Hallowed

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 $$$.

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.

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.

Okay, so there are more than a few reasons to hate this film. The main reason would be that the film single-handedly copies "Halloween" which is the genre's classic masterpiece. But do the filmmakers actually copy it like other teen-slashers such as "Scream" or even worse "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Urban Legend" No, they really don't. The villain in "Hallowed" is definitely a unique character who doesn't hide behind an overused mask. In fact, his appearance isn't even intimidating. One look at him and you'll say; "I'd kill that religious idiot." But the fact that the filmmakers created Gabriel to go after vulnerable victims was genius... yeah I said it.

Let's face it, Halloween is still arguably the best slasher film of all time and has influenced a lot of other horror films... some good, some bad. "Hallowed" can't be faulted for paying homage to this great film and personally, I think the filmmakers did a great job at doing it in good taste rather than another comical spoof. It's well worth watching.

What sets hallowed apart from other films I have seen that could be considered a "B" movie? Well for starters, it overuses every cliché in the book, and does it with class. The killings? they're cheesy beyond belief, and the ending? WOW is all I can say. I laughed, I jumped, I thought, and I trembled. The film was shot on digital, which worked perfect for the film because of the flexibility it offers. Deep down I know it wanted to be serious, but it was so hard to do so. The dialogue invoked chuckles, the acting was stiff, and the plot, well lets say you could eliminate some walking for some solid prologue and epilogue space. BUT. That said, I enjoyed watching this film from start to finish because I expected nothing and received a pure gem. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes horror or "B" movies.