Reviews

Good film, but 'Low Budget' doesn't begin to describe it. Horrible flat & grainy VHS-C look on my Dutch 'York Entertainment' DVD, - If your wedding video turned out like this, you'd sue. Sound non-existent at times, a real shame, as 'Straight Out Of Compton' is a nicely performed and directed tale that could have worked so much better with a higher budget. If the makers read this forum, perhaps they have an explanation for the sometimes unviewable nature of the film - Some sort of problem with the transfer? If there's a better version out there I'd buy it, but credit to them for working to the limits of such obvious restrictions.

Brisk/credible script, the small cast give good performances and the prosthetics and photography work well too. I picked this up for a £1, so expectations weren't exactly sky-high and the Full Moon logo can sometimes spell 'AVOID', - I was very pleasantly surprised. Earl Kenton did a great job with the script, and recognised the budget limitations his story would work within. He has created a small, dark and believable realm. All the actors, (particularly Jacob Witkin and Lorielle New) give very watchable interpretations and transcend the usual standard of performance you expect from this type of film. 'House of Pain' reminded me of two other great films - Stuart Gordon's classic 'Dagon', and the recent remake of 'She Creature'. Good stuff.

"If we maintain this velocity we'll catch up to them quite soon." "Have you notified the base?" "No, I haven't yet. Because I have a sort of strange presentment." "Is there something worrying you?" "Hmmm. I don't know, but I feel that my hands are tied." "In what way? How do you mean?" "As long as Lois is in their power, there's nothing I can do about it." "Obviously these damned aliens will take advantage of holding hostages to dictate terms." "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about that." "Let's just catch the spaceship and stop them."

Repeat these lines slowly for about 90mins with a sci-fi throbbing sound effect in the background and you'll have saved yourself time, 36p and a bit of bother...

Strong-willed but overlooked newspaper reporter Teri Austen dolls herself up and goes undercover to catch a serial killer targeting women through video-dating services.

Available for £1 on the hard to resist "23rd Century" DVD label, (available from skid-row discount shops across the UK) this has some above-average performances, especially from Austen. Bringing grit and guts not usually associated with woman-in-jeopardy fodder, she looks great and gleefully pours scorn on a parade of sleaze-bags she meets during her investigations.

You'll guess the ending from the first frame, but this is credible enough, moves briskly and is professionally made.