Sl8n8

I have seen this movie and must confess that it is nothing more and nothing less then a standard horror movie. The storyline is thin, but is that not always the case in a horror movie? The budget was not a Hollywood budget, as you can see in the movie. But i watched the movie in one track and i was not bored in the 90m minutes of so. Victoria was great in this movie and i hope she will make more movies in the future where we can see more of her. Go rent this movie in the DVD store,watch it, enjoy it and forget about it. It is not a movie where you will talk about the next day. I give it a 6/10, and a 8/10 for victoria (when will playboy call her?)

Well, Sl8n8 isn't exactly original horror; but it does a good job of taking the common slasher clichés and moulding a fun and gory little horror film out of them. The film reminded me a lot of the direct to video crap-fest "Curse of the Forty-Niner" as it features supernatural themes, a mine and some dumb teenagers, but luckily the similarities end there. The slasher film is more associated with the US than the Netherlands (which I generally don't associate with films in general), but it would seem that the writers of "Sl8n8" have watched enough American films to see how the slasher works. The plot is frankly ridiculous, and starts with a car crash in which a girl's father is killed. She then goes on a road trip with her friends, and stops at his office to recover some stuff. They end up getting roped into having a tour of an old mine where a murderer who the girl's father was researching met his end. Naturally, things soon go wrong and the kids decide that it's time to experiment with a Ouija board, which turns out to be a big mistake as now the murderous spirit is on the rampage...

The good thing about this film is definitely the fact that it's gory. Writer-directors Frank van Geloven and Edwin Visser obviously realise that the lack of brains can easily be masked with a lot of nasty gore scenes, and it has to be said that this works well as the death scenes definitely do make the film a lot of fun to watch. The film does take a short while to get going, and not much happens in the first half; but once it shifts up the gears, Sl8n8 becomes a relentless and engaging little flick, but I don't suppose I'm going to remember much of it in a few weeks time. The main thing that annoyed me about the film, however, was the flashy cinematography; which sometimes made it near on impossible to tell what is going on. Other criticisms include the title - I'm not a fan of the whole substituting numbers for letters thing (cough Se7en cough), and "Sl8n8" really is a poor title. I suspect it will be changed when/if this film gets a US release as in English that title comes out as 'Sleight Neight'! Overall, this film is fun enough and I'd certainly recommend it for an hour and a half's entertainment.

Before Sl8n8 there was Doodeind. Unfortunately Doodeind wasn't such a great movie. The actors were bad, the story was a cliché bomb and the special effects were (for what I've seen in other Dutch movies) awful. Victoria Koblenko played in both movies. She sucked in Doodeind but did a great job in Sl8n8! Maybe it's because she played the main part in Sl8n8 and had just a little one in Doodeind.

The story is really scary. You're lost in a mine and there's some freak-show chasing you with his big knife. But... it's your own fault! A girl got in a car accident with her father and he dies. He has this huge mine and the girl decides to check it out with some friends. They have fun and think "Hey! Why not make contact with some ghost while we're in a dark mine which is going to collapse in I don't know... like 5 minutes?". The story may be scary but it doesn't make any sense. But okay. They make contact with some fire-ghost freak-show and he starts chasing them. This movie gets really scary and there's lots of gore! So much better than Doodeind. If you get the chance... Watch this movie!

In 1857, child murderer Andries Martiens, is sent into a mine as a punishment for his crimes. His punishment? He must detect dangerous methane leaks by setting them off...personally.

On a ride home from a club, Kristel Lodema confronts tragedy with the sudden death of her father in a freak car accident. In a attempt to learn more about her recently deceased father she travels to Belgium with a group of friends, to pick up her father's last manuscript. Coincidentally, her father used to work in the same mine that Andries Martiens was executed in.

The new tour guide convinces Kristel and her friends to go into the mine for a guided tour. A tour which unleashes a great evil and ends with many, many, grisly murders....including plenty decapitations! Slaughter Night is (as the name suggests) a slasher flick. In all honesty, the film is kinda like a combination of The Descent, and the original Evil Dead....although Slaughter Night isn't as good a film as either of those Horror classics. This is not to say the film is bad, but it's just not anything all that special.

The performances themselves aren't bad, the direction is good. The editing needs some work as many scenes set up without proper introduction, and the killer seems to pop out in too many different areas, far too quickly than is humanly possible. If you can set your brain on vacation, you might come out liking this film.

That being said, let's make this really simple.

If your a fan of trashy horror films, and love watching stupid teens get sliced and diced. You'll love this movie. SL8N8 features some of the most gruesome deaths i've seen on film in recent memory. Boat loads of gore, with little or no hard substance. And if that's your stuff, then don't hesitate and pick this film up! If your looking for a good, solid horror film with character development and a strong plot with strong performances, go watch The Descent or something comparable. Because SL8N8 is NOT a Horror masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. It's just a fun Slasher Flick with more than it's share of brutal violence.

**I do wish to caution those who might be upset by violence involving young children, because Slaughter Night features a few scenes of grisly violence involving children.** But if you can get past that, check this movie out. it's just a really fun, gory horror film from the Netherlands.

Kristel (Victoria Koblenko) after a night out partying is on her way home with her father. He's angry that she keeps secrets from him and is not paying attention to the road which results in a horrible car crash which in turn takes her father's life. After the funeral Kristel goes on a tour of a mineshaft (Kristel's dad was working on a book about a serial killer, the mine being where said killer died). Long story short, the people taking the tour get trapped, they whip out a Ouija board for no reason whatsoever and release the body-hopping spirit of the killer. Yes, you've seen this scenario play out a thousand times or more. The film is hopelessly derivative and lacks any form of originality whatsoever. But what it lacks for them, at least it does it reasonably well. This is one of the films that when it's over, you won't think twice about. Victoria Koblenko is pretty hot though and it was a shame the makers of the film didn't put her 'talents' on display, if you catch my drift.

My grade: C-

Tartan's DVD Extras (R1): Making of documentary; outtake reel; theatrical trailer; and trailers for "H6", "Hillside Strangler", "Sheitan", "Bloody Reunion", and "Perth"