Tumbas abiertas

Oh Eliza! Whatever possessed you to be part of this nightmare? The only "horror" about this film is that it was made at all. A group of nice-looking booze and sex fueled 20-something's play an antique game, and then start dying. Luckily for them, even though the box containing the game was passed down from the 15th century Spanish Inquisition, all the cards are in pristine condition AND conveniently printed in English! WOW, what luck! There are absolutely no surprises or suspense whatsoever, as this has been done many times before in many better ways. Sadly, even the gratuitous sex scenes generally associated with this genre are almost non-existent, apparently to devote more screen time to the horrible deaths. Out of deference to Eliza Dushku, I cannot give this the one star rating it truly deserves. The rest of the actors are mediocre at best, God-awful at worst. All are completely forgettable, as is the film itself within fifteen minutes of viewing. Skip it, even from the bargain bin.

Okay, OPEN GRAVES is poor. Surprisingly poor, considering the effort that has gone into this low budget production; although it's a US-financed movie it was shot in Spain with a Spanish director and supporting cast. And yet it turns out to be completely horrible, which is all thanks to a lacklustre storyline.

A group of brain-dead surfers are the unlikeable protagonists in this film, among their number the minor horror star Eliza Dushku (WRONG TURN). They get mixed up in a dark world of voodoo and horror when they start playing a game which sees them dying for real. It's much like the 1990s film JUMANJI, where the board game came to life and took the kids on an adventure, except with a horror slant.

Not that there's much in the way of horror here. This a murkily-shot production where swathes of boredom are interspersed with a few mildly gory supernatural death sequences. For some reason, the filmmakers are reliant on very poor CGI effects to keep the movie going, and it sinks the production further. OPEN GRAVES is a real stinker, that's for sure.

This movie kept me entertained, or a least awake through to the end. Some of the story was not predictable but a lot was. The supporting plot (kind of the history and rule of this enchanted/cursed game) just happen to show up when the plot deadened. Too much of this weak plot structure throughout movie. The plot is that 6 young adults play a board game and stuff happens. Humankind meets Ouige for for the thriller/slasher crowd, but doesn't hold the morbid action. Theres a huge hole in the plot line.. starts with the Spanish Inquisition where a monk is sent to rid the world of its evil by burning it, but on second thought..."Next 2020 and a creepy used crap-store is selling it, and the store manager coaxes this American blond surfer dude to take it and play Mamba, (the name of the game). Specially when the nonstop surf and beach crowd are rainout of there fun during a "spring break-like" holiday. And they do, all apps, drinking dancing, mating is out on hold so these kids can play their recently acquired board game.

The plot of "Open Graves" is very simple:it's about a board game called Mamba,where the players die in real life the same way they die in the game.Laughable death scenes include killings via computer generated crabs and snakes.The characters are cardboard and deliberately annoying and there isn't even a tiny bit of suspense.I liked Eliza Dushku in "Wrong Turn",but she is completely wasted and unmemorable here.The climax with CGI-witch coming from the sea is utterly laughable and stupid.The only reason to see "Open Graves" are some interesting camera angles plus sexy Eliza Dushku.If such movies are the future of horror then I seriously give up.Give me any 70's or 80's low-budget horror flick over this modern piece of crap.A generous 3 out of 10.

An obnoxious group of young twerps are partying in Spain, according to the story anyway, when one of the group runs into an oddball at a curio shop. The oddball correctly sizes-up this young jerk and gives him something he really deserves: a game, supposedly from the Spanish Inquisition. The game kills the participants in macabre ways. An added thread to the "plot" is a rouge cop who wants the game for himself, though this adds little to the movie. After 20 minutes, the audience is relieved when the main characters start to get killed one-by-one. The death scenes try to gross-out the viewer, but fail miserably. One scene with killer crabs reminded me of something out of the 3 Stooges. Really unconvincing CGI's; watch only if you want a few, very few, laughs.