This remake of a frankly cheapy schlock horror seems to have come out of nowhere. And yet they managed to get a couple of still recognisable names attached into the mix.
Edward Furlong (T2) looking like he’s been at the donuts a while stars along with Shannon Elisabeth (whose career hasn’t gone anywhere fast because “we don’t know why?”) and Monica Keena (Freddy Vs Jason) head up the cast which sees a group of horny and wicked youths arty hard rave style in and old mansion which houses (literally) a nasty secret or two of its own.
The party is rumbled by the coppers and everyone is sent packing save for our 7 main players who decide to hang out a while – discover some skeletal remains and then one by one get turned into a terrifying demon as the night progresses.
The set up takes it’s time to get there but then literally knocks off over half the cast in about 5 minutes leaving a prolonged period of time between the action. The effects are very cheap, not very convincing and pretty predictable. But considering the source material this could well be the point – to be that film that looks cheap and nasty but on a higher budget than most rentals you are likely to see – and to that end the film succeeds in being the silly fun that the original and it’s sequels were.
A little bit of work could have been done to spruce up the blood effects along the way too, but we can’t have everything. Furlong and Elisabeth may be having fun and getting desperate for the work, but Keena should be aiming higher in her career. Having started early off in a half decent adaptation of Snow White – she seems to have found herself stumbling around the horror genre as the blonde that beats the baddie. That puts her in as a contender for a new scream queen – but surely she could be doing a heck of a lot more.
If they do a sequel to this remake then it won’t surprise many as this is package deal that sells itself. With enough blood and throw away gags it makes for easy evening entertainment.
