Writers/ Directors: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
Cast: Aaron Poole, Kenneth Walsh, Daniel Fathers, Kathleen Munroe, Ellen Wong, Mik Byskov
Year: 2016
Min: 90
Deputy Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) finds drug addict James (Evan Stern), who has escaped being shot by two men, on the side of the road. He sees him dragging himself aimlessly on the ground and bloodied, so he takes him to the local hospital. Working there is his estrange wife Alison Fraser (the lovely Kathleen Munroe). Also on-hand are a few other staff members, including Dr. Richard Powell (Kenneth Walsh) a patient, as well as a grandfather (James Millington) and his pregnant teen daughter, Maggie (Grace Munro).
When, Carter walks into a room he catches one of the nurses, Beverly (Stephanie Belding) stabbing the aforementioned patient in the eye. She then lounges at Carter, and he shoots her dead. When he steps outside of the hospital, to call in her death, he is confronted by a fully robed cult member. He stabs Carter in the chest. Wounded, Carter goes back into the hospital, where he get immediate help for his wound. Soon after, Beverly turns into a tentacled monster. Meanwhile, more cult members surround the hospital. And, then the two men whom James escaped from at the beginning of the film, force their way in, and even stab and kill Dr. Powell. And, believe it or not, things continue to get worse from there.
The Void is a Canadian, Lovecraftain, sci-fi/ horror movie, that after playing a couple of festivals got a limited release April, of this year. It quickly drew great reviews and had a successful run. It has now made its way to NetFlix. Is it worth the hype? In short, fuck yeah it is! This a solid and ass kicking, old school style genre flick that truly and fully pleases.
The script by Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski (who also co-directed) may not be that original, but there are enough cool and wild moments to make it all more than worth your time. It is very obvious that the movie is made with a lot of love and heart for 80s horror. This is especially true in the very clear influence that John Carpenter's work has on the duo.
As directors, they're really good at making an ever mounting feeling of terror, as things just keeping getting worse for our protagonists. The pacing, thus, is ever escalating and leads to an all out wild and cool climax. They also love using practical FX and give a whole plethora of hideous monsters with blood and lots of tentacles. If you, like me, love monsters, then this fucker is for you! On top, of the excellent and nightmarish creatures, there is lots of grue. Bodies transform and twist in gruesome scenes of body horror, all the while blood is splattered and spilled via stabbings, exploding heads, ax-hackings, and more. All of this is handled, by mostly, practical and excellent FX. There really is very little CGI, and I am most grateful for that!
The acting is solid, throughout. Everyone is quite good at the role they are given. Aaron Poole makes for quite a likeable hero. Meanwhile, Welsh is particularly memorable as Dr. Powell. About my only small complain, cast wise, is the character that the very pretty Ellen (Silent Night, GLOW) Wong plays. She isn't bad in it, in fact quite far from it, as Ellen is good actress. It had more to do with the fact that she sometimes frustrated me with her not knowing what to do. But, in turn, it proved to show just how into the movie I was, as I kept screaming and cursing at her character!
To put it bluntly, The Void is one of the year's best horror movies, though I still prefer the superlative Get Out over it. Regardless, this is a crazy movie that keeps getting wilder and wilder. The Lovecraft inspired horrors are represented with excellent practical FX, which is further helped by the adding of graphic splatter. Throw in solid acting and an awesome climax, and I really can't say enough good things about this one. If you are a fan of Carpenter movies like Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness and/ or love Lovecraft monsters, or monsters, in general, then it is to you, that I give this movie my highest recommendation!
4 out of 4
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