Hallowed Ground

HALLOWED GROUND is a peculiar little movie. Good camera work. Decent actors. And dull as watching paint dry.

Somebody forgot that the first six letters in "thriller" are t-h-r-i-l-l. The object is to make people's pulses race, not to put the audience to sleep.

Elizabeth's car breaks down in a strange (and underpopulated) little town. She gets it to a garage, only to be told that the needed part can't be gotten until tomorrow. Stranded.

She goes to a diner and gets into a conversation with a tabloid reporter conveniently in town to do a story on strange events in the area many years ago. The reporter conveniently provides exposition establishing the main conflict that the story will cover.

And so we're treated to Elizabeth's adventures trying to escape a crazed cult. So we have a little CHILDREN OF THE CORN, a touch of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and a dash of those movies Hammer Studios made where Christopher Lee's cult got outsmarted by Peter Cushing. For seasoning add a cute little girl. But no original ideas involved.

This would have been a great thirty minute episode of Tales from the Darkside. But stretching it to feature length was just cruel.

Most reviews make this out to be horrid. I watched it because of Jaimie Alexander and Hudson Leick. I wasn't expecting very much, especially with plot keywords like "Killer scarecrow", and it's not my particular favorite horror sub-genre.

In the end, it wasn't that bad. It was somewhat predictable, falling prey to many clichés of the genre. It had a couple twists to make it seem to break away though. Overall the acting was OK...some of the townspeople seemed a little cardboard, but the leads do a good job.

It could have done with a few less scenes of people running through cornfields, but at 83 minutes with credits, I think it needed all the time it could get. If you like Jaimie, it's a good view. While the storyline is a little generic, overall it is mostly put together well and better than some things out there.

After she becomes stranded in a small town, a young woman (played by Jaimie Alexander of "Rest Stop") discovers her arrival there was foretold a century earlier by the town's founding preacher and that she is an integral part of his impending -- and terrifying -- rebirth. Oh, and there's a scarecrow that likes to kill people, too.

So I waited too long to write this review and the film is no longer fresh in my mind. Therefore, I cannot make very good specific criticisms. Sorry. But maybe the film isn't worth a thorough dissemination, as it really wasn't particularly good. I enjoy Jaimie Alexander, so it was nice to see her in another horror movie (are you a horror actress or a TV actress, Jaimie?) but besides that... I don't know.

Having seen both "Superstition" and "Horror Rises From the Tomb" this year, the idea of a prophecy that has an old religious fanatic coming back from the grave really wasn't a shocking new development in cinema for me. So this time it was a preacher instead of a warlock or witch... it was still a man who believes in the supernatural who had turned to killing in order to get his way with things, so there's not really a huge stretch.

What really struck me as the mistake with this film is the focus on the city of believers (not unlike "The Reaping" or any other film with a religious, isolated city) and not so much on the scarecrow that came back to kill people. I didn't quite understand the scarecrow, but I wanted to see more of him (an maybe get a better background). People with cult beliefs just don't do it for me, unless there's some really, really good explanation (which there rarely is). I'd complain about the cop being in on the whole thing, but I already made that complaint today in my review for "Lake Dead"... just stop it already! Should I complain about the gas station being in on it, too? You know, like "House of 1000 Corpses" or "Vacancy" or many others? Do all these small towns take notes from the same textbook?

Sure, you get a crucifixion. I like them, you like them... we all like seeing people nailed to the cross. Some of us like to look at this sort of thing once a week or more (I'm not one of those people). So there's blood. I don't recall any nudity, though... unfortunately. I mean, I like Jaimie Alexander with clothe on -- she's classy. But she had a friend in the film... if you're going to die anyway, why not just take your shirt off?

Like I said, I cannot make very good specific complaints. But I wasn't impressed. Everything about this film reeked off some other films. Oh, scarecrows like "Jeepers Creepers" or corn rows like... "Children of the Corn"? And I've already made numerous other references in this review. I suppose if you're going to rent this, you're going to rent this. Some of you may even be gullible enough to buy it. But I want you to know if you're going to do it, it's not going to be because of me. My copy is getting less play than Richard Simmons at the Playboy Mansion.

JAIMIE Alexander is a young woman who inadvertently stumbles upon a town full of loonies who believe a legend about a demented preacher involved in human sacrifices. The ghost of a town is the wrong place for a gal like Alexander to be, for she's in immediate peril from them and a scarecrow that comes to life.

It's all very reminiscent of every horror film ever made about cornfields and "children of the corn" and skies full of menacing black crows. This one had a lot of potential if it knew that the real scares would come from the scarecrow coming to life and had developed that theme in a more compelling way. The scarecrow angle could have been played for better thrills.

