Rating: Summary: "HORROR" An ELITE Choice Review: Horror is completely entertaining. The scares are frightening, and it's impact is indescribable. Director Dante Tomaselli blows my mind once again. After viewing Tomaselli's first and highly recommended film "DESECRATION" I knew I couldn't miss out on this unofficial sequel. Gorgeous colors and amazing sounds keep you hypnotized to the screen. HORROR is addicting, it lives in my DVD player. A classic for sure! Not just for horror fans, but for movie fans. Horror has a little bit for every one, of all ages. You definitely want to add this DVD to your collection. Enjoy.
Rating: Summary: Very Confusing and VERY CREEPY Review: I actually really enjoyed this movie but I still don't have a terribly good grasp of what it is supposed to be about, if anything. It is TRULY disturbing and is very much like the narrative form of a nightmare. As a filmed look at a nightmare, it works very well. A lot of the the quirks of the film are sort of homages to LUCIO FULCI and ARGENTO...some of the obviously cheesy gore and very wierd acting. These things are omnipresent in anything by FULCI especially. Characters that do very wierd things in absolutely bizarre situations for reasons that no matter how many times you watch the films, never become clear. I mean look at THE BEYOND. Half that movie is people looking at each other with blank expressions that somehow the viewer is supposed to figure out. I never understand quite what that stuff is about but it does work. I really like HORROR and was really creeped out by it. Obviously it is not the type of film that everyone is going to like. I normally HATE this kind of narrative, but it really does work in HORROR when viewed as a whole. FELISSA ROSE as "THE NEW ART THERAPIST" is a quite amusing role for her. I kept watching for her through the whole film. The guy who plays Luck, or Lock is also extremely hot.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: I got this movie on the strength of Tomaselli's first film "Desecration". His debut had promise, and although somewhat flawed, it showed a talent for atmosphere and the macabre, obviously influenced by eurohorror directors. I expected as much if not more from this sophomore effort, but I found myself seriously disappointed. It's not the disjointed structure of the film that bothered me but the amateurishness in the setup of many scenes, the floating pumpkins, the black goat wandering into the left hand side of the frame at the beginning, the changing portrait a la Dorian Gray, are some examples of the awkwardness here, the effect was laughter on my part, and I'm sure that was not the director's intention. Another fatal flaw is that there is nothing that is remotely scary or tense and the horrid acting certainly doesn't help. I'd hate to think of Tomaselli turning into the next Ed Wood, as there were too many good signs in his first film for things to end up like that. I hope he finds his way with his next effort, but as for this one, I just can't recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Confusing? That's just the tip of the iceberg.... Review: I had heard quite a bit about this film before I sat down and watched it from various websites and horror magazines. I had also seen DESECRATION. Although that movie had many problems, I saw flashes of talent and thought I would give this film a try. I wish I could say I liked HORROR because like DESECRATION, there are moments where you think that Tomasselli is going to deliver the goods, only to be let down repeatedly, with no payoff. For one, with a title like HORROR, you would expect shocks aplenty. There is not even one remotely terrifying moment in the film. All build up, no result. There are moments when I thought something interesting was about to happen, only to be taken into a totally different direction. Over and over again, style took priority over substance. The acting is sub-standard, and none of the characters are the least bit interesting. I won't even go into the plot. I don't even think there was one. This is just an abstract head trip, but becomes annoying because of the incoherence of the whole film. It tries to build surreal spooky images, but fails to deliver any real chills. Some directors, such as David Lynch or Dario Argento, can pull something like this off. This movie tries to be surreal and bizarre, but misses the mark...BIG TIME. Not scary, not interesting, and at the end, annoying because of its esoteric structure. I would like to see Tomasselli tackle a regular story, with a plot. He has the potential to be a decent director.
Rating: Summary: Horror,,shure but horrible storyline Review: I quite enjoyed "Horror" the eerie black goat sceans where creative and the scares where actualy unpredictable. the sound effects and music was fantastic, good visual effects great makeup and NO CGI for the other computer graphic haters out there!!! I realy wish I could understand just what the hell was the meaning of all of it, but i guess the films creepyness and gore made up for having no storyline what so ever.
Rating: Summary: Horror,,shure but horrible storyline Review: I quite enjoyed "Horror" the eerie black goat sceans where creative and the scares where actualy unpredictable. the sound effects and music was fantastic, good visual effects great makeup and NO CGI for the other computer graphic haters out there!!! I realy wish I could understand just what the hell was the meaning of all of it, but i guess the films creepyness and gore made up for having no storyline what so ever.
