Customer Reviews

Slaughter Night

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

SLAUGHTER NIGHT was my first encounter with Dutch horror and this was a good introduction. In 1860, convicted killers were used in the mines as fire-men. They were used to detect dangerous gas leaks and then set them off. If they survived the explosion, they would be pardoned. No one ever survived. Andries Martiens killed seven children before he was caught and sent to the mines to die.

Flash to the present, Kris and her father are in a horrible car crash. She survives, but her father doesn't. When Kris learns that her father had been working on a manuscript at a Belgium mine site, she convinces her friends to go with her to pick up his things. Once there, she discovers the manuscript was about Andries Martiens and his weird obession with the occult. Kris packs the manuscript and her father's Ouija board and the gang decide to take the mine tour. This is where things take a decidedly bad turn for the worse.

The good news--there's a wonderful plot!!! An actual storyline that you can follow, a fresh idea that's not been done a thousand times before. There's gore for the gore hounds, scary moments and the fear factor mounts quite nicely.

The bad news--aside from Kris, the female lead, who was brillant--the other characters were a bit flat. I don't know, maybe something got lost in the translation, but I felt like the characters could have been fleshed out a little bit more. It's hard to feel bad and really care for someone getting the axe when you don't really know anything about them.

And the lighting--yes, I know it was a mine shaft, but at times it was nearly impossible to see anything about the monster or the victims. It's hard to be horrified when you can't see anything!

Inspite of these flaws, SLAUGHTER NIGHT is a great movie to check out!! I highly recommend it! So settle back and enjoy!! Just stay out of an abandoned mine shafts:)

so, it starts out like a genuinely creepy ghost story. then, a little voodoo back-story and poof! you have a totally original story-line with a well-written script and plenty of scares that make you jump out of your seat.

it's fun, too. kind of reminds me of the way i felt when i first saw "evil dead," but much-MUCH better!

oh, and there is some gore for the sick and twisted's satisfaction scale.

after i saw it (via netflix), i quickly wanted to add it to my collection of horror greats...so, i did.

it's definitely 1 you want to watch with friends and lots of popcorn, but whatever you do...just be sure and put away your ouiga board!

BOO!!!

i hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

I wish I could share in the enthusiasm of the other reviewers regarding this movie, but, alas, I cannot. "Slaughter Night" is presented in Dutch although it does have English subtitles. While I must admit that I would prefer to hear English, that's not the problem that I have with this film.

"Slaughter Night" is about a girl who loses her father in a car accident. She then goes with some friends to an old mine where something evil lurks. Then something bad happens and they get trapped. Throw in a ouija board, a drill, some tarot cards, some pills and bunch of idiots, some interesting death scenes in a darkly humorous kind of way, and voila, you have "Slaughter Night". To call this an original storyline wouldn't be entirely true. The mine thing has been done before and much better in "My Bloody Valentine" and while the supernatural element was an interesting advent, I felt the movie failed to execute and develop this theme in a way that is scary or even intriguing to the audience.

"Slaughter Night" comes across as a movie that is just thrown together and executed by a bunch of people who really cannot act. The death scenes were fairly amusing, for lack of a better way of putting it, but that's just not enough to make an effective horror movie. "Slaughter Night" has plenty of cheap "jump out at ya" so-called scare scenes, but it has no style, no atmosphere, and very little in the way of substance. There is no suspense, no mystery and for all intents and purposes, there is nothing scary about it. I was especially disappointed in the evil presence theme which was very poorly executed and poorly developed showing a lack of imagination and creativity on the part of the creators of this flick.

To be frank, I watched this movie tonight, and I really couldn't wait for it to end because I was yawning throughout...I'm normally a nightowl, but this one just made me sleepy for some reason. If it wasn't for the death scenes which were curiously interesting, albeit unconvincing, I would be inclined to give this movie one-half or zero stars. In short, it just aint worth it.

I was surprised at how well-paced this horror flick was - back to basics, with a group of tourists trapped in an underground labrynth of mines with a vengeful spirit linked to a past of wrong-doings. Standard stalk'n'scare plot well executed, like a low-rent (but exciting) take on Neal Marshall's "The Descent".

I hear some of the reviewers complain that the movie is subtitled and in dutch. That's because the movie is from the netherlands people. It's been hard to find decent horror movies in the United States so I have looked to other countries. This has to be a throwback horror movie from the 80's. If your in to ghost stories, vodoo rituals, ghosts, zombies, and a ton of gore this is for you. This movie has all the gore and suspense that a horror movie should have. I just wish I could have seen this movie on the big screen. I would have enjoyed it a lot more. The begining of this film sets you up for a hell of a ride through some mine shafts. There's a ghost that posseses some friends and all hell breaks loose. I love these type of horror movies. Don't let subtitles ruin the experience this is a great horror film that should be enjoyed. This film has to be better than most horror movies that have come out recently. The Dutch have really made some great horror films lately. Look at "Let the right one in" and also "The Substitute". These are two great horror films made by Dutch directors. This is what horror used to be until hollywood killed the horror scene. The only decent horror movie I've seen lately has to be "The Collector" that movie was great also. If your looking for gore and old school horror look no further this is a great film. This movie is similar to the "Evil Dead" films great ghost story as well.

Kristel and her friends travel to Belgium to recover her father's last manuscript, but what she finds instead are an old music box and an Ouija board that belonged to the satanic murderer that her father had become obsessed with. After accepting an invitation from a friendly curator to visit the mine where the demonic Andries Martiens was sentenced to death, the group quickly becomes trapped before the killer's evil spirit begins possessing their souls and lopping off their heads! SLAUGHTER NIGHT is an excellent throwback to 80's gore classics like NIGHT OF THE DEMONS or Lamberto Bava's Italian counterpart DEMONS, filled with bloody violence, terrifying make-up, and a ton of gruesome splatter. It sets an uneasy and claustrophobic vibe within the close quarters of the abandoned mine, which adds a genuine creepiness to the already horrific killings. The slow build allows the audience to identify with the characters, who become more than just average teen stereotypes. Once the action begins, SLAUGHTER NIGHT becomes an unstoppable wave of blood, guts, and missing heads. Directors Frank von Geloven and Edwin Visser make a huge misstep in the digital filming and choppy editing of the action sequences, which are both disorienting and messily shot. Overall, it is a fun and gory ride that would make for a perfect double-bill with either THE HAZING or THE CONVENT!

-Carl Manes

I Like Horror Movies

I was expecting an average horror movie at best but was pleasantly surprised to find a real shocker here with some truly scary and unbearably suspenseful moments! It begins with a bang and sets the tone for what is to follow. The story is even unique and unfolds in stages as the movie progresses instead of being told in a single narration sequence. The scary action comes fast and furious while still managing to build suspense and a pervasive sense of dread, and there are some incredible gore FX that are very appropriate when they happen! This is premium horror entertainment that is very satisfying for those of us horror fans who can't find enough of the good ones!

I wish I felt the enthusiasm for this film that some other viewers did. The effects and cinematography weren't bad, so obviously a fair amount of money went into the production. The acting wasn't great, but it wasn't awful, either. I just didn't find this film scary or suspenseful. I got the DVD free with a magazine subscription, so at least it didn't cost me anything!

This movie was alright. The gore was kinda there, BUT I wasn't liking the Dutch. I didn't REALIZE it was a subtitled film. I didn't think Amazon sold subtitled film in the same genre as English films. It was a little slow moving too. The fact that it is not in English was my biggest complaint.