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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
an excellent conventional horror flick with some great ideas, December 21, 2008
This review is from: The Craving (DVD)
This movie has everything I look for in a good horror flick - a group of young people ending up in the middle-of-nowhere, a monster, an antagonist. This has all the feel of Spielberg's "Duel", but it really has some great scary points. The sexy scenes are sexy, the scary ones really give a chill, and the director even goes so far as so make me laugh when he wanted to, even though it's not a comedy. The actors did really well, and it had a very distinct sense of realism to it. I certainly hope that this film gets a wide viewing by others; I'm especially hoping to see more movies from Sean Dillon soon! Two thumbs up!!
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Yet another horribly cliched and downright annoying horror film, May 22, 2011
This review is from: The Craving (DVD)
Five annoying young people on a road trip, stranded in the desert, prey to a horrible monster, yada yada yada. Why does every other horror director keep using this old, done-to-death premise? Is there a film school somewhere that teaches filmmakers with little skill and no imagination to keep pumping out these lame "road trip to hell" train wrecks? Director Sean Dillon might be trying to pay homage to 70s drive-thru creature features with his grainy camera work - or he might just be using a cheap camera that gives everything a slightly grainy appearance (I'm going with the latter theory). The viewer's only reward in the end (after an incredibly long ninety-plus minutes) is a surprise ending that Mr. Magoo could have seen coming from miles away.
The summary says these are five college students, but I'm willing to bet none of them ever graced the halls of any school of higher education - and one of them would have to be in at least his 15th year of college, given how old he looks. All I know for sure is that the three guys and two girls are all instantly unlikable. They're also pretty much doomed after Bryan, the odd guy out, decides to take a cross-country shortcut through the middle of the freakin' desert. After realizing they're hopelessly lost, they spot a shack and decide to approach it. Personally, I would figure that any one stupid enough to live miles from anyone else in the middle of a desert probably isn't much for company, but, of course, I'm not a dumb character in a bad movie. Actually, our desert survivor is glad to have the company of strangers - but only for a really bad reason.
With their van out of commission, our characters find themselves fending off attack from some horrible monster after night falls. We never actually get a good look at the monster, which is probably just as well, but we do see his handiwork. The gore isn't very impressive, but the director likes to show it off, anyway. Most of the movie, though, consists of the characters yelling at each other. The acting isn't all that bad, really, but these actors never had a chance given the weak plot and lousy dialogue they were working with. Who will live? Who will die? Who cares?
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A whiff of evil and an aura of invincibility, November 7, 2008
This review is from: The Craving (DVD)
Critic Terrence Rafferty suggests that those are the traits uniting the vast spectrum of horror-movie monsters, a rogues' gallery including, among others, supernatural spirits, vicious extraterrestrials, serial killers/slashers and an excessively large and, well, "rogue" great white shark. Speaking of Jaws, some of the lessons of that seminal horror film are on display in The Craving, a fine addition to this monster movie tradition. Like Jaws and many of the great fright flicks, The Craving retains a distinct element of mystery: What is the full extent of the horror? What kind of "monster" are we up against? (In a tweak of monster movie convention, filmmakers Sean Dillon and Curtis Krick provide a near-literal take on that "whiff of evil." It has to be seen to be believed.) The film also shares some of the grit and invention of the great independent horror cycle of the `60s and `70s. Most significant, the interplay of action, violence and gore evidences the creators' imagination and facilitates the audience's. This is not some grim, dreary, tedious exercise in torture porn. The film's storyline unfolds to great effect in the desert at night, an especially rich setting in which the darkness cloaks a horrifying creature while the lack of vegetation leaves would-be victims totally exposed. The entire cast, including those supplying these victims, is particularly strong for the genre; even non-speaking roles support the film's plot and reinforce its themes, enriching The Craving with flavor and texture. There's nudity, too.
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