getmatthewjohn

Haunted Studio is an horror comedy similar in style to the Hammer horror franchise.

Gerald Tobin runs a UK film studio and is struggling to make ends meet, which is excaerbated after his Eastern European wife writes a horror script, which inadvertently summons a 'demon' killing all his cast and crew! Rather than contacting the police, they prefer to 'let sleeping dogs lie', supplying the odd studio visitor to satiate the Demon's hunger!! When a Yankee friend of Tobin's niece visits, he threatens to expose the Tobin's little secret but will he do it in time and save the day!

The narrative is fair but the dialogue is better, performed well by the actors. All 4 principal actors gel and complement one another but my pick has to be Jon-Paul Gates intense portrayal of the low budget studio producer Tobin. The banter and rivalry between him and Peter (Hans Hernke) is expertly delivered and Gates's dress up of Zorro is comedy gold!

If the narrative was better, my score would have been better.

Overall, I enjoyed this film, although it did seem to be a lower-budget version of 'Taken', but instead of Liam Neeson kicking ass, there are numerous hot 'blondes' doing it. Combining their superior psyche, these females exploit the machismo, one-dimensional nature of the villains, especially in the final act. That being said, I thought the actors cast as the antagonists did a good job. In particular, I enjoyed the camaraderie and 'friendship' between the eyepatch character and his Eastern European accomplice (Jon-Paul Gates, who I have seen in other films). Even though both were abducting and raping women at will, I thought their character traits personified the Eastern European mafia, where loyalty is not as important as greed and self-aggrandisement. When Gates attempts to drive the car, bleeding profusely, and Eyepatch asserts he can't drive, is hilarious! Some amusing moments in between the carnage of sex trafficking!