Hallowed

I thought for sure I was going to regret buying this film after the DVD caught my eye on the shelf of my video store, but I took the gamble anyway being the horror fanatic that I am. First of all, I recently bought Harvest of Fear and Heebie Jeebies (other indie horror films at the same level) and hated both of them. Hallowed, although I didn't love or anything, did hold my interest and by the end of the film I found myself thinking it wasn't that bad. The acting needed to be better, but I thought the filmmakers did a decent job and the music was great in my opinion. So all in all Hallowed is a decent horror film and I'm glad I got a copy.

I remember seeing the tagline "Say Your Prayers" which got me to give it a whirl. When I saw it last month, I really dug it! This reminds you of a great 1980's era horror flick with routine scare tactics, but done with good acting and a fast paced style. I almost didn't see it when I heard it was compared to "Halloween" which didn't work for me, I'm glad I made the trip to the city to check it out though as I found it to be better than Halloween. What I liked most were the killing scenes, which are really freaky and have a no holds barred style to them. I liked Cassie and her friends a lot as well as Father Jacob who was kind of freaky to me. Also, Gabriel is a good sick & twisted relentless killer...If you like 1980's era horror films, you will most likely enjoy this film. A good old-fashioned horror film that does what it intends to do: scare you.

This film was definitely worth the wait. I've been looking forward to the DVD for several months and now I am glad to have bought it. Hallowed is kind of like all the old 80's flicks with an interesting twist. Gabriel gets messed up in the head after seeing his mom blown away by his dad and then grows up believing he's been sent from Lord All Mighty to kill. There are some cool pop out moments and times where you crack up in laughter. Seriously, this is my kind of horror and I think more should be made like this. The pace of this film does seem to zoom by fast so pay attention, cause it's over before you know it. But if you're like me and like the classics of Halloween/Nightmare/Friday, and the rest of those old slasher killer movies, this is a must see.

A little different horror movie than the in-your-face brutal slashers as Saw & Hostel (which doesn't do it for me) Hallowed delivered what it promised... a retrospect horror film. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this film was released back in the 80's. The story was simple; there was suspense, some scares and even a little blood. No heads were ripped off and no flesh-eating zombies. Just a scary tale about a disturbed man terrorizing a small California city.

Of course the film isn't perfect. I rated it a solid "8" because it held my attention with great camera movement, awesome lighting and an eerie soundtrack, but some of the performances were less than perfect but you could tell the director did a good job despite the obvious lack of $$$.

Or so it was supposed to have been. Changes of screening times & dates were merely the icing on the cake of problems that the baja film festival had. Needless to say I was very disappointed in how they handled the event. However, this comment is for Hallowed and to the makers of this film whom I chatted with that night. You asked for my opinion so here it is.

First of all, I love all kinds of films and don't judge them by budget or format. If it's a well made film then I'm happy. Hallowed really caught my attention from the beginning. The slow crawl through the "secret locations" (I won't spoil it) was creepy. The flow of the film was decent though there were many moments that were just too dark. I'll take the director's word for it that it was the festivals poor projector. Still, I found myself caught up in the story and wanted to stick around to see what happened next. The music and especially sound effects were perfection. If there was one element that needed improving, it was the killer's stale acting. I could not tell if he was speaking like that on purpose or if he really needs more acting classes.

Nonetheless, Hallowed is definitely a "must-see" in my book. I wish it and the makers much success.