In getting ready for the Best of horror 2008 tournament, here is my take on some of the entrants. 2008 was a mixed bag but had some good lesser known gems.
STAG NIGHT (2008)
3/5
Peter A. Dowling's thriller Stag Night follows a group of drunken friends in the midst of a bachelor party who decide to take a subway and, once boarding, fund themselves fighting for their life after they witness the murder of a cop.
Stag Night is another of those middle of the road horror films that does enough right to be better than average. The key here is entertainment, and I was entertained. The basic plot of a group of young people stranded in an abandoned subway tunnel and beset upon by savages is given a boost by the creepy locale. The characters are pretty basic too with the standout's being Breckin Meyer as his usual annoying lout and Vinessa Shaw (Hills Have Eyes, Ladybugs) who is capably on the scream queen path. Some cool kill scenes buoy the murky film work and the subterranean cult "town" is an eerie plus. All in all, a good watch indeed.
SAUNA (2008)
3.75/5
Jade Warrior director Antti-Jussi Annila crafts this transcendentalist shocker set in 1595, and following two brothers as they descend into a world where there is no such thing as salvation. Protestant Sweden and Orthodox Russia have just reached an uneasy truce. In the wake of their fighting, Finland has become a wasteland. Conquered Finnish brothers Knut and Eerik are polar opposites; one is a hardened warrior whose mind has been twisted by the horrors of war, the other is a gentle scientist with no use for fighting. Both have been assigned the task of denoting the new border between Finland and Russia, though they're about to commit a sin that will haunt them both for the rest of their days. After leaving a young girl to die an excruciating death, Knut and Erik forge ahead into an uncharted swamp, eventually reaching an unmapped town where their mere presence awakens a force of unspeakable evil. The girl has returned to haunt them, a horror that both brothers attempt to escape by washing away their sins in a mysterious sauna. But this sauna holds a terrifying secret, and in this godforsaken land there is no mercy for men who would permit such atrocities to be committed against a mere innocent.
Here we have a very visual, thought-provoking, talky film. I like dialogue and this one is rich in symbolism. Not everyone will "get it" but those who do will find much to like here. Great mystery and Ville Vertanen nails it!
SENSELESS (2008)
3.5/5
Kidnapped and tortured by political extremists just as he's making his way to the top of the corporate ladder, an aspiring CEO becomes the star of an ultra-violent, online reality show. His humiliation growing with each new transgression committed against him, Elliot Gast stages a daring escape attempt based on the hope that someone out there is doing more than simply watching.
First off, this is a cool movie that is more disturbing by what's happening than actual gore. Jason Behr does a fine job carrying the film which basically consists of terrorists methodically removing his senses including a cheese grater to the fingers. The film is quite watchable and the end is a trip but getting there proves to be a bit of a chore. Some issues I had were that Elliot never really panics, his flashbacks drove me as crazy as the ones in SUBLIME, and the stupid alien masks worn by his assailants. The worst was Joe Ferrara, this goofy Nic Cage wannabe as the leader almost ruined it. He is cartoony, buffoonish, not funny, and stupid. Thankfully the film overall was still powerful in its statement, whether the statement made sense or not.
TRAILER PARK OF TERROR (2008)
3.5/5
A busload of troubled teens and their counselor find themselves on the road trip from hell when they get waylaid by bloodthirsty hillbilly zombies in an out-of-the-way small town in the south. Nichole Hiltz is a trashy treat as the head villainess with a horrifically wide variety of doing away with her victims. Ryan Carnes, Jeanette Brox. Directed by Steven Goldmann. Country music star Trace Adkins has a cameo as a mysterious man in black. The film is based on the Imperium Comics series.
Some will get irked by my review and love for this film but...OH WELL! It's based on a comic book for goodness sake. This greasy, sleazy slice of divine imperfection kept me entertained and watching. Isn't that what it's all about anyway? Sure it's low budget and low brow but brilliant in the dual stories it represents. First we have Norma terrorized at the trailer park until she takes revenge and years later she and her hillbilly tormenters (including Lew Temple) have revenge in mind for anyone who stops there. Throw in Trace Adkins as the man in black, some good old southern fried zombie music and Threes company star Priscilla Barnes like you've never seen her and you've got a wild, fun ride indeed.
LEFT BANK (2008)
2.5/5
The lines between mental breakdown and externalized predation blur for a poor young woman in Left Bank, director Pieter van Hees's moody and enigmatic psychological thriller. Eline Kuppens stars as Marie, an emotionally troubled and socially isolated girl from a broken family, who finds meaning in her life by committing to intense athletic competition. Sadly, Marie soon catches an infection, which triggers an immediate physical collapse and forces her to rest for a lengthy period of time. She nonetheless finds solace in a new paramour, the archer Bobby. He not only imparts reassurance and provides an emotional anchor, but exudes optimism and a zeal for life that prove contagious and even prompt Marie's mother to invite comparisons with Marie's dad. Then, just when it seems that the young woman could not possibly feel more joyous or content, her life turns a dark corner. She agrees to move into Bobby's flat on the "Left Bank," a dank and slightly menacing housing project in a seedy neighborhood. In seemingly no time, she learns that a previous occupant vanished under inexplicable circumstances, which adds to her overall sense of paranoia; she also suffers physically, from encroaching headaches, nausea and sleeplessness, and becomes convinced that the place is wreaking havoc on her mind and body. Meanwhile, her mistrust of the incredulous and skeptical Bobby also builds to a fever pitch.
This Belgian "art house" horror misses the mark on many levels. Boring, overlong and literally nothing happens until the last 15 minutes devolving into a weird archer cult that sacrifices people. It's not a total loss and the film is well shot. The actors do an okay job with Eline Kuppins as the standout. Several graphic sex scenes seem almost seem added to alleviate the boredom. It didn't work. Still you can do much worse than this sub-par thriller.
Well...that's it for now, hope this helps your 2008 horror viewing, good luck in the tourney!