The film starts off at a decent pace. We are introduced to the main location and character within minutes. The setting for this film is a Catholic School,which at one time housed orphans. The main character Audrey (Diane Foster) not only has one hell of a body (there is a great shower scene that really highlights this), but can act very well. It is moments before said shower scene that we are introduced to her brother Marcus (David Backus). Backus has a great presence on the screen and really delivers a killer performance.
The kills in this film are spectacular. Everything is practical FX, no CGI. It’s amazing how well they did it too – it took me back to the days of Tom Savini and his work on Friday the 13th and The Prowler. Every kill is done on screen (no cutting away) and it as brutal as brutal can be.
The film does seem to take a cue from Halloween and Michael Myers. A brother coming after his sister years after they were children and his name is Marcus Miller (notice the initials). But that’s where the similarities end. You are given a great back story to Marcus and the reasons for him becoming what he is and the origin of the mask is awesome too.
Now there is one minor problem with the film. The ending does gets a bit slow in pace, especially when it’s just Audrey. This is acceptable, given the overall quality of the film and on the budget it was made with.
My verdict on this is yes, it is worth every penny – if not for the story then on the mere fact that they used practical FX for every kill (and like I said they are beautiful). So if you’re in the market for a film that takes you back to some old school horror then this is for you. B+ all the way and man do I hope to see a sequel in the future.
Rating: 7.5/10 Stars