DVD Review: ‘After Dark Horrorfest 4’ a Typical Mixed Bag

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CHICAGO – We’ve spent the last few weeks working our way through the fourth collection of the series subtitled “8 Films to Die For” and found a few highlights and lowlights of the fourth annual “After Dark Horrorfest” that we would are now unafraid to share.

With two entries that are much more accomplished than last year’s thoroughly mediocre octet, this year featured some quality and some, well, not-so-quality. Let us break it down from best to worst.

1. “Dread”

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

Starring: Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Evans, Hanne Steen, and Laura Donnelly
Written by: Anthony DiBlasi
Directed by: Anthony DiBlasi

After Dark Horrorfest IV: Dread Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

Synopsis: “Produced by Clive Barker and adapted from his Books of Blood collection by Anthony DiBlasi (screenwriter), Dread follows Stephen (Jackson Rathbone, The Twilight Saga) and Cheryl (Hanne Steen), college students making a documentary about what people dread in life. But they have no idea that their partner, Quaid (Shaun Evans), witnessed his parents being murdered by an axe-wielding lunatic and wants to make others experience his own personal horror. Called “one of the finest Clive Barker adaptations to date,” by shocktillyoudrop.com, “Dread delivers on all chilling counts,” according to fangoria.com.”

Review: “What if we did a fear study? To live another’s dread vicariously - that’s the safest way to touch the beast.” Here’s some daily advice. If a classmate starts to talking to you like that, run in the other direction. Easily the best entry in this year’s Horrorfest and one of the best straight-to-DVD horror movies in some time, “Dread” gets that Clive Barker vibe that so often becomes warped by less talented writer/directors. It’s a very well made, clever, interesting slice of horror that actually examines the impetus of its genre in an intellectual way. And the cast is quite good with a solid performance from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” star Jackson Rathbone and really strong turns from the charismatic Shaun Evans and moving Laura Donnelly. The brutal darkness within human beings has always been the playground of Barker and this adaptation of one of his short stories may have drastically altered his plot but gets his vibe just right. Writer/director DiBiasi is reportedly working on an adaptation of Barker’s “The Great and Secret Show” and horror fans should be very excited about the potential of that project.

Special features:
o “Facing the Fear: Behind the Scenes of Dread” featurette
o A Conversation with Clive Barker and Director Anthony DiBlasi
o Deleted Scenes

2. “Lake Mungo”

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

Starring: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker, and Steve Jodrell
Written by: Joel Anderson
Directed by: Joel Anderson

After Dark Horrorfest IV: Lake Mungo Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

Synopsis: “In Lake Mungo, sixteen-year-old Alice Palmer drowns while swimming in the local dam. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family buries her. The family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Profoundly unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of psychic and parapsychologist, Ray Kemeny. Ray discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. A series of clues lead the family to Lake Mungo where Alice’s secret past emerges. Quietearth.com states, the film “…doesn’t need to rely on gimmicks to get under your skin,” while The Hollywood Reporter declared, “A convincing mock-documentary style lifts ‘Lake Mungo’ beyond spooky supernatural mystery into the realms of emotional truth-telling.””

Review: “Lake Mungo” proves that even a film series that’s over thirty movies deep and in its fourth year can produce something unique. “Mungo” gets under your skin and stays there. The “mockumentary” thing has arguably been overdone with hits like “Paranormal Activity” but “Mungo” feels different. The fact that it consists mostly of reportedly found footage and interviews makes it feel more like a “48 Hours Mystery” or very special “Dateline NBC” and the genuine quality of the performances really enhance the overall piece. Some of the “ghost” footage doesn’t work (why does everything have to be the worst possible video quality to be creepy) but the stuff that does work? Whoa. And the film wraps back in on itself very creatively in ways that force you to think about it for some time after.

Special features:
o Theatrical Trailer

3. “Hidden”

DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

Starring: Kristoffer Joner, Cecilie Mosli, Anders Danielsen Lie, and Bjarte Hjelmeland
Written by: Pal Oie
Directed by: Pal Oie

After Dark Horrorfest IV: Hidden Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

Synopsis: “With his mother’s passing, KK returns home after nineteen years to settle her estate. But with his heritage comes dark and deadly secrets. Having spent the last two decades trying to forget his cruel mother and his past life in the creepy house in the woods, KK finds that there are some things you just can’t run from. Thefreshfilms.com declares “…Hidden is bordering on greatness.””

Review: And here’s where the series starts to slide. What’s so remarkable about horror fans is that 2 out of 8 straight-to-DVD releases ending up worthwhile and a few more that aren’t quite horrible is a win in our genre of choice. One of those “not-quite-horrible” titles is “Hidden,” a film that I really wanted to like more but falls into too many cliches to be as effective as it could have been with less jump cuts and noisy scare cues on the soundtrack. “Hidden” is promising in terms of what its director could do in the future but it’s a near-miss as a film.

Special features:
None

4. “The Reeds”

DVD Rating: 2.5/5.0

Starring: Anna Brewster, OT Fagbenie, Will Mellor, Danny Caltagirone, Scarlett Johnson, Emma Catherwood, and Geoff Bell
Written by: Chris Baker
Directed by: Nick Cohen

After Dark Horrorfest IV: The Reeds Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video

Synopsis: “A weekend boating party turns into a nightmare for a group of young Londoners when they stumble upon a terrifying secret hidden in the reeds.”

Review: Just as much of a near-miss is “The Reeds,” a reasonably well-made thriller that goes off the rails in ways that just don’t work. It starts like a remake of “Donkey Punch” in the worst possible vacation spot in the world and with less popular people and looks like it will just become a standard slasher pic and then becomes something even weirder. Clearly, “The Reeds” has a bit of an identity crisis. The biggest problem however is the film’s pacing. Some sequences - like one with a guy with a metal spike through his body - go on way too long and then the final act feels rushed. It just never develops the right rhythym to be effective, making the cliches harder to take. But the cast is pretty strong and it’s well made. “The Reeds” suffers from a common horror problem - being shot before the one or two rewrites that would have made it work.

Special features: None