The Sickhouse

Well, this was not horrible to say the least. I have seen many movies that are even worse. For a low budget movie it was actually pretty thrilling. It gave you some spooks and jumps. Overall the storyline was a good idea, yet somewhat got lost along the way. The acting was OK. Some of the graphics and stunts were pretty gruesome and cool in a way. The dialog was quick and understandable and kept you enthralled throughout the film. Although, the ending was quite a disappointment and rather abrupt, the movie was overall good. Nothing compared to the old time horror flicks, but still good. Is it worth your money? Maybe... if you're looking for a slightly cheesy horror flick. Otherwise, just watch it online.

This movie reminded me a lot of Jacob's Ladder. It was a little slow at times. The acting was pretty decent. The special effects were good. There was a nice use of glitched effects. The costumes could have been better. I assume this was a low-budget movie. They did good with what they had to work with. The bathtub scene was probably my favorite. I would say this is worth watching. The movie was a nice surprise in that it was a lot better than I expected it to be from the previous ratings it had received on this site. I had not heard of the director prior to this movie. I think he did a good job. A lot of low budget horror films lack in good acting and special effects, but this guy really pulled it off in my opinion.

We hear about it far too much in the horror genre: a poorly made film with an interesting premise.

Had this shied away from the punk-teen angle (like that of Bava's 'Demons') and headed for straight horror (maybe on the level of 'El Orfanato'), it could've had the chance to be a rather good film. Instead, poor writing, bad direction, seemingly bored actors, and silly camera tricks in exchange for real scares, we're left with yet another forgettable haunted-house picture.

I'd say pass it up and wait for 'The Orphanage' on DVD. Or, if you can't wait, check out 'The Devil's Backbone.'

-AP3-

In London, the archaeologist Anna Ash (Gina Philips) is informed by her Professor Joan Holland (Romla Walker) that the excavation site at the Sixteenth Century Ludgate Orphanage, where she is researching the Cult of the Black Priest during the Great Plague, will be demolished on the next morning to contain the contamination since it has been found the Y.pestis in the digging. The stubborn Anna breaks in the building at midnight expecting to find any substantial evidence that could stop the demolition.

Meanwhile, four drugged punks hit and run with a stolen car and they hide inside the building. They are haunted and attacked by a ghost and one of them, Clive (Jack Bailey), is wounded. When Anna stumbles with the hoodlums, she realizes that Clive is contaminated and needs help. But soon they find that they are trapped in the building.

"The Sick House" is a movie with terrible story, screenplay and camera work. The plot is stupid and unoriginal, and it is hard to believe that an intelligent woman would prioritize her research and break in a contaminated place without weaning protective clothing and mask.

The camera is awful and to compensate the low-budget, there are many closes and the camera is shaken expecting to give the sensation of chaos, but it never works. The messy and senseless conclusion is also awful, trying to give a dreadful twist to the plot. The only things that seems to work is the false promotion of this movie through many fake reviews. Last but not the least, the Brazilian title is perfect for this film ("The Great Plague"). My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "A Grande Praga" {"The Great Plague")

I won't say this is the best horror film I have ever watched but it is certainly not the worst either. Interesting story line about the plague doctors (who by the way wore masks shaped like bird beaks to keep plague at bay) and an unknown cult. In this day of conspiracies it is reasonable to think it could have happened. It had some really decent gore in it and is an OK way to spend a couple of hours. I must say Gina Phillips is making a career out of making horror films and most of them have been good enough to watch. Like this one. You have to keep an open mind with most horror films now days and this is definitely worth a quick look when you've got nothing else to watch. I bought in the 2 for $10 bin @ the local big name super store so at least I got my money's worth. And the ending was very interesting