The Void
Sometimes the niche is incredibly small. A sliver
of an audience or a grain, but the niche still exists and it still wants
to be served. There are only so many jump scares a film can have before
you go numb, only so many CGI effects before
you stop feeling the impact, and sometimes the brain is starved for
something “different” and also a little familiar. The Void is a perfect
thirst quencher for the classic horror of the 80’s, with practical
effects and intense atmosphere in place of far too
loud bells and whistles of today’s modern horror.
A small town Sheriff picks up an injured man on the
side of the road and delivers him to a nearby hospital with a skeleton
crew staff, including the Sheriff’s wife as one of two nurses. And the
ball quickly starts to roll- one of the staff
transforms into “something” and starts to attack. The hospital is
surrounded by mysterious hooded figures. A strange horn calls the cult
out. Secrets are brought to light and a mysterious pair of hunters
arrive with bad intentions for the Sheriff’s new prisoner.
The remaining survivors must find a way to band together in order to
survive.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a film that’s really
breaking new ground. It has elements of familiar films delivered in a
loving tribute to those elements of horror and remains its own thing in
the process. The familiar siege narrative as
the cultists surround the building, the body transformation and gore
reminiscent of John Carpenter, the eerie setting and pacing of a Fulci
masterpiece, and the film never resorts to a series of cheap scares as
it wraps you in a slimy film of Lovecraftian
madness. Reality warps and twists and perceptions are played with
before the film builds toa satisfying climax.
9 out of 10 and a definite must see for horror fans.
