Decent Horror Flick...

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2006)

It wasn't particularly my favorite, I've seen Euro Trip, and I've seen Saw; the concept was over done, Roth should have held back a little, used lighting and good camera work to show the audience fear, and he did, the scene in which our so called hero was drug to his would be death chamber passing other victims was absolutely the most brilliant horror moment of this film, (Though I must say it reminded me an awful lot of the opening of 'Irreversable') Problems I have with the movie, only one really, I didn't expect a masterpiece even though I already now it had Miike' and Tarantino's seal of approval...***Asian EYEBALL SCENE...growl, (CLOSEUPS OF UNREALISTIC OVERDONE POORLY LIT MAKEUP!!!) the only time in the whole world I would ever say that the Asian girl scene should have gone to the editing room floor, the raw disturbing vibe of the film was great, it was fun, kind of cheesy and loose at points, (side characters even reappeared as you see mostly in comedies which was different for a horror), but sheer creepy and disturbing at others, very well balanced almost teen horror but too intense to be catagorized as that, up until that point where he, ehem 'our so called hero', goes back to rescue a one dimensional Asian girl character who I guess was thrown back into the plot because without that scene the film wouldn't have been long enough to show in theatres, the establishing shot of the 'rescue was great' a well lit man ramming a blowtorch in the girl's eye and her out of view in black in the background...that was great, but closeup to where ovbiously it's fake skin over the eye, and her walking around in public like the elephant man then plunging in front of a train for the sheer reason just to have yet another cheesy blood splatter effect on background characters was poorly written, and just plain bad taste (And not the fun Peter Jackson 'Bad Taste' either.), but I'm planning on buying the film, and checking out Eli Roth's other work like Cabin Fever. He seems to show promise, and the fact that Takashi Miike is in the film, well if you don't know who Miike is or what type of films he makes, check some out, I highly recommend them, then you may see why Roth's film has a certain vibe to it. Even though I barely enjoyed the film, I am planning on buying the D.V.D. because the master of Asian horror Miike cameos in the film.