The Void starts off with a junkie named James (Evan Stern) escaping from a farmhouse into the nearby woods, while Vincent (Daniel Fathers) and his
son Simon (Mik Byskov) shoots and burns another fleeing woman before going
after James. Police deputy Daniel Carter
(Aaron Poole) finds the fatigued, blood-covered James and takes him to a small
hospital where his estranged wife Alison Fraser (Kathleen Munroe) is working as
a nurse. Soon, hellishly disturbing things
begin to occur in the hospital, as a group of creepy white-cloaked cultists suddenly
appear to surround it, preventing those inside from escaping the place. It’s now up to Daniel, Vincent, and Simon to unearth
the demonic secrets that lurk the depths of the hospital, and lead the hospital
staff and patients in surviving the night.
The Void is obviously crafted to channel the low-budget body horror
films that were popular during the 1980’s.
The CGI is very minimal, if any, as it relies primarily on gory
practical effects, as it was done in the old days. The sound design, the setup, narrative structure
and execution, and setting all add up to a nigh-perfect nostalgic impression. This movie has nailed the atmosphere and aesthetics
of the 80’s horror flicks of directors like David Cronenberg, John Carpenter,
and Sam Raimi.
But beyond being a fun throwback
film, The Void isn’t necessarily superb. The script isn’t as smart and original as it
could have been, and I was a bit bored at times. The characters aren’t as likable and
well-developed enough to make me care about them. And the ending is kind of weak and underwhelmingly ambiguous.
So, as a whole, though it succeeds in capturing the feel of movies like The Fly, The Thing, or Evil Dead, it isn’t as rewarding as them.
As far as “modern movie that
emulates the 80’s style body horror genre” is concerned, James Gunn’s 2006 film
Slither is my benchmark of a
masterpiece. The Void is a good, solid movie on its own, but is simply not as enjoyable
as Slither.
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