nice, creepy atmosphere

Rating: 6/10 (14 November 2006)

One of the better horror films for a while. It has a nice, creepy atmosphere, an effective music score which adds character. Nice touch to keep it electronic, makes a change from the typical orchestral sound. The film holds up well for the first hour fifteen minutes, then the plot starts to get a little more convoluted for its own good, and the ending just adds layers of more confusing stuff on top of what has come before. Some things do not need to be explained, and when the explanation just makes everything more confusing, better to leave it alone. These faults aside, it is a well made and atmospheric film which brings back fond memories of the good old 80s, when one first encountered Carpenter, Phantasm, Hellraiser and From Beyond. The focus here is more on the dense atmosphere of the decaying environments than cheap shock scares, which is very welcome. I actually came to think of Orson Welles The Trial, which has a similar surrealistic journey through a nightmarish and decayed world, and can also be described as a horror film in a way.