A cop becomes trapped in a hospital with the staff by
a group of cultists who worship an ancient dark force. HORROR
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The Void (2016)Written and Directed by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie
Starring Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Ellen Wong, Daniel Fathers, Mik Byskov, Grace Munro |
Lovecraftian horror movies are always a gamble for me. I've never been a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft or his work to begin with, and I often find films adapted from or inspired by his work to be pretentious, confusing, or just plain wacky. But something about The Void hits different. You can tell Kostanski and Gillespie were dedicated to making a freaky monster movie first and a Lovecraft movie second. Add in a host of committed performances and some genuinely scary creature effects, and you've got a throwback to 80's monster movies that fans really responded to. And yes, the Lovecraft elements are way out there, but the creatures are so nightmarish and the characters are all likable enough that you don't really care that it doesn't make a lot of sense. But hey, that's Lovecraft.
Our hero is depressed but devoted cop Daniel Carter (Poole), who picks up what he thinks is a drunk on the side of the road. But when the guy is wounded, Carter takes him to the closest hospital, which is in the process of moving to a bigger location. In other words, limited staff. Once at the hospital, a large horde of cultists surround the hospital and won't let them leave. Turns out the drunk is the only survival of a ritual sacrifice interrupted by a father and son, who shortly show up to finish the job and end up part of the hospital survivor group. Things get crazier from there as we see what these freaks worship, and who is really pulling the strings of this whole fucked-up situation. It's an engaging story that pulls you in pretty quick and keeps you there. The Void is a monster movie gem that's mostly crowdfunded through a donation website, which is pretty damn cool. I wish more horror filmmakers would outsource production to the fans at least partially. It ensures everyone cares about the final product, and you can certainly tell everyone cared about The Void. |