Catch-Up Film Review: The Void

"Statistically You're More Likely To Die In A Hospital Than Anywhere Else..."

Directed by the one-two duo of Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, filmmakers who are primarily known for being primary cogs in the wheel of Astron-6, a Canadian based production company renowned for creating primarily low-budget, retro-centred, independent movies which tend to be based around the genre of black comedy horrors, with perhaps its' biggest release to date being 2011's Fathers Day, a film based upon the vengeance fuelled hunt for a sadistic rapist and murderer, The Void, starring a relatively unknown cast including Aaron Poole and Daniel Fathers alongside the cult figure of Twin Peaks favourite, Kenneth Welsh, is an all-knowing and all-loving B-Movie splatter-fest which takes riffs from a wide spectrum of famous horror and monster movies and throws together them all together in a 90 minute bundle of surrealism and ropy, old-fashioned special effects which are as charming as they are downright peculiar. Whilst the narrative structure holding the movie together doesn't entirely work, with a concluding act in which aims particularly high but doesn't in the end hold together too well, The Void is a solid enough fan-fare which will impress the likes of horror genre geeks across the globe. 

After coming across an injured outsider from the idyllic and close-knit neighbourhood of which Aaron Poole's Daniel Carter is the local and well-known face of policing, The Void primarily takes place within the confines of the local hospital of which Kenneth Welsh's eerie Dr. Powell is the leading figurehead alongside Carter's ex-partner Kathleen Munroe and the inexperienced, rookie figure of Ellen Wong's Kim. After an array of events which include the appearance of a Wicker Man-esque cult, a Hellraiser inflicted monster marathon and a finale which is as baffling as it is bold, The Void struggles to contain its' excitement throughout the entire length of its' runtime, with the first act managing to have an effective mix of intrigue and suspense which runs parallel to a underlying thread of black humour which is brought on primarily by the retro design of the creatures which infest the movie primarily within a second act which does unfortunately being to lose steam come the hour mark. Independent and full of interesting elements, The Void may not be the most cinematic of releases this year, but for what it's worth, it's pretty darn fun. 

Overall Score: 6/10