Dante's Hotel

What do you get when you combine a totally ridiculous screenplay, an inept director, a cast with no acting talent whatsoever and an editor who has no clue how to assemble a scene? Yep, this horrible mess. They even left in flubbed lines, apparently not even noticing. The filmmakers violate the "rules" they established and good luck trying to follow the story line.

Several times I considered just backing out, but I wanted to see how much worse it could get. I wasn't disappointed. I wish IMDB would allow a negative number.

One good thing - the "actress" who stood next to the DJ at the party seemed to be able to throw her arms into the air for four hours straight. Impressive.

Certainly not the greatest quality movie. There were a number of editing errors and line mistakes by actors. It could have almost moved to comedy/horror due to the actual concept of the movie.

It was a joy to see Judd Nelson on screen again and his quirky character was probably the most quality performance in the whole movie.

The character and setting development was a high point. Who doesn't love a good old haunted hotel kind of movie and the back story on the main characters kept me watching.

A really great story which could have been better done with a higher budget I'm sure. A good watch if there is nothing else on and you love the horror genre.

Dante's Hotel offers an intriguing blend of mythology, low-budget ingenuity, and the kind of atmospherics that make you think you're watching an old-school B-movie reimagined through a modern lens. Think The Shining meets The Twilight Zone, with just enough budget to avoid looking like a high school play-though a couple of rubber-faced monsters might make you double-check if you're still in the right movie.

The story, weaving ancient mythology with a sinister hotel setting, is both clever and engaging. The direction is impressively stylish: Kudos to the director for squeezing maximum suspense out of every angle, pan and scene. Even when the CGI wobbles like a particularly unsteady drunk at closing time. The performances are surprisingly strong, with Judd Nelson in one of his better roles since The Breakfast Club, proving that he's still got that raw, world-weary charm.

That said, the film falters toward the end. The grand finale is more chaotic than a Fast & Furious set-piece, leaving you wondering if the writers took a wrong turn halfway through. And the script has occasional hiccups-"They've booked hotel's in the room!" being a prime offender. Then there's Father Time, all rubber hands and a dodgy mask. Still, Dante's Hotel is a flawed gem worth checking in for-just don't plan on staying the night.

A pretty stupid story but it has a decent foundation. You can easily see they had an idea then actually had to write a script around it. It reminded me a lot of the straight-to-rentals of the late 90's but that's not a bad thing. The deaths in the movie seem just written in to have a death but for the most part they're pretty cool. The antagonist has a pretty good look and then he talks and the dialogue is comical. The acting, cinematography, effects, sound design, and lighting are pretty good and it doesn't have that poor low budget look like a lot of movies shot on a low budget. I watch a lot of horror and most of it is pretty terrible so I actually do recommend this if you're looking for something different and kinda fun to watch.

I wasn't expecting much from 'A Tubi original', but I was pleasantly surprised.

The pacing was tight, it was eminently watchable and the ending (if a bit predictable) didn't detract from the overall impact, as I had earlier feared it might.

Some of the FX were a bit dodgy, but others were fine. It's a bit like they had a time limit in which to film and couldn't miss deadlines, so couldn't go back.

Judd Nelson was the best actor, but some of the other acting was indifferent.

Overall, however, I didn't pause and go to Youtube once, as I often do if a film was dragging.

As I said I was pleasantly surprised and entertained for a low budget movie.

Worth a watch.