THE VOID - Lovecraftian-ish/Yuzna-ish/Fulci-ish film now on iTunes

[ASFTSN]

Couldn't find a separate thread for this, so apologies if here is one.

I watched this film from Jeremy Gillespie/Stephen Konstanski (of Manborg - and the latter did FX on Crimson Peak too) last night, having heard nothing about it, apart from the fact it was mentioned with the above references and seemed to be getting a bit of buzz.  Deliberately didn't read anything about the storyline either. 

I liked it very much, but to be honest I think its effectiveness will depend on how much you like weird fiction, prosthetic creature effects and proper gore that's done without CGI.  There's an enjoyable sense of chaos in the first 20 minutes where dozens of things seem to be happening at once, though this sort of resolves itself by a little burst of baddie exposition and then not really very much happening.   I quite like the way you only ever really get the protagonists POV about what's going on,  I think that just about justifies it...it's definitely a bit muddled though that's not a problem for me.

The actual horror set pieces and monsters though, were my favourite flavour.  Clearly done by people who have a deep and genuine love of The Beyond/Re-Animator/Hellraiser 1/From Beyond/The Thing.  Top abominations.  I'm glad indie films like this are being made in 2017.

Any horror fan will spot many references/homages here, possibly too many.  Major, major spoilers:

Spoiler alert

  One of the dead freaks in the cellar is weakly wielding a hammer just like Grandad in TCM. The reborn daughter abomination chasing the lad along the narrowing corridor is almost exactly like the scene with The Engineer chasing Kirsty in Hellraiser.  The evil doctor guy is like Uncle Frank from Hellraiser, but with a green paintjob.  And the ending...well it's a straight rip from the eerie ending of The Beyond obviously, though I suppose it's meant to be a tribute.

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Anyone else seen it?

[ASFTSN]

Ah, bollocks.  Please move to Deeper Into Movies....

[BlodwynPig]

Thank you

[ASFTSN]

Based on your posts in the Pan Book of Horror thread, there is a reasonable chance you might enjoy this, Blodwyn.

[acrow]

downloading this now just based on lovecraft/yuzna/fulci comparison.

will actually read the thread once i watch t.

[Penfold]

I like these Astron-6 folk.

Although this isn't an Astron-6 movie, there are a few of them involved. My favourite thing they have done is Bio-Cop which is at the end of the Manborg DVD and I read somewhere it cost more to make than Manborg.

The Void, I enjoyed it.

Spoiler alert

I was hoping to see more of the creatures though

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[ASFTSN]

downloading this now just based on lovecraft/yuzna/fulci comparison.

will actually read the thread once i watch t.

Be interested to know what you think.  Out of the three I mentioned it's definitely mostly Yuzna-ish.  Or Stuart Gordon-ish really.

[Steven]

Ahem..

[ASFTSN]

To hell with megathreads I say!

_{(dunno how I missed your post in that thread while quoting from the exact same page)}

[Steven]

I think the trailer made it look far better, it has enough interesting elements but goes pretty much tits up towards the end as it all centres around

Spoiler alert

the 'mad doctor/Cenobite' character, which is why I mentioned Hellraiser II with Doctor Channard and Leviathan Lord of the Labyrinth gubbins which is very similar. But yes I remember thinking that scene with the shrinking corridor is exactly like the one in the first Hellraiser.

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[BlodwynPig]

I thought it was corking. A heady mixture of the aforementioned films. The score and the voice of the doctor were sublime. His voice had something otherworldly about it that probably is only comparable to pinhead - although I haven't seen Hellraiser for decades so can't remember.

[ASFTSN]

Ah yeah, the score, I knew I'd forgotten to mention something.  I knew as soon as I saw that Lustmord was involved that it would be half decent at least.

[BlodwynPig]

When Beverley

Spoiler alert

transformed and was seen skewering the guy on the bed's eye ... surely that was the same guy who was picked up from the hospital, was then seen shackled to the bed after the full transformation and had both eyes intact....or did I miss something?

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[Penfold]

When Beverley

Spoiler alert

transformed and was seen skewering the guy on the bed's eye ... surely that was the same guy who was picked up from the hospital, was then seen shackled to the bed after the full transformation and had both eyes intact....or did I miss something?

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Spoiler alert

That was a different guy, he was first seen in bed watching a film with Kim looking after him. The film might have been Night of the Living Dead.

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[BlodwynPig]

Spoiler alert

That was a different guy, he was first seen in bed watching a film with Kim looking after him. The film might have been Night of the Living Dead.

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Cheers. I suspected as much.

Thinking back, it really is a good good film. A few niggles here and there, but the score sets the tone and that ending (which I assume not everyone will like) is stunning. If you've read House of Leaves, you'll get the sense of vastness (and perhaps vast dread) that scene imposes.

[purlieu]

Weird fiction, Lovecraftian, I'm in.

[acrow]

just watched. enjoyed quite a bit. as said, the story is a bit hmm, but the gloopy gory stuff and the creature effects more than made up for it.

[Brundle-Fly]

Watching credits roll now. Very enjoyable, but nonetheless a composite of all those glorious eighties icky horror movies mentioned in the OP. Defiantly 1980's with the music score, SPFX and the film noir moody red and blue lighting hues cues, but it felt not in any way ironic.  True enthusiasm for that era. It sort of had an American Horror Story respectful attitude.

As everyone here already has pointed out, it owes its greatest debt to Clive Barker though. The Void could have easily passed itself off as part of the Hellraiser franchise. Much in the same way

Spoiler alert

Event Horizon (1997)

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could have done?

8/10

P.S. If you liked that? Try this? 

From 2008. Not brilliant, but really not bad at all. Sometimes turns up in Poundland around October



(2008)

[Straight Faced Customer]

I'd dare say Garth Marenghi got the ball rolling on this stuff.

That Bio-Cop trailer is immense.

[Brundle-Fly]

Mistaken post