CULTCUTS MAGAZINE reviews HORROR
-- Mark Engle, CULTCUTS Magazine

HORROR is back ladies and gentlemen! This is it folks, the film that you should have been waiting for. The last decade had genre fans reminiscing back to the days of the early eighties. No one-liners. No clichés. No humor to take away that horror punch. It was all there once before. Why can't we have it again? You can and now it's arrived. A film of pure imagery, a plethora of atmosphere and a living nightmare in hell caught on film. Dante Tomaselli is bringing back what was important in frightening the audience. In a mere, but never too short, 77-minutes, Tomaselli wants you to be lost in his vision, jump when he wants you to and give in to the last moments of Armageddon in your mind. And I'm glad to say that he is more than just successful, his celluloid trip is brilliant in execution. What am I making all this ballyhoo about you ask? Good question. Well, let's just say that I haven't seen an atmospheric film like this from the states since Don Coscarelli's PHANTASM (1979) or Frank LaLoggia's FEAR NO EVIL (1981). That's over 20 years people. Where has the time gone and why did it take this long?

HORROR doesn't take its time getting right down to it. A mood setter that sets the ominous tone, the most evil looking goat starring in any film I've ever seen, plays chase to a young girl (Lizzy Mahon as Grace Salo) running for her life. Believe me, it plays a lot better than it sounds. This is just a prelude to the roller coaster ride that sets forth. After a botched escape from a mental institution, five juveniles head off in a stolen van to start a new life with Reverend Salo Jr. (Vincent Lamberti). What they don't know is that they've just entered into new territory as the world changes around them. On the brink of the end of the world (everywhere they go is desolate) according to the evil foreboding preacher, is a chance to begin again or so it may seem to Luck (Danny Lopes). Yes, his name is Luck, but he is anything but. After passing out a bunch of magic mushrooms, courtesy of the preacher, our group of young misfits find themselves in another world. So sure of himself, that as he approaches the Salo house, his version of reality is already lost. When one of his comrades turns blue (literally with swollen veins, eyes and icicles), something goes beyond what these kids were expecting. Oh yes, and so it is for you the viewer as well.

Soon, within the Salo house (one I would never want to visit), we have nightmares coming to life. They meet Salo's daughter Grace who somehow becomes the focus of evil no matter how hard she tries to run or fight it. Things do not make sense to any of our players (nor to us for the time being) as we watch her interact from hospital to house, talking to her grandfather when he is already dead and bouncing back and forth between hallucination and hell on earth. Time no longer seems to exist. As one character dies, he may be in the next scene or the one after that, only to create confusion and bring the new houseguests one step closer to the brink of psychological destruction. But then again, we've entered the world of Grace, forced by her fanatical healer evangelist father and her mother who sold her soul to him, she goes in and out of consciousness as she is kept against her will, drugged, dominated by physical torture and surrounded by the unrelenting truth of her grandfather's secrets. Confused yet? You should be. Tomaselli is in control of the driver's seat and you only learn the next secret to this new world when he wants you to.

Now, let's add to the mix several doses of religious zealot old world evil ways, tons of zombies, vomiting blood, facial skin burns, flying jack-o-lanterns (more on this later) and the ever presence of a large, black goat right out of hell and you know that you've hit right on the head what nightmares are made of. All of this and lots more lead to Gracešs fight towards the truth, which may be more horrifying than the hallucinogenic state her world is now. But even telling you this much, I can say now, that none of anything is ever as it seems. Two worlds collide, Heaven and Earth become entwined and two separate storylines become one in a hair-raising climax.

What truly makes this film work is sight and sound. Tomaselli has a talent with his eyes and ears. The visuals alone in this film are enough to fill up the atmosphere in ten horror films. Taking bleak rural settings, he paints the old world with a new vision of rays of light shining through dark fog and sunlight mist. Creatures appear from behind trees unexpectedly and objects change within seconds when you least expect it. The film's budget looks much larger than it really is and that is due to this imagery. It takes care and patience and a certain feel to know when to hang on to that last scene just one second longer to create a mood and Tomaselli captures much of that in a quiet glory that leaves shudders upon the viewer. The

restrained camera takes the time to pull in the imagery and our director masterfully captures it on celluloid. The details are whatšs important here and we get them in large doses. The sound effects and soundtrack (also by Tomaselli) is just as effective and important. It literally seems like hundreds of sounds, even in quiet moments, are weaving through the tale as real as what one sees. I literally found my imagination working overtime the way the filmmaker wanted and I was in his world now. Slight murmurs crept in with blasts of loud evil at unexpected turns. While Tomaselli may not be as accomplished a director as Robert Wise, but I dare say that an inspiration or at least a foray of knowledge could lead to an association with the use of sound and images of 1963's THE HAUNTING. Just as broad a comparison is half way across the world and back a decade or two to the European horror films when atmosphere and real special effects pulled the viewer in. CGI can take a back seat here and for the better.

Not to say that everything works and HORROR is the perfect film. It isnšt nor should it be. It is just that good and surprising even to the most jaded viewer and fan of the horror genre. It does, however, have a few problems. The film plays like a nightmare and for most scenes it works. But, the evil pumpkins (seen during two key moments) might work in theory for a nightmare, but that doesn't make them effective. The mood and tone almost come to an abrupt stop for what looks like a Halloween children's telefilm effect. We go from adult horrific images of doomed religion, hell, zombies and demons to, well, snarling rubber pumpkins. The Grimm fairy tale for adults just went back down a notch. It doesn't work. Don't worry; it jumps right back up again.

The acting ranges from decent to excellent with stand out performances from real life psychic healer and mind reader, Kreskin as Grandfather Salo, Vincent Lamberti as Reverend Salo Jr., Danny Lopes as Luck and Lizzy Mahon as the innocent Grace Salo. Christie Sanford is on board as Mrs. Salo and plays her part with a sort of lunacy and wicked glee that will make moments odd and other moments quite chilling. Still, the film's true stars here are the atmosphere and the ominous black goat. Again, this is better on screen than in written explanation within the context of review.

This film comes with my highest recommendation for fans of horror films based on atmosphere and imagery. Truly one of the best surprises to come from the U.S. in years and a real treat for those that just want to sit back and let the creepiness unfold until you find yourself immersed in chills at the edge of your seat.

CULTCUTS Magazine issue #2 will also contain a review of DESECRATION plus a long, in-depth interview with writer/director Dante Tomaselli. CULTCUTS Magazine -->


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