After Dark Horrorfest III [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I can't comment on the actual product, just the movies themselves as presented in the theater, as part of the After Dark Horror Fest 3.

It was a weak year, not because of production values, acting, camera work or the things that usually plague low-budget flicks, but because of writing and pacing, and also a reliance on some increasingly stale horror movie tropes. I would really only recommend two of the eight!

Here are your capsule summaries. (I've got more detailed reviews at bitmaelstrom, search for After Dark.)

Autopsy: One of the two I'd recommend. A "funhouse" horror film, where the scares don't necessarily make sense, but they are fun and effective. College kids find themselves in a bizarre hospital during Hurricane Katrina, and end up being the subject of Mad Doctor (Robert Patrick) experiments.

The Broken: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" meets "Mirrors". This is a movie almost entirely devoid of shocks and more dependent on tension; problem is, it's painfully obvious what's going on in the first 10-15 minutes--but even if you didn't have a clue, the menace just doesn't come through. You sit waiting for something to happen. Big name stars, though, relatively, with Queen Gorgo of "300" (Lena Heady) and the white guy from "The Visitor" (Richard Jenkins). Despite this, worst in show.

Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations: CAUTION! The graphic here says "Butterfly Effect 2", but it was #3 shown at the fest. Make sure it's #3, because this was Best In Show. Essentially "Quantum Leap" with a horror twist, this movie concerns a poor guy trying to right wrongs in the past and ending up creating more and more havoc, and finally a serial killer. Fast moving, involving, not too obvious and with a little gratuitous sex. Feature horror fest mascot Rachel Miner.

Dying Breed: Inbred Redneck Hillbilly cannibals. =Australian= inbred redneck hillbilly cannibals (AIRHBCs). This features Leigh Whannell of the "Saw" series but don't be fooled. He just acts here. The writing and direction is fairly pedestrian. 20-somethings go to investigate endangered species, end up hunted by freakish AIRHBCs.

From Within: A small town is cursed by sequential suicides, blames it on local witches. Is partly right. Wall-to-wall stereotypes, from the broody goth kid and the Good Girl(TM) to the bigoted jock and the Preacher With A Secret.

Perkins 14: From the director of the first Horrorfest's "Dark Ride", this movie is twice as good, which unfortunately only makes for 2/3rds of a good movie. The first third is mystery and suspense, then the movie shifts gears for a survival zombie feel, and then unfortunately the whole thing grinds to a halt as they hole up in the police station but lose all their common sense. Potential for truly interesting endings dropped in favor of the expected one.

Slaughter: The first half of this movie is character development and air-of-menace, but much like "Dying Breed", the redneck hillbillys (who are probably not inbred cannibals, or at least not yet) just aren't very menacing. When the action starts again, there are some very good moments, but once again the predictable ending.

Voices: This Korean movie is about how your loved ones secretly want to kill you--and do, if you give them the chance. Should've been great, but there was no rhyme or reason to who "turned", meaning there is no real suspense or tension, since the filmmakers can turn anyone at any time. Ultimately, there's no compelling reason for the curse, no defense against it, and the ending tries to retrofit an explanation to the whole thing, but that doesn't really hang together.

The collection lacks the energy of a "Mulberry Street", the camp of a "Tooth and Nail", the good ol' ghost story ("Gravedancers"), the mysterious logic of a "Rinne" or the gritty realism of a "Borderland".

There's almost a lack of conviction throughout, and there's a distinct conservatism. Lesser movies of previous fests often had more interest just by having a compelling setting with a creepy atmosphere--they'd grab you, even if they couldn't hold you.

Despite more consistent and consistently better production values--seemed like every movie had use of a crane--there was much less here to suck you in in the first place. Sad to say, it's hard to recommend this set, even for die-hard horror fans.

The latest collection from the highly entertaining After Dark Horrorfest lineup is perhaps the most consistent yet. It's also a more international affair this year with entries from Great Britain, Australia and South Korea to complement our homegrown fare. By in large this is an effective and clever mix of horrors, covering everything from possession to cannibalism, from serial killings to mad doctors. The lineup includes...

THE BROKEN - A sleek, moody shocker in which SARAH CONNER CHRONICLES star Lena Heady survives a nasty car wreck only to find her mysterious doppelganger haunting London. Well acted and subtly creepy, it sneaks up on you like a ROSEMARY'S BABY / INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS style shocker.

DYING BREED - In search of the supposedly extinct Tasmanian Tiger, a group of would be documentarians find a different group of predators on the hunt in rural Tasmania. Now they are the endangered species. Excellent location work and bursts of brutal violence keep this one humming.

FROM WITHIN - A rash of unexplained suicides among the youth of a Bible belt community is blamed by the pious locals on an outcast family suspected of witchcraft. But are these outsiders really witches? And are the townsfolk as devout as they seem? Strong cast and slickly made.

SLAUGHTER - A young woman moving out on her own after ending an abusive relationship finds a new friend and moves in with her at a rustic farmhouse. Her old lover is not to be jilted, though. But as her stalker ex closes in our heroine begins to think that she has more to fear than her twisted lover. A slow building shocker, the ladies are excellent.

PERKINS 14 - A decade after his son's kidnapping a small town deputy finds a lead to the disappearance of his boy (and several other children) in the form of a mystery man brought in on a traffic violation. Further investigations unleash an army of killers on the community in a night of madness and terror. Effectively creepy.

VOICES - This sharp South Korean shocker finds a young woman in deadly jeopardy when her friends and family begin inexplicably exploding into fits of murderous rage. Can she find the cause of the violent insanity before she falls victim to the bloody rampage of those she loves the most? Sharply lensed and filled with startling set pieces this wicked import is not for the squeamish.

BUTTERFLY EFFECT 3 - This self contained entry in the loose series finds our hero, who is able to will himself into the past, becoming obsessed with tracking down a brutal serial killer who has previously tainted his life. In every attempt to change the past the hero creates a new and even more sinister reality. Will he find the savage killer? And more importantly, should he even TRY? Clever, pacey and unpredictable.

AUTOPSY - A group of teens are taken to an off the beaten path Louisiana hospital after an auto accident only to discover a staff who's more efficient at cold blooded murder than checking temperatures and filling out charts. Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2) plays the head doctor, a medico whose bedside manner can kill you. Ultra gory, silly, bloody fun.

The set varies from straight out terror to squirmy psychological horrors. All of the films are well made and provide a nice cross section of sub genres. This AFTER DARK series is well worth a look and comes highly recommended.

I only saw three of these movies - "The Broken", "Autopsy" and "From Within" and I liked them all in different ways. My least favorite was The Broken, which by the way looked like it had the biggest budget. It was shot nicely and worth watching for some of the effects but its slow and doesn't have much pay off. It's well directed but looks like the director could do with a better script writer next time round.

Autopsy on the other hand looks like it was made for about 50 cents but it's much more of a traditional Friday night horror about a bunch of teenagers getting killed off one by one and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's by far the most gory but I found myself amused all the way through.

The best film I saw was From Within. It had a strong story, looked good (but doesn't rely on massive special effects) and really made me think. I liked most of the characters and am looking forward to seeing it again. Although it's scary it isn't necessarily straight horror. If I were to buy one DVD it would be this one.

I can't say what the other movies are like but I sort of want to see the Butterfly Effect 3 as I liked the first one a lot (although the sequel was pretty poor!)