Another day, another teen horror – but at least this one's not as awful as some of the lunk-headed junk that's been greenlit as of late (THE FOG remake, anyone? I thought not). VENOM is an exceedingly predictable story involving a man who's possessed by a number of evil souls which proceed to make him wreak havoc amongst a group of good-natured teenagers. Yep, it's another lame excuse for yet another slasher movie, one that even manages to shy away from the gore scenes despite an 'R' rating.
So why DIDN'T I hate this film as much as some others? The setting, for one; I think Louisiana is criminally underused in the cinema, as it always makes for a great, Gothic backdrop. Of course, there's the voodoo mumbo-jumbo stuff thrown into the brew here, which is another predictable cliché, but I can live with that. Another reason this film isn't bad is that it gets down to business right away, with only the minimum of moronic teen talk before the plot hits home. What follows is a pared-down thriller as a dwindling number of teenagers use anything in their path – including trucks, fire, black magic, you name it – to try and stop the unstoppable killer.
The casting hurts this, because there's nobody of note here – other than Agnes Bruckner, who followed up her performance in this with one in THE WOODS, another supernatural horror co-starring (yay!) Bruce Campbell. Bruckner's filmed to look good in a figure-hugging tight top, so at least she gives the viewer something to look at. As for the killer, he's a bit of a disappointment – a chain-wielding zombie type who's almost a cross between Freddy Krueger and Ghost Rider! There are a (few) well handled scare sequences with this rampaging ghost-possessed killer, largely towards the end, and the pay-off actually works for once. I could have done without the clumsy CGI snakes and the silly final shot, but for the most part, VENOM is par for the course for modern-day horror: not particularly good, not particularly bad, but mildly entertaining nonetheless.
So why DIDN'T I hate this film as much as some others? The setting, for one; I think Louisiana is criminally underused in the cinema, as it always makes for a great, Gothic backdrop. Of course, there's the voodoo mumbo-jumbo stuff thrown into the brew here, which is another predictable cliché, but I can live with that. Another reason this film isn't bad is that it gets down to business right away, with only the minimum of moronic teen talk before the plot hits home. What follows is a pared-down thriller as a dwindling number of teenagers use anything in their path – including trucks, fire, black magic, you name it – to try and stop the unstoppable killer.
The casting hurts this, because there's nobody of note here – other than Agnes Bruckner, who followed up her performance in this with one in THE WOODS, another supernatural horror co-starring (yay!) Bruce Campbell. Bruckner's filmed to look good in a figure-hugging tight top, so at least she gives the viewer something to look at. As for the killer, he's a bit of a disappointment – a chain-wielding zombie type who's almost a cross between Freddy Krueger and Ghost Rider! There are a (few) well handled scare sequences with this rampaging ghost-possessed killer, largely towards the end, and the pay-off actually works for once. I could have done without the clumsy CGI snakes and the silly final shot, but for the most part, VENOM is par for the course for modern-day horror: not particularly good, not particularly bad, but mildly entertaining nonetheless.