Terrifier - L'inizio

If you're going to close your mind off to the fact that this is supposed to be a cheesy, low-budget creepfest with some silliness mixed in, then you aren't going to enjoy it.

However, if you want something twisted, demonic, and just flat out sick at times - I say you'll enjoy it. Do yourself a favor, unlike others, don't go into this thing with high expectations. It is supposed to make you cringe, be creeped out, and laugh all at the same time. It is not supposed to be taken seriously.

For an independent low-budget horror film, it did a solid job. Did I roll my eyes? Absolutely. Did the Carpenteresque score, isolated atmosphere, and one helluva creepy character balances this out? Yes. Give it a shot, especially around All Hallows' Eve. 7/10 on entertainment value alone.

Given the overwhelming popularity of shockfests like Martyrs and the Saw series, the nearly universal disapproval of this film is itself shocking. It's strange how some films can make their mark for the very things that cause others to be rebuked. All Hallows' Eve is low budget and has its mistakes, but overall is a wonderful, very scary exploitation horror film with a memorable villain and surprisingly good production values.

All Hallows' Eve is an anthology film. Like most horror anthologies such as Tales From the Darkside: The Movie, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Trick R' Treat, All Hallows' Eve has three main stories plus a wraparound story that ties them together. Director Damien Leone chose this format to showcase his pre-existing short films ("The 9th Circle" and "Terrifier"), so only the second story and the wraparound are totally new. The film opens with a woman babysitting two children on Halloween night and the discovery that someone has sneaked a VHS tape into one of the children's trick-or-treat bags. Reluctantly the babysitter plays the tape and the first of three stories begins.

With regard to reputation, there seem to be three primary complaints about the movie: 1) The director used previously created material, 2) The film is excessively gory, and 3) The acting is bad. Each of these is easily negated. First, most people have not seen the two short films, so the director seized his chance to have them viewed by a large audience. Completely understandable. Second, yes the film is graphic, but certainly no more than a hundred others released in the past decade, many of which were very popular. Third, the acting is actually pretty good. It's definitely strong enough to let the audience suspend their disbelief, which is after all the name of the game.

If there's one thing I've learned from reading reviews and posts on IMDb and elsewhere, it's that people will complain about anything. The truth is that All Hallows' Eve is a tense, entertaining horror film alive with creativity, realistic effects, and inspired direction. Its rating on IMDb (as of this writing) is unfortunate and unfair. If you want a polished horror film that's long on plot and every shot perfectly framed, see something else. If you want to have a good time and be scared, see this.

I sat down to watch this movie, expecting the absolute worst, based on the 4.6 rating. What I found instead was actually a pretty decent movie, with a creepy atmosphere, an even creepier clown, and entertainment worth more than such a low rating.

I admit, along with everyone else who liked it, that the acting was somewhat stiff and awkward at times and some scenes seemed to drag on way too long, but the fun cheesiness of the movie far outweighed a little bad acting.

If you can enjoy a campy, low budget movie and/or are terrified of clowns, you shouldn't overlook this one. Just don't sit down with high expectations or you'll probably be disappointed.

The 4.6 rating seems a bit low, but this movie isn't a masterpiece. Actually it's pretty far from being a masterpiece, lol. The acting was really awkward at certain points and some of the material is really questionable, but that f***ing clown is freaky as hell. And I'm not one of those types that are "afraid of clowns." But... the awkwardness of it all actually sort of enhanced the feeling of creepiness, in a weird way?

Also, how they linked and wrapped up the story was really clever. It didn't help that something crashed outside my window when the movie was over.

I usually don't watch movies below a 6.0 rating and I would never watch a movie below 5.0 (yes, I'm that type of person), but I was bored and I thought the clown looked scary so I gave this movie a try. Really glad that I did.

This film starts with a grainy, realistic 90s feel, I loved the elements of vulnerability with the babysitter and two children. However, after the initial unveil of the VHS it began to slip Into a much softer variation of Terrifier.

There are three short stories shown from the VHS however, all are reminiscent of an anthology of short stories, crafted into one feature film, and too be honest it is confusing since it has limited foundations.

Not only do we not know what any of the creatures are, from the cultists in masks, a demon, a scuba- diving alien, and Art the Clown himself, there is no motives it seems other than to capture, torture, kill or rape which leaves a gaping hole on trying to discover any meaningful connection to anything other than an evil entity.

The VHS scene involving a baby being cut from someone's stomach to a leathery faced demon about to have a sexual ritual with a girl sensed it had inspiration from the cult classic Rosemary's baby.

Otherwise, what starts as an old-school Halloween horror fest gradually loses interest, and while the are some macabre scenes, nothing really jumps out and grabs your attention.

Art the Clown played by Mike Giannelli doesn't have the same charisma and clever comedic expressions as David Howard Thornton in Terrifier, and so Art doesn't seem have the same unique spark, or feature improvements such as make-up affects which makes him feel more delightfully "Terrifying"

A notable dislike comes from the fact that Art is a supernatural character and that while being whacked, stabbed, and shot doesn't seem to mortally wound, or impede the crazed psychopath whatsoever. Therefore, Art manages to catch up to his victim on every occasion with little effort or hinderance leaving no likelihood or genuine possibilities for escape. I for one like to see survival, and the arduous journey of self-discovery, but with this franchise the predictability of seeing everyone slaughtered leaves nothing to chance and therefore leaves no legitimate surprises.

It's a shame that an intriguing idea gets caught up too much is the sacrificial gore instead of solid storytelling. There is much we don't know, but also don't understand. While I don't think All Hallows Ever is a completely meaningless gore-filled slasher, I don't think it serves a hell of a lot of purpose at this point other than to shock and terrify the audience on different and resourceful ways to showcase brutal acts of violence.

5/10.