Director: Peter Goddard; Sam-Mason Bell
Year: 2015
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology; Slasher
Plot:
Taking a trip out into the English countryside, a group of girlfriends decides to spend the night telling ghost stories and camping out, but are soon forced to escape from their own real-life nightmare.
Review:
Bait-Attempting to do some night-fishing, a group of friends is surprised when their catch decides to bite back in more vicious ways than expected. This one showed a lot of promise but was just too short for its own good. It barely has any time for a setup involving the two arriving at the spot and then separating just enough for the attack to take place. The idea is great but it needed time to actually employ it, not get cut off before the good stuff happens which is the case here since everything else here works quite well.
Pumpkin Pie-Standing around the campfire one night, a group of friends manages to inadvertently disrespect a supernatural pumpkin, causing it to come to life and enact a series of murderous fantasies. This one wasn’t all that bad despite the segment’s low-budget making for a series of obvious cheats to the death scenes by cutting away in a series of glitchy, computer-rendered images that are never told to us or by the flimsy nature of the pumpkins floating in mid-air. Still, the idea of this one coming true in the nature it does is quite chilling and there’s enough to like with the
Project #39-Headed out to a haunted church, a team of paranormal researchers attempt to carry out an investigation as usual but are soon forced to confront something they’ve never come across before. This was a pretty solid segment. The cliché setup of the ghost hunters getting more than they bargained for means nothing really new happens throughout the segment, but overall there’s a lot to like with the creepiness of the ruins they’re shooting in for the underground church and the surrounding woods. The reveal is handled well enough being done through the found cameras of the doomed crew and the final twist is nicely handled if somewhat disappointing, but overall this has a lot to like.
The Myth of the Plague Doctor-Taking a road trip together, a group of girlfriends heads out for a getaway in the countryside but soon come across someone or something out in the wilderness hunting them down one by one. This was a decent enough entry that really could’ve gone even better than what ends up happening. The simple slasher setup that gets them lost and encountering the killer is a fine one, getting some decent suspenseful imagery out of the setting. The graphic kills and imposing killer look great which helps to offset the confusing ending which makes no sense since it just cuts off without explaining anything, which isn’t a huge problem though.
Wrap-Around-Taking a trip out into the English countryside, a group of girlfriends decides to spend the night telling ghost stories and camping out, but are soon forced to escape from their own real-life nightmare. There are some flaws to be had with this one. One of the biggest problems is the general lack of anything resembling an explanation for what’s going on. The central point of the girls going on the trip is never given, only that one of them recently went through a break-up which is only given on the ride there, so due to that the original purpose is never given. Likewise, the cult being out in the woods and going through their ceremonial rituals or killing off anyone who trespasses against them goes unexplained leaving this part feeling quite confusing which all holds back the reveal that it’s actually an anthology setup until quite far into the film. While there are some decent gore and kills featured here, it’s not nearly enough to make sense o this one.
Harvest of the Dead-Waking up the next morning, the friends find themselves stranded in the woods with no way out and soon come face-to-face with something far more dangerous than she expected. This one has a lot to really like and dislike about it. The best parts here is the first half with the group waking from the night before and showing the results of the stalking through the woods that ends up getting a few solid stalking scenes featuring the killer getting some rather impressive scenes as well as the girls getting lost. It does get a little lost with the revelation in the second half that comes off with little information about what’s going on or how it all ties together. It makes for a rather fun but troubling conclusion to this one.
Overview: **.5/5
With a unique approach that mixes together an anthology film within a slasher setup involving a killer-in-the-woods, that there’s stuff to like and dislike about everything here makes for a highly uneven time that might be a general turn-off. Give this a shot if you’re a fan of this style of film or of the creative crew involved while most others who aren't into either of those factors will want to heed some caution with this one.
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