Full to the brim with some of the most incredible blood, gore and non-stop amazing practical effects work, this is quite possibly one of the best b-movie body horrors I have discovered to-date. This feels like a film made for fans of the genre by fans of the genre. Setting this in a hospital during the night was for me one of the wiser plot decisions made in this film. Having a singular location and the events of the film play out in a short period of time provides a heavy feeling of claustrophobia. Throughout, I felt significantly on edge and I feel that the eerie tone is already created by the location choice alone, even before we are introduced to the demonic creatures and hood wearing cult. I found the characters to be everything you would expect from a typical small town setting. It wasn't difficult for me to find myself invested in the majority of their arcs. The actors themselves do a excellent job of making their characters feel genuine and convincing, more so that of officer Carter, played by Aaron Poole, and nurse Allison, played by Kathleen Munroe. Both feeling authentic and unscripted, it has been some time since I have seen a film that consisted of such well constructed characters as these. Considering this is categorised as low budget, the costume and make-up work is standout and is one thing that makes this film as well loved as it is - featuring some of the best practical monster and creature design I have seen to date. One particular stand out scene for me takes place in the hidden basement area, later on. It's during this scene when a few of the characters we are following at this point discover a person repeatedly slamming their head through a spike protruding from a wall. It just looks incredibly realistic and that is just a small percentage of the phenomenal pratical effects work that this film has in store. One thing I will say is the momentum this film has is insane. The action and suspense picks up pretty much straight away, and once things get going, it barely lets up until the end, making this a very relentless 1 hour and 30 minutes of film. Consideing the rapid pacing, I did take a slight issue with was the unsteadiness of the camera work. Having such a fast past and inconsistency with the steadiness on the screen can be quit jarring. It wasn't constant, but at times it was very noticeable and did take me out if it slightly. However, in the grand scheme of things, this film still looks incredible and is every practical and make-up effect lovers dream. As with most cosmic or lovecraftian horror films, the ending and its explanation is quite ambiguous. For me personally, this is something that I find mildly irritating. It leaves me with an itching curiosity and a desperate need for more. As annoying as I found this to be, I can't quite say it is a negative. The want and need for more is down to my own personal need for a confirmed resolution rather then a flaw with the overall standard of the film.
💀💀💀💀1/2
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