GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

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Director: Michael A. Nickles. Stars: Steven Brand, Michael Leydon Campbell, Jeremy Fitzgerald, Mercedes McNab. 2009. USA. Horror/Thriller. 79 mins.

A disturbing and violent criminal, recently released from prison, returns to his hometown to cause havoc and much bloodshed on twelve individuals, while the local cops and FBI struggle to discover the truth behind the string of new murders.

“Wow”… That was my reaction to the opening of ‘Twelve’ or simply ‘XII’ as the credits tell us. The film really kicks ass at the beginning. We open with a fabulous and very creative title sequence (something which is a huge winner for me) which then leads us to simply the most awesome first scene in a film that I have seen in ages. I want to share my excitement with you all but I just don’t want to tell you what happens. The opening scene involves a newly married couple driving out of Vegas. It may seem unusual in a horror movie, but what happens next is certainly a great way to grab viewers by the throat and get them to watch! You are going to love it.

The film then continues to set up a very interesting story, full of funny and unique characters. The narrative itself is something special. I don’t recall seeing this story before and it certainly plays out very well. Quite a lot of time is spent introducing quite a few different characters. It does seem to drag on a little, but you know it’s worth it because more characters equal more death scenes. Fantastic. It is also really refreshing to see these characters given some very well thought out and at times very funny dialogue. I found myself chuckling away on my own and even exclaiming out loud at some of their death scenes.

The cast is full of faces and names that the fans will probably recognise. It’s great to see Mercedes McNab (from fan favourites ‘Hatchet’ and ‘Hatchet II’) and a very nice surprise for me was Joe Nunez (from the Judd Apatow productions ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ ‘Superbad’ and ‘Funny People’) in a much bigger role as the bartender.

All the trimmings of a slasher film are here for your viewing pleasure. There is gore, a great evil character, and the story is even very engaging. To me it felt like the creativity was born from a love of other horror films. Scenes of the killer in his lair are very reminiscent of such classics as ‘The Toolbox Murders’ and ‘Jeepers Creepers’. In some ways it does feel like one of the classics. It’s nice to feel drawn in so much to the story. Its great when it all comes together and you actually realise what is going on. The motivation for the killing feels quite original and because I didn’t realise what it was before my viewing, I actually felt a sense of surprise and interest when it all dawned on me.

The dark scenes are nicely balanced by the bright cinematography in the outdoor scenes, especially with the beautiful desert locations. A lot of care has been taken with the visual style. For a low budget movie, it looks damn good. I think the locations also help to give the film a bigger and more epic feel than it actually has. At times we delve into MTV style fast cutting and dramatic pacing. Other times we are left to dwell on scenes and shots. The mixture actually works really well here. The sound also helps a great deal. The opening titles really create a lot of atmosphere and draw the viewer in, a lot of that is down to a great score. It really pushes the film past the boundaries usually found in low budget film production.

One of the reasons for watching this film is obviously going to be the gore! There is not a huge amount, but in this film it’s the quality of the gore, not the quantity. It looks fantastic and has been really well created. The on screen blood, special effects and make up effects have all been thought out and pushed as far as possible to create a high level of realism. Some of the death scenes are fantastic and what is really impressive about them is that you actually don’t see them all coming. There are some genuine shocks, which are very rare in films nowadays.

Interest levels did drop somewhat midway through the film. The death scenes weren’t as exciting and didn’t live up to what had gone before. The action level drops down and it becomes quite character driven. I’m not sure how well this works in a film like this. It’s not too bad; just some fans will find it a bit of a shame. It manages to redeem itself quite quickly in the last few scenes however, with some quite graphic and horrible scenes.

You can make time for this film, especially since it actually is rather short. I think that most viewers will be satisfied and many will have a great deal of love for it. I haven’t given ‘XII’ a huge star rating because those are reserved for the real gems, but I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who was a fan of the genre.

The DVD contains a short but very informative making of, with some very interesting interviews. There is a fantastic look at the FX involved in the lovely scene I mentioned in the opening. Other extras are a fun FX gallery and trailer, and a very good feature commentary with the director, producer/composer and actress. Well worth checking out if you enjoyed the film and want to learn a bit more about the production.

Russ Gomm

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