BRIAN McNAMARA, as the town sheriff who knows more than he's willing to say about everything, is fine, but JAIMIE Alexander gives the impression that she's not capable or willing to give the role of the distraught woman more than a basic reading.

I just happened to come across it while surfing cable TV and stayed tuned to see whether it developed into a logical fright film. It didn't. Too many loopholes and implausible circumstances throughout, but it was at least an average thriller of its kind. The cornfield scenes were extremely well photographed but there was a tacky "direct to TV" look about the rest of the film.

While decidedly overdone, and giving us an early taste of weak CGI that threatens our suspension of disbelief, the opening scene is mildly promising as a suggestion of what the narrative could be. The opening credits display a list of names that offer a world of welcome possibility, and I can't help but be mildly gleeful at finding out that composer extraordinaire Neil Acree lends his talents for this feature; even the first few themes we get to hear are quietly inspiring. Even with his involvement, though, it's very fair to enter 'Hallowed ground' with at best mixed expectations - after all, it was released direct-to-video, and had its grand premiere on... the Sci-Fi Channel.

Yet then, before 15 minutes have passed, we get an absolute treat: purposefully, abjectly over the top, and more than a little tongue-in-cheek comedic horror. The glassy-eyed stare townspeople give protagonist Liz is delightfully hammy, while Hudson Leick gives reporter Sarah the same intense, wild energy she brought to villain Callisto in 'Xena: Warrior princess' - while gushing a veritable flood of exposition within 5 minutes. Why, she even gets to deliver an outstanding pun, and inorganically speak the film's title aloud, only a few minutes later! Nick Chinlund happily chews scenery in what we see of town founder Jonas Hathaway, while one small embellishment after another greets our vision. 'Hallowed ground' actively, willfully declines any sense of subtlety, and with that it becomes a wonderful, jolly good time very quickly.

The plot is kind of light, and one or two details are perhaps not really explained, but it's plentifully sufficient in light of what this movie wants to be. Jaimie Alexander, playing it straight in the lead role, offers a nice contrast of some nuance and range relative to the deliberate bombast we get otherwise. The unbothered fun includes the appearance of Ethan Phillips, whose soft timbre is so out of place in a horror flick that it would be impossible to take 'Hallowed ground' totally seriously even if it wanted us to - I mean, just imagine if John Fiedler, long-time voice of Winnie the Pooh, appeared in a similar prominent role. Dialogue and scene writing bears a lot of familiar slasher notions, all but tropes - but they're done well such as they are. While the narrative includes ideas that could easily be played to earnest, terrifying ends - religious zealotry, a long-simmering conspiracy, coordinated movement against an innocent woman - here they are amplified to a degree that only amplifies the pomposity.

True, 'Hallowed ground' is a bit inconsistent. For all the consciously overcooked bluster that initially greets us, in the second half that aspect takes a backseat and it feels like writer-director David Benullo was aiming for more straightforward horror thrills. Then, too, we get a small scene imparting the protagonist's backstory, and it's an intended emotional beat that here just seems out of place. The computer-generated special effects are an eyesore - glimpsed in the opening scene, and regrettably far more prevalent at the climax. An early passing line of throwaway dialogue includes an utterly unnecessary transphobic slur. And, while part of a cohesive, coherent narrative, a content warning should be mentioned for themes of sexual assault.

Still, where the narrative writing falters, rather than sloppiness I think this is more a reflection of the concept just not entirely working as intended. Because by and large, I think this is actually fairly well done. There's just enough personality to most characters so they don't feel entirely flat and dull; there's some intelligence in the dialogue, and the scenario; the scene writing seems fairly tight. A bit rough at the start, overall I think Keith Duggan's cinematography is suitably rich and crisp. Blood and gore looks fine. And while Benullo's list of credits doesn't particularly bat an eye, he demonstrates some capability in arranging some nice shots. From a technical standpoint, and in the broad strokes of the writing, I don't see any major issues with this movie.

The chief fault as I see it is simply that 'Hallowed ground' doesn't have one consistent tone. It's hilarious at the outset, catching us off guard, before easing into a more serious air of horror. It's possible that transition was intentional, but either way, the shift is noticeable and comes across as a tad incongruent; to have stuck with one mood throughout would have strengthened the whole. Regardless, I began watching with very low expectations, and was surprised at how enjoyable the picture turned out to be. It's hardly essential - whatever flavor of horror film you're looking for, there are better examples, and I can only offer a soft recommendation. When all is said and done, though, I found this duly entertaining, and I'm reasonably sure that, if nothing else is true, was the intent all along. So, even if imperfect, I'd call this a success.