This appears to have been shot on either 16mm or with video effects to mimic 16mm, with the nice graininess, maybe even Super-8, and looks like one of those low-rent Magnum or Paragon videotapes recorded in EP mode. It's a good effect whether intentional or not. It gives us, the viewers, the distinct feel of a late 1970s Halloween/Friday the 13th cash-in, with a bit of Phantasm supernatural eeriness thrown in.
It also reminds us of the horror omnibus films that were popular in the 1970s like those from Amicus and their copy-cats, as this tale of terror has additional horror stories within the main story. It is actually done in an interesting manner, two of the additional stories being the clairvoyant dreams of a main character.
What you will get is a main story of a slasher on the loose in a rural wooded setting with a decrepit house of several teens 'reunioning' as main location. With that wrap-around tale, you also get 3 additional horror stories, one which is an eerie "prologue" that sets up the main story, and two others that will creep you out. I can't say more or it would be a spoiler.
Besides the look of the film or video images, all of the settings have that older 1970s appearance, albeit somewhat rundown and worse for wear, which is very effective. Even the gore effects, of which there are several, are 1970s style. The appearance and clothing of most of the main characters seems to be 70s and 80s period thrift-store purchases, mostly. I find it hard to believe that this was just chance and not intentional.
While there are lapses in the story and performances that could have been handled better, overall this is worth a look by genre fans and is just as enjoyable as Rob Zombie's 1970s revisited material.
It appears that there was one story edited out, as the final titles show several important characters "not viewed" but still given credit. Would be a nice 'deleted scenes' addition to a DVD re-issue if it exists.
It also reminds us of the horror omnibus films that were popular in the 1970s like those from Amicus and their copy-cats, as this tale of terror has additional horror stories within the main story. It is actually done in an interesting manner, two of the additional stories being the clairvoyant dreams of a main character.
What you will get is a main story of a slasher on the loose in a rural wooded setting with a decrepit house of several teens 'reunioning' as main location. With that wrap-around tale, you also get 3 additional horror stories, one which is an eerie "prologue" that sets up the main story, and two others that will creep you out. I can't say more or it would be a spoiler.
Besides the look of the film or video images, all of the settings have that older 1970s appearance, albeit somewhat rundown and worse for wear, which is very effective. Even the gore effects, of which there are several, are 1970s style. The appearance and clothing of most of the main characters seems to be 70s and 80s period thrift-store purchases, mostly. I find it hard to believe that this was just chance and not intentional.
While there are lapses in the story and performances that could have been handled better, overall this is worth a look by genre fans and is just as enjoyable as Rob Zombie's 1970s revisited material.
It appears that there was one story edited out, as the final titles show several important characters "not viewed" but still given credit. Would be a nice 'deleted scenes' addition to a DVD re-issue if it exists.