Scary

This is a difficult film to review, as it appears a loving and sincere tribute to old school video store rental horror from days gone by, but slides a little too off the rails to truly get excited about. First, we meet Neal, a teen with a mysterious past, now returning home. Reconnecting with his younger brother Paulie, the two slowly uncover what forced Neal away. Convinced he was crazy, and after his mother's death, Neal was sent away to live with relatives in Florida. Neal discovers Paulie has dealt with the same mysterious being that tortured him in the past. Of course his father thinks he's crazy, and his well meaning step mom tries, but does not understand. The boys will have to face what lies under the bed - alone. There's a fascinating setup, but the payoff is all over the place. The brothers are great in their roles. The parents appropriately hapless. I think vintage horror fans will enjoy, but the back half of the movie is confusing and feels less developed than the first. It's an interesting idea and throwback to simpler times, that just doesn't gel the way it should. For genre fans only.

Most of the people tearing this movie apart and faulting it seem to base that on the fact the movie has some plot-holes and illogical jumps between sequences. I can agree with them, but a compelling seamless story with lots of character development and deeper meaning does not necessarily make for a good horror flick.

I enjoyed the movie as a whole, even as a cynical and self-proclaimed Horror Genre veteran. The first hour of the movie may have you wondering "Why is this even rated R?" "Where's the monster?" "Where's the gore" but all those questions are answered in the last 20-30 minutes, so be patient - and it will deliver.

There are no crazy Asian-ghost-girls and the movie does not rely on CGI at all. There are a handful of bloddy and gory sequences that do unfold towards the movie's end, one-upping the beginning of the movie which may have you wondering if you're watching another "Disturbia" (throws-up) or "My Soul To Take" (the worst wes craven produced movie by far)

It takes some time to get warmed up but the movie does deliver on the goods towards the end, and of course, any film involving fictitious monsters/demons living under beds is going to come across as silly and illogical on some level. You can tell the director wanted to engage the audience and give them some frights and fun, and it's production quality seems a lot higher than you would expect with a non-theatrical release. I can honestly say this is the most fun watching a new non-Hollywood horror movie in the last year, and that's out of dozens.

Two brothers, the older of which has returned home after setting his house on fire and inadvertently killing his mother, must do battle against a man in a rubber suit who lives under their bed. Okay, so it's actually a monster, but, when you see it, you'll probably think, 'Oh, there's a man in a rubber monster suit.' Yes, that's the tone of the film.

Naturally, the boys' parents think they're crazy and their dad is a complete idiot at all times (whether they're talking about monsters or asking for a drink of milk, he seems to find it in himself to start shouting and threatening to lock everyone in their rooms forever... or something like that – in short, he's a douche). Then you have your clichéd bullies who think he's crazy and they live next door (do you get the impression this film is lining up plenty of characters who are going to fall foul from the thing under the bed?). But it's not all bad news for the older brother... no sooner has he returned to his home town then he's met the one hot girl who finds surly, reclusive arsonists who ride BMXs really attractive. So there you have your 'love interest.' Yawn.

The film starts off slow. I'm guessing this is to 'build tension.' But it just involves things moving in the house. Personally, I've never found a washing machine's door shutting by itself that horrific.

Yeah, there's a climax and some funky coloured lights here and there. They even throw in a chainsaw by this time to try and spice things up, but, by now, do you care? I didn't. It's not terrible, just nothing remotely new enough to warrant me paying it any real attention.

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This movie makes "The Hole" (3-D) look like "Citizen Kane". What am I trying to say? That for adults this will probably not work at all. While the mixture of the Hole (targeting adults and kids in a Horror movie) might not have worked all the time, it did achieve something. The movie right here has a lot of flaws, some of them being the giant holes in the story itself.

In Horror movies we are used to characters doing irrational things, but the movie almost seems to have the goal of topping even the most ridiculous of your expectations. What I really liked was the very moody beginning. And I guess if you are in the right age and/or not familiar with Horror movies, this might actually scare you a little. But if that doesn't apply to you, I suggest you use your time for something more satisfying.

For a rainy night with nothing to do, I guess this creature feature will do. Literally no background.

****possible spoilers****

You have no idea where this "monster" comes from or why. All you know is it wants the older kid but has been tormenting his younger brother while he's been away. The father is completely unlikable and borderline abusive. The stepmother was about the only good thing about the whole, hole filled storyline. The acting is mediocre at best. The ending is very bleh. There's just nothing in this movie that I can give more than a 4 for.