When I received an email from new film maker Sal Ciavarello I was slightly concerned, here was this guy from New York talking about his move he had made called Hardcore Poisoned Eyes with a link to the movies website that on first look seemed like the epitome of pure evil. Not that much in the horror scene makes me wary but when we start to slide into the world of satanic worship then I do get a tad concerned. But what the hell I thought, lets check out his work and see exactly what is going down.
Hardcore Poisoned Eyes (or HPE as it is also known) is the story of a young girl who goes with two friends to the wilderness of upstate New York to spend the weekend at her deceased grand fathers home. Her friends believe they are there for some fun, but they soon discover that she has an ulterior motive. She believes in fact that although police reports state that her grand father died during a break in at his home, they soon uncover his investigation into the occult that leads them into a confrontation with satanic devil worshippers...or worse!
HPE is not only a highly original slice of genre entertainment but also an atmospheric and scary one to boot. Director Sal Ciavarello shows great promise with this creepy yarn of satanic terror that will have many viewers unsettled long after the films conclusion.
As the first twenty or so minutes roll you actually start to think 'where the hell (no pun intended) is this movie going?' as the three main female leads (who I'm sure we'll be hearing more of in the future) spend the bulk of the films build up in what is a very dialogue heavy plot line, but as the final reel unfolds you realise that you have been lulled into a false sense of security as the sucker punch is delivered. There will be the inevitable comparisons to the (vastly over rated) Blair Witch Project, but although Ciavarello's production does indeed build up in a similar vein - it is generally much better handled throughout by not falling foul of the unnecessary (and over the top) hysteria that the Blair Witch movie followed and has indeed a much more satisfying conclusion.
The direction is solid and atmospheric throughout and impressive more so when the budgetary constraints are taken into consideration. A creepy classic (hey, even this old horror fan got a fright!) that will have you switching all the lights on when it's finished and well worth checking out.
Thankfully, HPE will in fact be getting a DVD release later this year stateside and we'll be waiting to see how it fares when it gets released. Meantime check out director Ciavarello's site by clicking here.
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