Product Details

• Actors: Mary Woronov
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Skouras
• DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00099417K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,430 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Young girls are disappearing around the Mary Magdalen Halfway House for Troubled Girls. Desperate to find her sister, Larissa Morgan (Janet Tracy Keijser) goes undercover to investigate the Catholic-run institution. Once inside, she meets a nasty nun, a peculiar priest, a homicidal handyman, and lots of bad girls with attitude. Larissa endures catfights, corporal punishment, and long, hot showers before she learns the ultimate secret of the Halfway House – a huge, one-eyed monster with tentacles and a taste for female flesh! Cult Queen Mary Moronov stars as Sister Cecelia. Writer/ Director Kenneth J. Hall (creator of the Puppet Master series) combines elements from 60s Lovecraft films, 70s women-in-prison exploitation, and 80s slasher flicks into one sexy and frighteningly funny film!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Classic Camp, August 6, 2006

By 

The Horny Toad "Tonemeister" (Mother of Presidents...VA US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Halfway House (DVD)

A well-made B-movie with a bountiful supply of nudity,lesbianism, and monster molestation. If this appeals to you keep reading: quality of the actors ranges greatly. The basic plot centers around the disappearance of women and the main character played by Tracy Keijster investigating the disappearance of her sister. Catholics be warned: contains material that could be offensive. Lastly, don't go expecting original screenplays or ideas as the director stated that he wanted to take a potpurri of his favorite films/scenes and create an homage of sorts.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Halfway House is a well made and really entertaining film, August 26, 2005

By 

Horror Fanatics - See all my reviews

This review is from: Halfway House (DVD)

Lets face it, in todays world of horror its tough to come up with something new or different. In the big budget market we are being promised tons of remakes to old horror flicks from the past. I know remakes aren't the most popular topic and I can understand the pain of seeing something go straight to hell. Well ladies and gentlemen there is a solution, its called independent films. Yes including some of the direct to video stuff you're used to seeing at your local video store. If you search really hard you can find something good and entertaining. The Halfway House is an independent horror film which is filled with violence, humor, lust and of course one eyed monsters.

The story is about a woman named Larissa who is in search of her lost sister. Larissa teams up with a cop and they soon discover that there have been many other disappearances surrounding women staying at a catholic house. Larissa then goes undercover at the Halfway House only to discover that there is much more going on than what she sees. I would speak more about the plot but I dont want to ruin too much for you guys, its just something that you have to see for yourself. The Halfway House is a really good film filled with some interesting characters. Cops, lesbians,creepy nuns, a perverted handyman, a priest who has a hard on for spanking and of course a monster who loves to eat half naked girls. I loved the cool characters and the incredible cast of actors as well. I found the movie to be very enjoyable and I actually had a fun time watching it.

My heart goes out to all the actors and staff behind this film. I was pretty amazed by the cinematography and I couldn't help but love the way it was filmed. In parts the movie actually brought back some familiar feelings I had when I grew up as a kid watching flicks like the evil dead and re-animator. This movie also has the old school animatronic monster fx which was a big highlight in my childhood. This film has none of that cgi bull crap that we are seeing more of today. Kenneth Hall does a great job of paying homage to classics films from the past. As you watch the film you can tell that he was influenced very much by older horror films and as I said before it definitely brings back those old memories. Hall also does a great job of keeping things realistic. This movie doesn't go over the top with the gore or the monsters, instead everything is kept to a steady and fluid pace.

Overall The Halfway House is a well made and really entertaining film. The story is good, the characters are great and theres plenty of violence to boot. Its always great to see something different and The Halfway House delivers all the good stuff. I enjoyed the film very much and will be sitting down to watch it all over again. This dvd also includes some cool special features. Theres audio commentary with writer/director Kenneth J. Hall and producer Ed Polgary, deleted scenes, A making of featurette, uncensored trailer and a really cool music video from the band Insecto Circus. Its really good stuff and I definitely recommend this movie to fans who have a heart for the old stuff, or if you just want to watch something different. Just remember kids, the power of christ compels you!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cthulhu's School For Girls, January 7, 2007

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halfway House (DVD)

At Mary Madeleine's, a place for girls in trouble, there have been a number of mysterious disappearances. But when a young woman disappears near the house the police get involved in an investigation. The missing girls's sister goes in undercover. There she runs into the head Nun, Mary Woronov (in a major role for a recent change), and a priest with a spanking fetish. Although we get to see what happens to the missing girl right at the beginning of the film, our heroes have to work it out for themselves.

The Necronomicon, a horribly powerful book, has been stolen and is now in the house. It can open a doorway to the Great Old Ones who wish to rule our world destroy humanity. The justification for why someone would want to help these beings was actually quite well thought out. Who survives, who doesn't, and what happens to the thing in the gateway will have to be left to the viewer to discover.

This is a better film than I had expected. It was a pleasure to see Mary Woronov in a major role again (and not in extended cameos like in Frog-g-g). We get to see the horrible monster right at the start which is a little unusual (but helps build the plot). Although not quite a women's prison movie, it has many of the same elements including plenty of nudity, a shower scene, lesbians, tough chicks, and sex scenes. Add to that a pretty decent plot building upon the works of H.P. Lovecraft and you get a pretty interesting and entertaining little horror film. Check it out.