kastrino

I didn't think too much about watching this one especially after I saw the late great Julian Sands name on the poster. It is a classic horror story with a twist and a few Lovecraftian overtones that will please the fans of the king of cosmic horror. The movie starts at a steady pace by laying down the story and various players, quite atmospheric at times and tries to keep the mystery in check for as long as possible. After a while, the plot becomes apparent but this does not hurt the pace and there are a few surprises in store. The ending was a bit too "happy" and convenient for its own good, but overall this was a good movie that tries to honor older horror movies while keeping in touch with the present. Not a masterpiece but a solid effort that makes up an entertaining watch for horror fans.

A few weeks ago I bought the new Blu Ray of this forgotten DIY anthology horror mainly based on the reviews here at IMDb and Amazon. Generally, most point at a forgotten but worthy low budget horror and I'm all for this kind of movies so I had relatively big expectations before I put this in my Blu Ray player. Unfortunately, I found the movie to be barely watchable, totally forgettable and unoriginal in most respects. The acting is laughable most of the time, but that is not an issue for a horror fan that tries to find other redeeming qualities in such movies. Personally, apart from some successful practical effects that stand out in the no-budget atmosphere and the relative interest in the plot of a couple of the stories, I didn't find much else to like in this movie. The Blu Ray image is VHS quality also, but this is another story altogether.

I quite enjoyed this one, a low budget variation on a common horror theme that we see more and more nowadays, especially after the success of titles such as SMILE which seems to be a clear influence for this movie. It begins with almost disjointed laying- down of the basic plot premises in a way that the mystery remains as long a possible, reaching a good climax and ending all the way enriched with some really stand- out gore and violence moments. Most of the reviews here at IMDb adopt a very unfair in my eyes critical approach to the movie, but for me it was a fresh and interesting indie horror that may not be perfect, but it clearly stands out from the vast majority of modern horror fare. Recommended for horror hounds.