Profanations

Wow! I get to see Tchéky Karyo (The Patriot) two days in a row. I just watched him with Nick Nolte in The Good Thief, and now here he is as a ghost hunter (yeah, right) with a beautiful assistant Megahn Perry. But, they come in later.

First, there is the grave dancing - and grave pissing. I am sure everyone has at least thought about pissing or dancing on someone's grave. Well, you might want to rethink that after seeing this film, especially if you are the type that watches "Ghost Hunters" on TV. Hee Hee.

After doing the drunken deeds, our heroes: Dominic Purcell (Primeval, Equilibrium), Josie Maran (Van Helsing) and Marcus Thomas (Edmond), are getting their reward - crazed spirits after them.

This spooky film has it all: creaky sound, apparitions, super special effects, blood and gore, and perversion in what i would call a traditional horror film. There is enough to keep your interest throughout, and certainly enough to keep you jumping out of your seat.

And, hey, I wonder who did the casting here as I see a couple of more people from The Patriot?

"The Gravedancers", one of the 8 Films To Die For at the After Dark Horrorfest, is a surprisingly original little supernatural horror movie. The film centers around three long-time friends - Kira, Sid, and Harris. After their close friend dies, Kira and Harris show up for the funeral, and later meet up with Sid, who decided not to attend it. Wanting to say goodbye, Sid convinces them to go out to the graveyard with him, where things get out of hand after the three have been drinking, and they ultimately end up dancing around the cemetery on some graves. Unfortunately for them, they danced upon the graves of just about the worst people possible - and soon find themselves haunted by the ghosts of a child pyromaniac, a woman who killed her lover with an axe, and a sadistic sexual murderer who was the town judge. They decide to seek help in two parapsychologists, and try and survive until the curse ends - but can they?

Definitely one of the better films to be part of the After Dark Horror Fest, "The Gravedancers" is a pretty original movie that captures the style of '70s and '80s supernatural horror films. Storywise, I thought it was pretty unique. The entire idea of desecrating someone's grave and having the spirit come back to haunt you is unique, and the first time I've seen something like it done in the genre. The writing is pretty good here, and the movie was entertaining and significantly thrilling at times. It plods a bit in areas, but during the last thirty minutes things really kick in. There are a few typical scare moments in the movie though (and there are some clichés that abound), but for the most part I thought this film at least tried to avoid most of the clichéd horror set-ups, which was a real benefit here. There is actually some really scary substance here, and I was genuinely spooked by some scenes in this film. The director took good advantage of those "things that go bump in the night" kind of scares, and they are effectively used and really creepy.

As far as the acting goes, it isn't bad. Could have been more convincing I suppose, but I thought everyone gave competent performances. Dominic Purcell (of TV's "Prison Break") is our main lead, and Clare Kramer ("Bring It On" and TV's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer") plays his wife. The acting isn't bad, it's a little bit lacking on some occasions, but overall good enough. The only real complaint I have is the special effects used in the film. The strange thing about this is that they are really good in some scenes, but in others just not. The incarnations of the ghosts are leaning on the corny side, mainly because of the facial makeup (grinning teeth, large eyes - something that almost looks like a Halloween mask). I think a more subtle make up would have been more realistic. And the CGI blowout during the last ten minutes of the film was a little overdone I felt, but I'm not going to complain too much, I'd rather just take this movie for what it is.

Overall, "The Gravedancers" is a horror movie that is worth watching. It delivers a fairly original story and some really nice scares, which are always welcome. In some respects it's a bit corny (mostly with it's special effects usage), but the film is done in a style that is reminiscent of past horror films, so these things are forgivable considering that it's a throwback-type of movie. I'm assuming the budget for this film was pretty modest as well, and taking that into consideration, this movie was pretty well done. Worth a look for horror fans. 7/10.

Mike Mendez's follow up to his kick butt movie The Convent is a mixed bag of tricks. some work, some don't. Gravedancers tells the creative and original story of a group of friends reunited by a funeral. On the night of the occasion they get drunk and accidentally dance on some graves releasing the evil spirits in the wrong side of the cemetery. The spirits of a rapist/murderer, a pyre maniac and another murderer. The friends are haunted by these ghosts according to the curse for a month. And as the month comes to a close the paranormal attacks become stronger and stronger as the ghosts try to take the people with them. It's an intriguing concept and much fun is to be had with it. The performances are all decent, the story is creative and the movie is a little slow at the start but is wildly inventive and macabre once it gets going. Everything in the film is done with a winking eye so you can appreciate the film without feeling to guilty about it. The makeup is cartooned and freaky while the cgi is a little fake looking but an understandable necessity with a low budget especially in a film of this caliber. My main gripes however don't come with the film, it's more with the way it was released. You know i didn't mind shelling out 9.50 for this movie but I'm mad as heck that the film's sound transfer was messed up and sounded mono, and the film quality was amateur looking. It wasn't even fine tuned or polished by After Dark. what could've been delightfully freakish come across humorously because of the films lighting. It's dreadfully bright which kind of kills the suspense of a horror flick. The film looks like a rough cut and should have been really touched up before getting a theatrical release. Because they had a good product but ruined it with no effort at all. This doesn't bode well for their film company or the continuing success of a festival of this sorts. But in conclusion I would just like to say although not on the par of a worthy theatrical release this is definitely worth a look on DVD.

...till I'm sure that you're dead!(B.Dylan) Profanations have become frequent nowadays and it is a burning subject which deserved a responsible writer and a reliable director.

The movie fails twice: mediocre story,poor acting,awful directing relying on horrible (and non-scary) special effects.The movie hits rock bottom when they hire ghost busters (from a famous university of course),one of them is the unfortunate Tcheky Karyo in what is perhaps the worst part of his career;he is abetted by a bubble head assistant (collaborator,she says)."The night of the living dead" has still no contenders in this field.

I was lucky enough to see "Gravedancers" at Another Hole in the Head film festival in S.F., if you were not one of the lucky members of the audience, keep your eyes peeled for the DVD you won't be disappointed.

For fans of director Mike Mendez, who's know for adding comedic elements to his films, "Gravedancers" is a slight departure from his previous work on films like "The Convent". This time Mendez goes the straight horror route and it works out magnificently. While there are moments of genuine levity, it never distracts from the film, as proved by the screams echoing from the audience at the Roxie last night. "Gravedancers" is a unique take on the rather stale "haunting" formula, and is full of self-aware characters in a well rounded script that doesn't send stupid people into stupid situations.

I was shocked at how great the film looked, if you held this film up next to any of those crappy bloated multiplex horror flicks starring some blonde ditz from a forgettable UPN/WB show, I think you'd have a hard time figuring out which cost more. The atmosphere is perfectly creepy and has many moments that will have you squirming in your seat. Great sound effects and prosthetics add to create some truly creepy ghosts, and probably the best use of a "floating ghost" since the original "House on Haunted Hill". It may have taken almost 50 years but at least somebody has made ghosts scary again. Three cheers for Mike Mendez.