Review: The Void

(imdb.com)

Alien: Covenant is fast approaching, but until then what do sci-fi/horror fans have to look forward to? I present The Void. Easily one of the most entertaining and mysteriously outrageous as it is grounded, The Void is a terrifying concoction of the cult and alternative dimension subgenres. It's the rare sci-fi/horror movie that seems realistic - thanks in part to a stunning cast of actors who bring a level of humanism to their roles.

The Void follows a police officer who brings a disoriented man to a desolate hospital, only to bear witness to a grand plot of portal openings and monstrous creatures. The recently charred hospital that is this film's setting, hosts a number of lingering characters who have yet to move to one of the more well-kept hospitals in the rural area. There's a trio of nurses, a doctor, a pregnant teen, her grandfather, a male patient and later an additional pair running from the cult. Each of these characters provide depth and interest to the storyline; especially noteworthy given horror's tendency to use a cast like cannon fodder rather than story development.

The Void stars Aaron Poole (The Conspiracy) as police officer and central character, Daniel Carter, horror icon Kenneth Welsh (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) as Dr. Richard Powell, a friend of Daniel's father, Daniel Fathers (Dark Matter) as a man running from the cult outside the hospital and Kathleen Munroe (Resurrection) as experienced nurse and wife of Daniel, Allison Fraser. Other cast members include Ellen Wong (The Carrie Diaries) also supports as an inexperienced nurse-in-training, Kim, Mik Byskov (The 100) as a fellow cult escapee, Grace Munro () as the pregnant teen, Maggie and James Millington (The Freshman) as her grandfather.

As noted, this movie excels at creating characters that feel worthwhile. For Poole who holds much of the camera's attention, his role as Daniel is especially terrific given his realistic and subtly comical responses. Other especially great performances come from Wong, whose character goes from somewhat useless to undoubtedly scrappy and Munro's Maggie who is scarily frantic for her and her baby’s life. The understandable, but constantly frustrating man played by Fathers, is also entertaining enough, as is the other members mentioned previously.

The Void is also bolstered by a pension for suspense building. No matter how ridiculous or off-the-rails its final scenes got, everything felt horrifying. Even scenes that had a sense of placidity - like those featuring the cloaked cult members standing in the lot - were unsettling at the least. There's also plenty of homage to movies like The Thing, with impressive practical effects and well-timed gross out scenes worthy of the history books. In fact, there are no true flaws in The Void. This is a film that is truly committed to its mythology and no matter where that mythology goes or how susceptible that world could be of critiques, the confidence at which it plays out is hard to undermine.

The Void is deserving of each and every one of its praises. It is horror-inducing, it is funny and it most certainly is well-done. It’s the type of movie an array of people could find something to love and is setting an early standard for best lists of 2017. From the very first scene where Daniel comes face-to-face with a cult member (Personal note: I pinpointed this scene as one that would give me nightmares, and within an hour of falling asleep I was jolted awake by a dream of it), to the final intense moments of survival, The Void never lets up. 9 out 10.