Penny Dreadful

Now, this had all the elements of good horror - suspense, screams, breasts, and slashing. Not too bad for a film that takes place in the woods at night.

Penny (Rachel Miner) is traveling with her therapist (Mimi Rogers) to overcome her fear of cars after an auto accident as a child. Now, everyone knows not to pick up hitchhikers, and you should especially know not to take them into the woods, but hey, there wouldn't be a movie if they did the smart thing.

She, with a fear of cars, ends up stuck in a car with her dead therapist, and thus begins a night of horror. Dead bodies are piling up all over as she screams to get out.

I won't spoil it except to say that I really liked the ending.

And, I sure want to see some more of Tammy Filor.

Horror happens always at night, in abandoned places, when no one is around to help, to see, to witness. Horror happens to only a few of us, the ones who are innocent already, the ones who are weak, the ones who are helpless. It seems that evil is a coward-entity, chickens out on places with many people and strong people and real adversaries. Evil is simply afraid, mushy, and has no integrity whatsoever. May that be how it is, Penny Dreadful is a film where this happens exactly by the book. By this I don't mean to put the film down. In the contrary. PD is an awesome story about to helpless women caught in the darkness, alone, and exposed to evil, or en evil entity. I had a great time watching this film and it scared the crap out of me. I love Mimi Rogers and felt the whole cast was doing a great job. I recommend this film to anyone and hopefully it will come out on DVD and I'll get me a copy of it. Go see it, it is scary!

PD misses a lot of opportunities to scare or even freak you out. It has a great set-up, a devilishly simple set (mostly one car) and a bad guy who likes people-ka-bobs... so the scares are a sure thing...right? Nope. Unfortunately for the stellar cast, the movie makes every necessary effort to ruin surprises, cut to the wrong camera shot at the climactic moment, and follow every scary movie cliché there is. We have the "anybody there" moments, the "is that you" line every time the character speaks, the lovers doing it in the back and the great supporting cast that has no use but to fill body bags. Horror for horror sake is a good thing, but this film doesn't capitalize on its confined claustrophobic space, nor does it keep the tension that it could have. Camera shots are cool, but over used and usually not in the right spaces. Even the final scary sequence fails to deliver, ending mid-scene as if the writer forgot to finish it. There is no bang. Mimi Rogers is wasted, as is most of the cast. The main character Penny does a good job, reacts wonderfully... even when there is nothing scary even going on. Without any offense to the actors, or movies in which are set in one location (I love those) this movie is not worth the full price. I saw it to support the Horror fest national film festival... a suggestion for next year... how about a group rate (all 8 movies for one admission?).

The first time I saw this movie I didn't really care for it at all. I re-watched it a second time and I absolutely loved it. This movie has great suspense, terror and kills. Penny is a likable character, she is traumatized from a car accident, and is trying to get over her fears and is trying to be a regular person. Her therapist, Orianna, is taking Penny on a road-trip. It's to "Complete the Circle" and have Penny end her fears where they first began. The Hitchhiker is really creepy. He then traumatizes Penny even more throughout the film. The reason I liked this film is because first of all, it's a really good movie - if you're into this kind of film. And second because it shows how you don't a HUGE budget and big name stars in a movie for it to be good.

Penny Dreadful is not a great horror film, I've seen better. But what it is is an amazingly brilliant psychological thriller , Penny dreadful is a well made and well acted horror film that will satisfy any horror lovers urge for a good time. After surviving a horrible automobile accident that killed both her parents Penny Dearborn has an unstable and perpetual fear of cars, her therapists suggest that they confront her fear head on. So they take a road trip to cure Penny's fear, but it has dangerous and disastrous results when they pick up a psychotic hitchhiker. Penny Dreadful is a dark and gritty psychological thriller that takes you into the mind and soul of a frightened and traumatized young girl and her fight to say alive. This film explore three main themes, 1. terror and what it can do to you if you let it control you. 2: What certain events in your life can do to change who you are and what you are. 3: What the darkness of a quiet woods can do to turn your worst fears into a reality. Penny Dreadful is a psychological thriller that is right up there with the best and will continue to shock and scare you for a long time to come.