La main des ténèbres

I actually thought I was in for something interesting during the first few minutes of this film, the section I'll call "the prologue". It was atmospheric and strange enough to hold some promise. Unfortunately, I kept waiting for something to happen for the rest of the movie, and very little does, except for the last 10 minutes when I finally learned what the title really means, and that I had been had, big time. This isn't scary, suspenseful or even erotic as the trailer suggested, the only positive thing I can say about it is that it's well photographed. I certainly expected more from the director of Tourist Trap and the original Puppet Master. Netherworld is an infuriating disappointment.

Other reviewers were right on the mark - it had promise and atmosphere, but really went nowhere. I recall one genre reviewer dismissing one Full Moon release as "another talkfest" and I have to agree - their scripts and sometimes the direction just weren't well paced and seem padded out. However, you have to at least watch the end credits for an in-joke that you'll get if you didn't fall asleep. It was the best laugh I had that day.

"Netherworld" is a typical Full Moon's horror flick-entertaining for a while,but not really memorable.The cast is decent,the photography is pretty good and the story is okay.Basically it's about one guy,who with the help of a sexy witch tries to re-animate his dead father.Not very violent,although there are two or three gore scenes made by Mark Shostrom("The Mutilator").The film is also quite atmospheric and relatively well-made.David Schmoeller("Tourist Trap")is definitely a talented genre director.Anyway,if you like horror movies I would recommend this one.Not the greatest horror flick ever made,but worth checking out.

Poor movie, some nasty special effects and several beautiful girls are the ingredients of a horror movie that makes you smile, unintentionally, at how bad it was done.

NETHERWORLD, a Full Moon picture set in the Louisiana swamps, successfully delivers a Gothic atmosphere filled with lush vegetation, isolated manor homes, and brothels operated by voodoo sorceresses. However, thanks to a hopelessly cheesy script, the film never transcends its early-90s low-budget roots.

The plot concerns a Corey Thornton, a dashing young man who has just inherited a vast estate from the father he never knew in life. While combing through the deceased's papers, he discovers that his father's last wish was to be brought back from the dead. Corey becomes obsessed with this task and seeks help from those around him: Bijou (the slobbering neighborhood idiot-savant), Diane (Southern-fried "jailbait" who actually looks to be about 25 years old), his father's lawyer (who has mysteriously deformed hands), and of course Delores (a prostitute with big hair and mystical powers).

The action alternates between Corey's manor house and Tonk's, the brothel-next-door, where all the girls are named after dead celebrities...or have Marilyn Monroe and Mary Magdalene really been resurrected?! The band plays smooth jazz as passions rise and Delores casts sultry glances at everyone. Then things get weird. A hand flies out of the wall and starts killing people, whose souls become trapped inside the bodies of birds. A bird which is clearly a hand puppet screams "NEVERRRRRR!" We finally descend to the Netherworld, where the forces of evil fight for control of Corey's mind in a scene that will leave you wondering, "Oh...that was the climax?" All in all, Netherworld is a good bit of entertainment which never gets boring; however, one can't shake the feeling that if slightly more money and effort had been put into it, it could have been good instead of just adequate.