The Void (Gillespie/Kostanski)

[Ivan Drago]

IMDB / Wiki

[Ivan Drago]

I saw this at a film festival a couple months ago, and haven't been able to quit thinking about it ever since because I was surprised at how much I liked it, and how much it played with my expectations. Going in, I expected a gonzo, balls-to-the-wall batshit insane gorefest of a horror film, and all the elements are there for that. However, it’s a lot more of a cosmic horror film than I thought it would be, complete with the pace of a slow burn, and spiritual and metaphysical themes. The acting isn’t the best and there’s not much of a payoff at the end, but it looks gorgeous when it’s stylized, and the practical creature and makeup effects are some of the best of the year for sure. It's definitely worth checking out.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh damn this was disturbing and surprisingly awesome as hell. Going into this movie blind is the best thing an audience can do. It borrows from John Carpenter, Games Gunn, and David Cronenberg. Horror effects are impressive while remaining low budget. The one thing that hurts this film is the leads and supporting actors. If this was a mainstream film, it would be an instant classic. The 2nd act drags a bit from the first and third but even with it's flaws, it's gory and enjoyable as hell.

[Grouchy]

Wow, man. This film. It's basically a gorgeously filmed Call of Cthulhu (the tabletop RPG) game, with creature effects work the likes of wich we haven't seen in a long, long time. But the cast of characters is there and the plot branches out in unpredictable ways all the time.

Duke, I thought about the acting a lot while watching the film. It's uneven, I agree - the cop and the tough guy are very weak, basically. But I sensed how the lack of familiar faces was a breath of fresh air in a Horror movie.

Wikipedia tells me the special effects crew of Suicide Squad worked on this film. That's a great story for those gals and guys - working in one of the best and one of the worst films of 2016.

[transmogrifier]

40/100


The opening 20 minutes are a tease for a better film. Sure, you can maybe glimpse the amateurish acting and clumsy staging that will progressively overtake proceedings to mingle with what really is a stupid premise (once it is finally revealed), but the opening 20 minutes at least has a nice sense of chaotic randomness and fear. And I guess that is why I still watch these B-grade sci-fi horror things; you never know when you might be seeing a singular voice being born into the world. Not in this case, however.