant gore, no graphic nudity, no torture....nothing but the typical "R" rated schlock that continues to be churned out by amateur horror filmmakers. Other than about five seconds of the usual boring fake sex footage with the two main characters, there is nothing even really "R" rated in this film. In fact it is a very slow-moving, poorly acted, poorly scripted, tangled mess. The plot is very thin and predictable, the camera work terrible, and it's not the least bit scary. The prison setting (especially the closed-off section) does provide a bit of eerieness, but is otherwise ruined by the above-mentioned flaws. Just another unforgettable movie to throw on the scrap-heap of bad low-budget horror films. 2 stars

Put your head in a furnace if you enjoyed this while your at it throw the lame goof in