The Spook Movie -2010
Director : David Daze
Production Company : Film 1 Studios
Producer(s) : Kyle Stringer, Warren Hogan
Cinematography : David Daze
Writer : David Daze
Genre : Horror/slasher
Running Time : 90 mins
Rating : Mature
Cast : Warren W. Hogan, Tana Banks, Brandon Kamus, Alyce Blondale, David Daze
The Spook Movie isn’t a major Hollywood blockbuster in fact it's an independent production made by Independant film director David Daze. And Mr. Daze is quite the filmaker indeed, a true genre buster he can crank out a feature film so fast and good that even the great Roger Corman would be left shaking his head in disbelief. I was expecting the tried and trued dark and grainey-lit sinister looking over the top gory lo-budget slasher film, but heres what I got... Mr. Daze has managed to pull off one thing different in his newest film, he actually put the cool effect in a slasher film, if you could ever belive it was possible and just like his other two films "Kill Whitey" which was a gangster film and "Street Godz of War Ii" which was a Martial Arts film, both of which I reviewed and quite enjoyed, in most aspects its no different, this movie like the two I just mentioned is a homage film, but this one is a homage to all those bloody Slasher horror movies of the 70’s and 80’s that dominated drive-ins and cheapo movie theatres. And as we watch the movie as a whole, we see a lot of nods to the now infamous slasher films of those decades past, like a badass backwoods killer weilding an assortment of killing tools including his massive barehands to inflict major damage to his chosen victims and a rendition of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe as a troubled kid is pushed into a lake, and as he is drowning.... the kids that tortured him, wail in laughter. Also in the films opening sequence a patient of the Crawfordville mental hospital named Quinton Rodriques has just escaped. Often times filmakers doing a homage film will over fill the entire movie with skits and cliche's and rehashed kill scenes that constantly remind you that its a homage film, (as if you didnt know already). Mr. Daze however does a complete 360 and simply adds subtle hints here and there that will remind us as we get into the film, that its a homage, example (all the male characters names in the movie are actually all the famous killers from the slasher films of the earlier era, and all the females names are past porn stars of the era) in other words the film does'nt come off as a homage to the 70 and 80's film but actually looks like the real deal! That folks, is sheer genius. And just as in director David Daze's other films I've seen he always adds comedy to his films that is so well rooted into the story and characters that its hard to belive its been planted. Everything flows along great in this film, the story itself, the characters, the comedy, the murders that take place, the settings and the acting is pretty dam good for a b-movie and the overall effect of the film is just a nice re-freshing take on an already slashed to death genre. An intresting (note) on this move is, it was filmmed at only three locations, shot in just a few short days, and on a budget cheaper than a used toyota camry.
The movie starts after a riot breaks out at a mental hospital and one of the inmates escapes, his name is Quinton Rodriques. The inmate returns to his favorite hunting ground, the lake on Ty Ty island georgia, after which a series of random and brutal murders start taking place at a very fast pace. (in fact this entire story plays out in just one day on the island), The overall story is about all these murders, but unlike movies like Friday the 13th, Sleep Away Camp and Nightmare on Elm Street, the murders aren’t just happening to a singled out group of helpless teens, the victims in this movie have little to no relation to each other in any sort of way, other than the fact that they are all at the lake on this particular day. (simply put they are in the wrong place at the wrong time) This folks, is where the movie really stands out among its predcessors, as the only characters throughout the movie that are actually consistent are the police and the killer and not the killer and the helpless teens. And just like the previous films of this new director David Daze, we have great location shots and cinematography work (the lake shots are very beautiful, even for a horror film) and again we have a well cast film with an assortment of weird but likeable characters that make the movie flow along. This films characters are very well cast and do look the parts, they are colorful yet realistic and beliveable, a sheriff thats a ladies man and who drinks quite a bit, yet still keeps control of his fumbling deputies, a rather cute forest ranger girl who unfortunatly gets one of the best kill scenes in the entire movie, A weird but still likeable swinger couple named the Luffs, and of course a few carloads of partying teenage victims. And finally the Killer himself Mr.Quinton Rodriques, who looks like a huge back woods monster of a man (played to the tee, by actor Warren W. Hogan).
This is a really great little slasher film, (the kind that spawns sequels upon sequels). Even with its lo budget and minor flaws, this movie is well scripted, well acted and nicely shot, we have one badass hillbilly killer that looks the part and there is some pretty dam good kills and effects in the film and although there is no nudity , the film is chock full of beautiful bikini wearing babes! Overall, its just a very entertaining horror film and I highly recommend this little gem to anyone who likes the Slasher Horror films of the 70’s and 80’s.
8/10 Stars