Director: Brett DeJager
Year: 2017
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural Slasher; Zombies
Plot:
Assigned to protect a mythical killer, a police officer and his transportation team get stuck en route within the town limits of a small town cursed by a witch that causes the dead to rise and attack them, forcing the team to release the psychotic killer in their possession to help stop the zombies and get out alive.
Review:
This here was a pretty enjoyable slasher effort. One of the better aspects here is the genuinely creepy setup for the killer that has a wholly enjoyable air about it. The backstory about the voodoo powers and his family’s own connection to the mystical powers is a fine touch and has plenty to like about it with the explanations involving why he can’t be killed or destroyed which is explained away nicely in the opening that has the information needed to get an idea of who he is. As well, that leads into the other big backstory including the cursed town which goes back to the witch’s curse and how that brings the zombies back to life for them to stalk the town on that specific night to carry out the curse.
There’s also plenty to like here with the films’ strong slasher scenes and confrontations. The stalking in the abandoned factory where it takes out the other officers before a stroke of luck captures the creature is a great opening with some atmospheric touches, much like the stalking in the woods where he runs through the campers in the woods which has some great kills featured here. With the mixture of his attack on the town attacking the guests at the reception as well as the zombies outside featuring tons of action and over-the-top atmospheric touches alongside the fun kills on display, the action picks up nicely in this section and provides a great setup to the finale where it brings some fine laughs into things as well. These here are what hold this one up.
There are some problems with this one. One of the biggest issues is the seemingly rushed and awkward manner in which this goes about telling all the plot-points and storyline beats because it’s shortened running time is wasted on nonsensical matters. There’s no point for the extended, drawn-out flashbacks to their backstory in high-school or the bland, tepid romance reconnecting them again to take place in a story like this which forces this one to go through the explanations of the town curse or what happened to the killer in a brief, hurried manner that happens in here. Keeping this one as brief as it is when it has to waste time on unimportant matters while rushing through the important ones is a rather odd yet big mistake to make here.
The other issue with this one is the rather confusing and somewhat unnecessary elements that don’t have any point here. The storyline involving the flamboyant officer is irritating to watch with plenty of extravagant behavior and motivations that wouldn’t be accepted by a real police force. That also applies to the behavior and antics between the two main cops who tend to be given comedic personalities in their cowardice and ill-trained nature for the situation making them highly unlikely to be on the force much less the ones that survived. The last problem is an underwhelming and barely worthwhile finale that offers up no real action, is over so quickly it’s hard to know what happened and makes no sense without any explanation as to what happened, tying into the other issue here. These are what knock this down.
Overview: ***/5
Filled with a lot of enjoyable elements but containing a few flaws with a rushed storyline and unrealistic actions, this is certainly worthwhile for the most part while a couple of issues hold this back. Give this a shot if you’re into these kinds of supernatural-themed slashers or fond of that retro-style throwback effort present throughout here, while those who are weighed down by the issues or don’t enjoy this style might want to heed caution.
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