Basement Jack

Being a slasher movie fan, I was thinking, well, it can't be all that bad. I mean, even the worst films have some good thing about them.

Let me tell you right now.

THIS ONE HAS NONE!

The movie is just terrible, and the worst part is that they took it seriously. Acting is truly bad. Even for a slasher movie... At most points the stabbing scenes are made badly and you can see how they miss the person. Even at a moment when a person is stabbed through, falls to the floor and then... No blood on their back when the knife just came out.

If you are thinking about watching this movie, I can only tell you one thing: DON'T!

There is a whole list of things you can do instead that are much more entertaining: - Starring a white wall for a couple of hours - Counting Flakes in you cornflake box - Going to sleep

and much much more.

BASEMENT JACK is another cheap slasher movie, an independent straight-to-DVD effort that looks and feels exactly the same as at least a dozen others. It has the old greyed-out colour palette look going on, alongside a non-threatening villain, lots of cheap gore effects, and a strictly pedestrian narrative.

The titular character is a psychotic who choses bad weather as a time to go around menacing innocent families. There are a lot of scenes shot in rooms filled with blood sprayed over the walls and the like, but the emphasis is on graphic kill sequences as Jack goes around slaughtering all in his path.

He's an irredeemable villain, but the kills have zero impact because there's no characterisation here whatsoever. There is some talk in an attempt to build a proper story, but none of it is very interesting. The best cast member they could come up with is Tiffany Shepis, who started out as a Troma starlet. I found BASEMENT JACK tired and distasteful, and I couldn't help wondering why I was bothering to watch it.

I watched Basement Jack on a friends recommendation and it has some classic shots from a director who is clearly influenced by western flicks. Combined with Alan Howarth's score, you've got a low budget movie that frequently outshines it's funding. I see a few reviews here panning the movie, and while it's not Gone with the Wind, the shot selection, score, and strong performances from star Michele Morrow as well as several supporting cast give a flawed script it's fair share of very satisfying moments.

Michele Morrow (hottie alert) turns out a visceral performance as outlaw/hero Karen Cook, and while i understand the many "Sarah Connor" comparisons, i sense more of Sigourney Weaver's "Ripley" in her smoldering delivery. Lynn Lowry delivers another chillingly unhinged performance and Nathan Bexton as the manager is extremely fun to watch.

I was a little surprised to learn "Basement Jack" is director Michael Shelton's first turn at the helm, as he's delivered a solid film from start to finish - looking forward to seeing what he does next.

I'm beginning to wonder if I've been watching the same films as some of the other contributers on IMDb.I enjoy good horror films and I have been taking the ratings from this site into account when deciding which films to watch ( I've learnt my lesson now ).Unfotunately most of the recommendations and reviews I have read have not been very helpful( Babysitter wanted,poor and predictable,Staunton Hill again poor,I Sell The Dead comedy horror,fell short on both counts,All The Boys Love Mandy Lane rubbish,Albino Farm was funny although not meant to be ) .This being the latest one,Basement Jack isn't remotely frightening,the acting was poor almost laughable,the film was so bad,I switched off before the end,my 8 year old nephew probably wouldn't be scared by this.Abbott and Costello made scarier films than the above.

A boy is abused by his cruel mother (well played by Scream Queen Lynn Lowry). 11 years on, released from a mental institution, he becomes known as Basement Jack, slaughtering families during thunderstorms! Yeap! Thunderstorms. And there are a lot of them throughout this movie, to the point where the rolling sound of thunder and flashes of lightning becomes rather tedious. This is the directional debut of Michael Shelton and so when reviewing this movie has to be taken into account. He's not directed another movie since. The film makers are obviously horror fans and have tried to make a slasher movie with all of the ingredients that we know and love (sex, gore, brutality, creepy killer, atmosphere, jump shocks, etc), so I give them credit for that. However the end product is really rather mediocre at best. But trust me, there are MUCH worse slasher movies out there. We do get two Scream Queens here, Lynn Lowry and Tiffany Shepsis, so credit for that also, Sadly the bad outweighs the good: plenty of gore, but the CGI is very cheap and fake looking; during one of the kills the knife clearly misses its victim; the police are very inept, despite many of their number getting killed there is a lack of seriousness amongst the survivors; acting varies from acceptable to wooden; dull script; the film was a bit of a drag at 94 minutes. And then there's Jack, looks more like a Goth on heroin than a serious mass murderer. If you love slasher movies, or you are a fan of Scream Queens, then Basement Jack does have a little something to offer. But I for one will not be giving it a repeat viewing.