Review: If you are into horror films and watch them on a regular basis then you should be accustomed to this type of plot: a small group of people go into the woods and a little bit after entering the woods nothing but bad things happen to them. Well that is basically the scenario for this film, but with an awesome back story to why they are entering the woods as well as a fantastic execution of this tried and true horror scenario. Unlike some films that just go with this type of plot just to cash in on it, you can tell that the people involved in The Cemetery actually set out to make a good horror film and they truly succeeded.
The Cemetery follows a group of paranormal investigators who go out to a legendary cemetery where bad things happened hundreds of years before. For the most part this crew has become nonbelievers of the paranormal due to doing this so many times with never encountering anything. After one of the girls is hurt and her blood drips onto the soil things start to go wrong after they try to conjure up a spirit that inhabits the cemetery. What they unleash is a demon who possesses one of the crew and then the bloodbath ensues! Yes this may sound like something you have seen before which may be true, but what I will say is that when it is done right then it can be awesome. The Cemetery is one of those films that is done right.
Some of the cast involved is the same actors/actresses that was used on Adam Ahlbrandt's previous film "Cross Bearer". The returning cast members are J.D. Brown who now plays a likeable guy instead of an asshole stripclub owner, Natalie Jean who instead of the hopeless victim now plays a woman who gets possessed by the demon. The cast is quite small and only consists of 5 main cast members and a group of them who play as either a monk, a tortured native american, or a demon. Like in Cross Bearer the acting is very good and the characters are likeable no matter what role they play in the story. I know this may seem stupid but I couldn't help but mildly keep thinking of the character Randy from "My Name Is Earl" on occasion when J.D. Brown was on screen, not to say he plays a stupid character because he doesn't I think it's just kinda the way he looks.
The pacing of this film was great as well and was balanced out just right to where you would get scenes that help you to get to know the characters as well as to get to know the back story of the cemetery they are investigating and the scenes of pure terror and gore. It seems to me that a good amount of films like this seem to have a long and overly slow build up that leads to a very quick and fast paced ending. I am very glad that The Cemetery does not do this and you get a more balanced film. Some fans may want to stone me for this but I think this film holds up well next to classics like The Evil Dead.
The gore in this film is damn good and done practically like I was expecting. Now the gore effect that stood out to myself the most is one where this broken leg bone is stabbed right into the back of the character and they end up falling back some and it penetrates up through the chest. I guess it's because of the fact that getting stabbed by it must hurt bad enough but to then accidentally slip back and it come piercing through you must be fucking unbearable. Trust me when I say the gore is abundant and will please the gorehound in any horror fan. Overall this was an excellent film that I personally think is much more than just another horror film. If you are a fan of these types of films then please get ahold of a copy of this one!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Adam Ahlbrandt
Genre: Horror/Haunting
DVD Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 2013
Time Length: 85 mins.
Rating: Not Rated
Company: Adversary Films
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
Review: If you are into horror films and watch them on a regular basis then you should be accustomed to this type of plot: a small group of people go into the woods and a little bit after entering the woods nothing but bad things happen to them. Well that is basically the scenario for this film, but with an awesome back story to why they are entering the woods as well as a fantastic execution of this tried and true horror scenario. Unlike some films that just go with this type of plot just to cash in on it, you can tell that the people involved in The Cemetery actually set out to make a good horror film and they truly succeeded.
