Whether snowed in at an empty hotel, stuck on a ski lift or
trapped within an elevator, horror movies have made the most out of stationary
locations. Often creating a sense of claustrophobia, audiences cringe at the
inescapable horrors that surround these films' characters. From classics like The
Shining to more modern fare like Devil, movies featuring a closed in
location have proven to be effectively secluded - even in the middle of cities
or busy buildings. The latest film to capture this is Nails.
Starring self-described scream queen Shauna Macdonald (The
Descent) as Donna, Nails finds ghostly scares limited to a hospital
bed. After a car accident, Donna becomes disabled and forced to rehabilitate in
a spooky older hospital with a dark past. Each night, suspicious things happen
around her and she is unable to defend herself or prove these issues. Like
sleep paralysis, this movie uses her inability to move to create tension. It
also stars Leah McNamara (Lily) as Donna's daughter, Gemma, Steve Wall (Vikings)
as Donna's husband, and comedian Ross Noble as Donna's nurse and
confidante.
Nails is impressively
compact. It's the kind of movie that works because of its characters and
scenery, not its story. Macdonald's performance elevates the one-room horror
flick way beyond what this otherwise practical horror story could have been.
Nails, the central antagonist is less the center than the background device at
which the characters are propelled; only providing scares but never amounting
more than the one dimension he began the story as. MacDonald in - all her
horror glory is impressive - and deserving of a lot of credit. Without her in
the hospital bed, this movie could fall apart easily. But, her ability to
convey terror is as impressive as ever.
The most glaring flaw in Nails is its dependence on
horror conventions. With plenty of bump-in-the-night scares and dreadfully
empty stares into dark corners, Nails does little to create anything
fresh. But, that doesn't mean it’s not still at least a little scary. Filled
with deeply embedded tension and an atmosphere that is dreary and filled with
shadows, Nails does succeed at creating horror, even if it’s not the
type of horror that's quite uniquely terrifying.
Overall, for a typical ghost tale, this indie flick is
impressively put together. There's a deeply unsettling atmosphere, some
terrific acting and a well-established actress at the help. Nails may
not be overly creative in its execution, but it’s an entertaining and
relatively scary endeavor. Nails shouldn't be as worthwhile as it is, but the core of this film is haunting even if it fails to exceed expectations of what a ghost movie can be. 7 out 10.
Not every horror movie has to be the greatest. Sometimes,
shooting for an A, but being perfectly fine with a B isn't such a bad thing.
After all, nine times out of 10, most people would rather rewatch Blair
Witch than Rings. But, for lacking in originality or a subpar plot,
horror films need to provide some point of interest to keep audience attention
- something IFC Midnight's latest release, Darkness Rising, does
not.
Darkness Rising follows a young woman, her boyfriend and her cousin as they
venture back into the childhood home where her mother went insane. Darkness
Rising stars Tara Holt (Ballers) as Madison, Bryce Johnson (Willow
Creek) as boyfriend, Jake, and Katrina Law (Apparition) as cousin,
Izzy. In each of their respective roles, the trio makes the most of a clearly
flailing script, although the only true standout is Johnson. He maintains a
sense of control over his character, where the women seem to lose their acting
ability midway through.
Following closely to many of the haunted house tropes in the
beginning, the film starts offer pretty straightforward; offering enough scary
atmosphere and mediocre acting to maintain viewership. But like many horror
films, it quickly unravels into an unsalvageable mess of confusion and blatant
disruption. Firstly, the offensive-to-the-ears overuse of shouting back and
forth make for such a wincing time that many may just turn the movie to mute,
effectively ending the film. This leads to a discussion to what is perhaps the
films largest problem: timing. Sound editing, awful character reactions and
misplaced scares all toss up moments that should terrify and leaving only a
scattershot of jumps and terror.
Despite its typical haunted house conventions, Darkness
Rising is also unnecessarily confusing. There are some spookier moments
worked into this thinly made film, but ultimately the addition of some
sci-fi aspects weaken what could have been a slightly better taut project.
These scary parts are where Darkness Rising is at its strongest. Had it
stuck specifically to these jump scare and atmospheric ploys, maybe the
resulting product would be far superior. At the very least, it'd be more
watchable.
Darkness Rising isn't particularly bad, but it's definitely nothing to see
twice. It's a simple, ineffective horror film that does less to offend than it
does to impress, making for a truly forgettable journey. Sure, its attempts to
complicate its plot are worth noting but in the end, no one will be interested
enough to keep focus. 4 out of 10.
