The Void Review

I've been meaning to write about this movie once I finished it. It was on my list of movies to watch and it probably should have stayed there. It's filled with inconsistencies and plot holes that could be overlooked if it was written or acted better. Instead, it comes off like a B movie trying to emulate an A movie. If feels like a Lovecraft fan film.

The Void follows a cop who picks up a supposed junkie off the road and takes him to a hospital that's closing. I love these kids of set ups. Its easy to hide horrible events in small towns. Just ask Stephen King. After dropping off the addict strange things happen that force him and the locals to survive the night while a cult waits for them outside. The cop and the others fight through monsters and strange plot twists to prevent...something from happening.

Let's start with the good first. The movie is well shot and has non cgi gore. I assume most of the effects were done with puppets and props rather than computers. It looks good. There are also some well-shot scenes that really build the tension. 

But that's where the good ends. The scenes that have these marvelous camera angles only impare the movie when added to the bad acting and writing. The dialogue is cliche to a ridiculous point. I lost count of how many times the cop said "calm down" to people panicking. The movie tries to drive home that "what is going on" feeling but makes the viewer feel confused rather than panicked. You don't know what's going on and no one will stop to explain it. That can be a good thing in a better movie but here it adds to the disorientation. None of the characters are defined. There's some great opening lines between a training nurse and a patient but somehow the dialogue drops off in quality. It's as if the writer was on a deadline and became tired so he threw some stuff together. The interesting shots lose their impact with the bad lines uttered by the cast.

I had a big problem with the plot holes in this story. Why didn't the people in the hospital try to escape? Everyone has a car, the cultists, waiting outside with white robes and ceremonial knives, have nothing. There's even several guns the heroes obtain throughout the story. It reminds me of 30 Days of Night except that movie had real reasons why the town couldn't escape. They barely explain what the cult leader wants or how summoning eldritch monstrosities will help him achieve hsi goal.

At the same time, no one stops to explain why the cult is doing what they're doing except to open a portal to a realm beyond life or death. There's this theme of loss and a desperation to get away from this world that has taken so much. But it's implimented poorly. The cop and his wife lost a child, the local doctor lost his daughter, there's a few other hints of that theme in this film but it's so flimsy. People die in this film and there's barely a reaction besides screaming and whining. That's the key word here, everyone feels like they're whining. 

There's also these twists for the sake of twists. I hate these sudden surprises that have no build up. It feels like being suckerpunched. For example, one of the residents is pregnant and suddenly says that she's with the cult leader's child after killing her grandfather. There's this overplay theme of giving birth to a monster that's used twice in this film. It's already an overused cliche but to use it twice is insulting.  That's another key word, I feel insulted by this film.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood. I know this writing is terrible but it should emphasize how bad I felt about this film.