Rating: Summary: a "kitchen sink" scare flic Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I'm a fan of (but not zealous towards) Argento's movies, but really prefer horror to slasher, so this one hit me just right. Every possible creep shtick is utilized; it's both very effective and embraceable. I found myself nodding in appreciation while still being creeped out---the director knows how to pull it off, even with a lower budget than most slasher films use. Great fun, play this one as part of a halloween mini film-fest!
Rating: Summary: A Living Nightmare Review: I thought the DVD, "Horror", was excellent. The opening sequence was extremely eery and gave you an uneasy feeling going into the movie. You had the feeling throughout the movie that you were having a hellish nightmare. You never knew what was looming around every corner. I especially liked the in and out appearances of the goat. He was one scary goat!!!Overall, I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to view a good movie. It will be a living nightmare.
Rating: Summary: A film for (early) David Lynch fans... Review: If you enjoyed "Eraserhead" and thus don't really have-to-know exactly what's going on at all times during a film... then you are in for a treat. Tomaselli definitely has a style of his own (with only 2 films - that I am aware of) and even though constricted by a limited budget and actors that range from promising (Lizzy Mahon) to down-right bad (most of the rest) has created a truly fascinating dream-like entertainment... I honestly couldn't take my eyes off the screen right from the start! A lot of very informative extras are included on this disc (Elite EE6666) with a Director's commentary that completly 'fills-in-the-holes' (story-wise) for those viewers that require such. The 5.1 audio remix is also a definite plus for it enhances the experience greatly. Now if only a smart Producer would give Mr. Tomaselli carte blanche to create the masterpiece that I know he is capable of... much like Alfredo Leone did for Mario Bava and "Lisa and the Devil."
Rating: Summary: Save your money Review: The second effort from independent filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, "Horror" blazes much of the same trail set forth with his first film "Desecration". "Horror" is a non-stop assault of strange imagery, drugged-out hallucinations, unexplainable continuity jumps and zealous religious fanaticism. Despite the obviously limited budget, "Horror" manages to raise some serious scares and contains some memorable scenes. 5 drug-addicted teenagers escape from a rehab clinic, steal a van and head on their way to the house of Salo, a psychotic preacher who visited them while they were locked up and offered promises of salvation. On the drive to Salo's house, the youths indulge themselves in all the booze, marijuana and mushrooms that their hearts desire. Upon arriving to Salo's house "Luck" the leader of the gang and most intoxicated of the group, stumbles into the house to find a young woman (Grace) being physically abused by what he sees as two demons. After shooting them both with his revolver, he discovers that he has in reality shot Salo and his wife, Grace's abusive parents. Somehow, the killings trigger a supernatural force over the house and its surroundings. The woods bordering the house are now filled with satanic symbolisms, trippy-looking trees with candy canes and Jack-O-lanterns attached to the branches and hordes of night-crawling ghouls. It is noticeable right away that "Horror" is trying mightily hard to be a scary genre effort. For the most part, it succeeds. The woods bordering the house are filled with mist and fog and impending doom. This is one of the best examples I've seen in a while of a movie that effectively employs the use of sound as a tactic to scare the viewer using such devices as creaking doors, insane female giggling and blowing wind. And shooting the movie in the middle of winter amid heavy snow and blistering cold add to the feeling of dread. Curiously enough, one of the things that failed to spook me was the goat itself. On the DVD cover as the film's mascot and a species that has long been linked with Satanism, the goat appears in several scenes, usually as the terror factor is mounting. But instead of being scary I found this goat, with its fluffy fur and "who me" look of innocence, to be kind of cute and cuddly-looking. I'm quite certain that's not the effect the director was hoping for but that's how I took it. And of course this being an indie low-budgeter, the acting is at times quite horrid. Although Reverend Salo Sr. (played by "The amazing Kreskin") and the character of Grace (Lizzy Mahon) gave admirable performances, everyone else's acting left LOTS to be desired especially the woman who plays Marissa, one of the 5 escaped addicts. To say that woman couldn't act her way out of a paperbag would be putting it kindly. Despite the low-budget cheapness, I found "Horror" to be highly enjoyable and very creepy. Dante Tomaselli is a stylistic director whose work conjures up flashes of Mario Bava and Dario Argento's classic Giallos. I admire Tomaselli for playing it straight-up and going for scares instead of resorting to comedic gore or self-referential nonsense like so many horror movies that are manufactured for the masses.
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