DVD Roundup – After Dark Films

Dark Ride

Theme parks and carnivals are always great settings for horror movies, so Dark Ride has got a ticket to ride already in my book: In the story, a group of six teen friends (three girls, three guys) on a road trip get sidetracked and then trapped inside a spooky place that brings to mind Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse, Dean R. Koontz's Twilight Eyes, and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses.

Dark Ride is far from original, and to be honest this teen slasher is pretty cliché-riddled — yet, it's done with style and gusto; director Craig Singer deserves a couple of kudos for pulling that feat off, offering up some striking visuals and ghoulishly gory death scenes.

Jamie-Lynn DiScala (Meadow from The Sopranos) is the only name in the cast, but considering the roles they're been given, each actor rises to the occasion and some even stand, er, head and shoulders above the rest (yeah, I'm talking to you, Andrea Bogart).

This flick drags here and there, could have benefitted from some ruthless editing, and there aren't any startling revelations to be enjoyed; but if you're into throwback slasher cinema and you dig the abandoned carnival setting, you really should strap yourself in and take this Dark Ride.

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The Hamiltons

We meet The Hamiltons through the shaky, blurry video camera lens of introspective, moody high schooler Francis Hamilton (Cory Knauf) and are aided by his voiceover as he introduces everyone in his parentless family — his siblings: womanizer Wendell, tragically goth Darlene, and eldest brother, the levelheaded David who tries to keep everyone from the social workers to the hapless victims held in the basement at ease. Oh, and did I mention their bloodthirsty little bro Lenny who lives in a cage?

The Hamiltons is a melodramatic family dynamics / character study, with a few horror trappings to keep things interesting — and when I say interesting, I mean that in the most tenuous sense of the word. This bare-bones indie, directed by The Butcher Brothers, is by far the most tedious, slow-moving patience-tester of the 8 Films To Die For lot.

Reincarnation

Directed by Takashi Shimizu, he of The Grudge movie franchise, Reincarnation is… surprise! … a ghost movie featuring schoolgirls with long black hair, creepy kids and cruddy closets. Fortunately, it's not like The Grudge films. While it is not as good as Shimizu's Marebito (his most striking, memorable film), Reincarnation is somewhat reminiscent of the j-horror modern classic, Ghost Actress.

Formulaic though it is, if you like the premise and elements — haunted movie set, reincarnation, voyeurism using technology — Reincarnation just might be worth a look. The acting is good, the story actually makes some semblance of sense, the cinematography is luscious, and its ending makes up for any early-on originality deficiencies.

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Reviews by Staci Layne Wilson