The Void

The Void was one of the most anticipated horror movies of 2017.  When it was released Friday fans were not disappointed.

Writer/directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski  do not disappoint with this intense thriller.

The story begins when police officer Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) bring in an injured man to the local hospital,  The hospital is run by a skeleton crew because it will be closing and relocating in the morning.   Soon after the man is brought in a mysterious group of people in robes show up and surround the building.

There is no chance they are here to help you.

 I won't say anymore about the plot, the less you know the better.  The film reminds me several older movies most notably The Thing, Hellraiser, and Assault on Precinct 13.  I say this as a compliment, I was glued to the screen for the whole film.

The movie relies on practical effects and those effects are very strong.  The film is shot in a way that uses shadows and darkness to it's advantage.  That said, it never feels like you can't see what's going and again it's nice to be able to see the action for change.  One of my pet peeves is movies that are so dark you can't see what is happening on the screen.

I can't recommend this movie strongly enough, it's what horror fans have been waiting for.  

Campfire Tales (1997)

Horror anthologies are one of my favorite sub-genre of horror movies.  Campfire Tales is a movie that tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Released in 1997 it features a cast that would go on to much bigger things.  Check out this cast list and imagine the budget needed to get them all together today,

Christopher Masterson,Ron Livingston, James Marsden, Amy Smart, Jacinda Barrett, Christine Taylor and Jay R. Ferguson.

The film opens with the pretty standard hook handed killer on lovers lane urban legend,  After that it focuses on a group of college students who have a car wreck,  While waiting to picked up they pass the time by sharing scary stories.

All three stories are well acted and have great atmosphere, but the second one is the one that everyone will remember.

The second story revolves around a young girl (Alex McKenna) who is left alone while her parents go out.  She has a friend online that is not quite what she seems, when the friend finds out she's alone, things get very weird.  The story is also based on a urban legend and it has some of the creepiest images you will ever see,

Campfire Tales is out of print on DVD, and has no Blu-Ray at this time.  I actually had to get a VHS to watch it again.

Hopefully somewhere will pick this up and give it a decent release.  I would love to see this get the Scream Factory treatment.