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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES  VOL 1

(2007)
Directed by Graeme Whifler
Starring Jack Huston, Pell James, Terry Becker, Anina Lincoln, Meredith Morton, John Ennis, Nick Searcy

A young couple move into a new house in what seems to be a dying suburb.  Bob, the husband, has just started a new job, and had to move him and his new wife to a completely new city for a new start.  But it doesn’t take long before this new start takes a turn for the worse.  In their little cul-de-sac, they have some strange neighbors.  There’s the older couple that seemed to be deaf that have their yard fenced in, with Do Not Enter signs all over the place.  And then there’s Adrien, who seems a bit off right away, but is always wanted to give them gifts.  It doesn’t take long for the Bob and his wife Wendi to figure out that their recent bouts with different illnesses is being caused by the twisted neighbor, Adrien.

Originally called NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, writer & director Whifler does do a great job creating a wonderfully new and twisted character in Adrien.  And actor Nick Searcy does an even better job bringing this character to life.  From the nice little touches of make up effects, to the wide and darken eyes of Adrien, Searcy shows us just what a really creepy neighbor could be like.

But unfortunately, that is really the only thing that kept my interests in this movie.  The rest of the cast does okay, but doesn’t really stand out.  The plot is somewhat different in the approach of the villain, but the basic plot is the same as countless other movies that have been coming out over the last few years.

But during the audio commentary, the moderator, Matthew Chernov makes the comment, “This film really does bring depravity back to cinema in a way that really hasn’t been seen in a long time.”  I guess he hasn’t been to the movies in quite some time, since this whole torture/porn thing is finally now just coming to an end.  Plus, while Chernov does do a good job as a moderator for the most part, asking the right type of questions of the director and actor present, he does seem to spend a lot of time giving high praises for them as well.  To the point where it becomes more “kiss-ass” than objective.

Whifler and actor Nick Searcy are also on the commentary.  Both of them give us plenty of information about their part of the process.  Whifler gives us details on how he came up with the character of the twisted neighbor Adrien.  And Searcy tells how he managed to sink into this man’s dark and slimy psyche.

Another note on the commentary is that at one point in the film, the commentary track becomes out of sync, causing them to talk about a scene that happened a few minutes before what we’re watching.  It does correct itself, but doesn’t explain what happened.  This could be just a defect in the making of the DVD.  The DVD also contains a making-of featurette that shows just how time consuming it can be, and that it isn’t all the glamour that one might think.

Fans will spot cameos by familiar horror faces of Irwin Keyes and Elieen Dietz.  Keyes’ plays a quick scene as a garbage man being “teased” by a very small dog.  While it has nothing to do with the movie, other than to show that I don’t think there’s a normal character in this neighborhood, Keyes is always fun to watch.  Dietz plays one the neighbors, and has a great make up job of making her look not so great.

I do want to give credit to the makeup team, since this movie does have quite a bit of work on screen.  From dead cats, to a swollen face makeup, to the nasty surgery stuff near the end of the movie, it all looks very effect and real.  So kudos to them.

Like a lot of these similar movies out there, where we have to witness terrible things being done to the innocent heroes of the story, there are scenes which are pretty disturbing.  Just watching Adrien pick and eat the scabs off his recent surgery wound is enough to turn any ones stomach.  And it goes downhill from there.  Sure, there’s a little bit of suspension of belief, but we are asked to suspend quite a bit here.

I guess the bottom line of my review is that while parts of the story were slightly different, it was the content and intention of the film that just seemed like a retread of what has been happening over the last few years.  With the help of great makeup effects and a strong performance by Searcy, that does make it a little better.  But when it comes right down to it, it’s not a film that I would watch more than once.  Sure, it’s creepy and sleazy.  And it’ll make you wonder about your neighbors.  But was I entertained by it?  Not really.  And that’s what it comes down to.