Open 24 Hours

54 year old horror fan. I've seen it all. Nothing scares me anymore, and I'm mainly interesting in how the setup, the acting, the killings, the suspense etc. is done. More analyzing than living my self into it. Boy have I seen a lot of crab. Yes we have seen it all before, nothing new to horror movies since Samara arose from the well. However this little flick is well executed. Nice directing, nice location, good music, well acting. What is real and what is not. Taking the lead actors background into consideration it sure is a messed up mind. Yes the mirror trick is well exposed, and the killer moving from one location to another in 1 minute is unrealistic. All horror movies are unrealistic. Bear that in mind, and watch it anyway. I was entertained and didn't felt bored for a minute.

I'm a sucker for a realistic (as far as horror movies go at least) horror movie set in a very creepy location almost exclusively. 'Open 24 Hours' checked those boxes. A deserted gas station on a cold, stormy night will do just nicely. That's a great place to start from, but then you have to have an interesting premise with some remotely likeable characters that I will give a damn about. The film gets pass marks on those points narrowly. The premise was a stretch, but if you buy into it it works well enough. The characters were surprisingly strong. The main character 'Mary' was supposed to have just come out of prison, and she was nowhere near hardened enough to have done that, however I think that was important because it kept her likeable enough that I cared what her fate would be. The supporting cast were serviceable too.

There are a lot of hallucination/dream scenes in the film and it can have you asking yourself exactly what type of movie you're watching. Are you watching a girl lose her mind, or is there a genuine threat? Or is it both? Until the movie clears that up it can be a little hard to settle into exactly what you're watching for a while there.

The film's finale is its biggest strength. It was a surprisingly well put together sequence. There is some very heavy violence later in the film too, so be prepared for that if you need to be. I had a better time with 'Open 24 Hours' than I expected to. I would call it a pleasant surprise and say it is worth a look.

This movie isn't going to be in any body's top ten anytime soon but it was surprisingly well paced and better than a lot of movies in this genre.

Only if you love slashers you're going to find some substance watching this movie. It has several nice deaths and the setting is pretty cool. On the other hand weak script, acting and storyline. So, overall just an OK b type slasher.

Decent horror is not that easy to make. So when a small (budget) movie like this comes along, some will probably cherish it more than others. Horror is always something that is fascinating, whether you are appalled by it or drawn to it. You experience something through the eyes of the protagonist and depending on your level of attachment, you go for the fuill ride or just lean back and enjoy whatever happens on screen.

Although enjoy might be the wrong word in some cases. And this is one of them. There is more than a bit of suspense here. And there is some brutal killings. For a slasher normal and obviously since this is a movie, you can't hold it against it. If that floats your boat, you will get what you bargained for. The movie is more than decent overall