I've been waiting for this film to come out for bloody ages - it was meant to come out in 2007. After positive reactions at various festival screenings, it's finally been released on DVD (albeit skipping a theatrical release - seemingly the producers and / or the masses prefer infinite Saw sequels to anything original).
The film cuts between four different storylines with their own characters, that all interconnect at various points. The organisation of the events isn't chronological (in fact, it follows a circular pattern), so you may see the bulk of one story at one point, but not see its conclusion until part of another of the tales. This fragmented nature means that there isn't a great deal of suspense or emotional investment in the film; it is however just fun to watch how they pan out and relate to one another.
The first of the stories revolves around Dylan Baker as a principal who has a secret in his backyard. I won't say more than that. This was my favourite of the four segments, as it's twisted in such a horrendous, over-the-top way, and some of the exchanges were genuinely hilarious, like when the principal's son shouts at him, "Charlie Brown's an asshole!" Yeah, it's funnier in context than in blog-text. And unfortunately, while this is in my opinion the best of the sections, it's much too short, and the conclusion isn't very satisfying (although the way it joins up with another of the storylines is good). There should've been more of this one.
The second part focuses on a group of kids who go to a quarry to investigate the site of a schoolbus crash. In a film such as this, of course the spirits of the deceased children aren't yet "at rest," and horror naturally ensues. Like the majority of the film, this part isn't really tense or scary, just "fun." The circumstances of the bus crash as explained by one of the characters is just as twisted as Dylan Baker's backyard secret, but apart from this, the nature of this section is similar to that of an episode of Goosebumps; it's probably the weakest portion of the film.
The third chapter isn't really given it's own chunk of continuous screentime - it mostly takes place in snippets in between everything else. Anna Paquin is the lead in this, playing a girl who is being pressured to lose her virginity by her friends. At first I wasn't sure about it, as I couldn't see how anything interesting could happen. It does though; the twist at the end provides great pay-off, as it's brilliantly surprising, and is directly connected to the end of one of the other tales. There didn't seem to be as much of this one as there were of the others, but that's a good thing here: it's short but sweet.
And the final tale entails Brian Cox (who appears earlier in the Dylan Baker section) and his struggle against a creepy demonic child who's attacking him. It's another over-the-top thing that isn't really scary as such, and is even humorous at times (intentionally so). I guess it's reminiscent of Evil Dead or Child's Play. Again - entertaining viewing, but not really suspenseful, horrific, etc.
As I've reinforced far too many times here - this is a "fun" film to watch, particularly on Halloween. It's not going to drag you into it emotionally or suspensefully, it's not going to keep you on the edge of your seat, and it's not going to terrify you - but it's nonetheless visually wonderful, and enjoyable to watch. The characters are often funny, and while the episodes as separate entities aren't usually anything special, the joy is in watching how they all connect, and the little references to one another interspersed throughout. In a world where Hollywood's horror outputs consist of shoddy remakes and horrendous sequels, it's annoying that something more original like this didn't get a theatrical release.
This was a very short review, as there wasn't a great deal to say - it's a good, but not entirely memorable film. However, you should be able to tell from watching the trailer or reading this whether it's up your alley (suit you sir). Probably worth a rental next Hallow's Eve.
6.5/10
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