Left in Darkness wasn't actually all that bad of a film. The description on the back left me very wary of what I was about to watch. The beginning was rather odd with the star as a little girl whose deafness to her grandfathers recommendations didn't bode well for a long life. The dreaded rape scene wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, considering what some twisted directors have done with the subject. The story is about a woman who is raised by her grandparents after her mother dies giving birth and father disappears. She is killed at an animal house type of party by the typical drunken sociopath frat boys. She wakes up dead between heaven and hell and must fight for her soul using vague clues given to her by dead relatives and a guardian angel of sorts. It moves relatively quickly and has some good horror scenes. The editing was good and the camera work was good. The dialog was a little flat. The acting wasn't too bad and there were some seasoned actors in bit parts.
Add a Review
-
wrlang21 September 2006
-
Aaron137530 October 2006By minimal I mean there aren't all that many characters to get to know, and there also are not all that many sets...so basically a horror movie with a very limited potential for kills. Still I thought it was done rather well, could have been better, but then again most horror movies could would have and should have been better. This one has a very pretty girl with a number of tragedies that have marked her life. Her mother died when she was born, her grandfather died the prior year she just wants to have fun on her birthday for once. Well she goes with a friend to a wild frat party, which is mistake number one and her friend hooks her up with an obvious scumbag. Why do gals prefer this scum who would do what he does to a guy like me I will never know, but that is just the facts. This guy precedes to take her to the basement and gets her to tell her sad story and after she passes out from the drug in her drink rapes her. Great guy, eh? Well the drug in the drink kills the girl and is the movie over...no! It has just begun as the girl must now try to figure out the afterlife as her grandfather is there, but he seemingly wishes to do her harm and also there is her guardian angel who tries to explain things to her, but he also seems kind of menacing as well. There are flashes of others in her life, things looking for her soul and she also has the ability to look back on the life she left behind and see the party still going on. Like I said not bad, just needed more, the girl is really pretty and she does a nice job. I could have used a couple of more venues as I get really tired of the frat house. From the back of the box I was actually expecting more of a darker version of an earlier film I enjoyed "Highway to Hell", still there are worse ways to spend one's time.
-
claudio_carvalho15 March 2010On the twentieth-first birthday of Celia (Monica Keena), her friend Justine (Jessica Stroup) invites her to go to a party in a fraternity. Celia is still grieving the death of her beloved grandfather Joe (Tim Thomerson), who has recently died, and blames herself for the death of her mother in her delivery. In the party, she is drugged and gang raped; then she has an OD and dies alone in a bathroom. Out of the blue, she finds alone in the fraternity house and she is lured and attacked by Joe. However, her guardian angel Donovan (David Anders), who saved her life when she was a girl, explains the rules to keep the protection of her sanctuary and survive the massive attack of soul eaters. Sooner Celia finds that she is in a sort of purgatory and distrusts Donovan; further, she does not know who is telling the truth and how to reach Heaven.
"Left in the Darkness" has an interesting and original premise but there are to many rules to be followed in the purgatory where the lead actress spends two hours trying to discover who is really helping her and finding the way to the paradise. Monica Keena and David Anders have good performances in the lead roles. I have recently seen a movie with Jessica Stroup, but unfortunately her character has a minor but important participation. This film was released in Brazil directly on DVD by Flashstar Distributor and deserves to be watched at least once. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Terror na Escuridão" ("Terror in the Darkness") -
bus782111 November 2006I agree with the comments suggesting that this movie was reasonably well done, but the premise of the movie was so preposterous that it was impossible for me to view the whole thing in any kind of favorable way.
The premise here is that there is a limbo that must be a stopover for a fairly large percentage of the population. At one extreme, a rapist who kills a girl with a date rape drug, followed by killing himself, winds up here. At the other extreme, a grandfather who did nothing worse than lead a sort of pointless life after his child was killed also winds up here. So what is the big test that determines where you go from here? It isn't good deeds -- the girl risks her soul to save her still living friend, and that isn't enough. She shows mercy towards her killer, and that isn't enough. Is it resisting temptation? Nope -- the best offer she gets is to jump into a shaft leading straight to a completely visible Hell. No, the God of this movie has created a limbo where your ticket to heaven is as follows: last for about two hours without believing anyone you see, whether they give you cause or not. Before the two hours are up, if you happen to notice some light coming out of a dumbwaiter shaft, you decide that is the way out that one person alluded to, and you climb up it to heaven. Good job of separating the worthy from the unworthy, big guy.
Also, should you find yourself in limbo, be advised that the devil himself can be temporarily incapacitated by a blow from a fraternity Hell week paddle. Kind of appropriate, I guess, but I never expected him to have such a glass jaw. -
poolandrews19 December 2006Left in Darkness starts on the 21st birthday of parentless Celia (Monica Keena) who goes along to a frat party with her best friend Justine (Jessica Stroup) as way of celebration. However a scumbag guy named Doug (Chris Engen) & his mates spike Celia's drink & when she's suitably unconscious Doug rapes her. Celia wakes up only to see her own body in the corner of the room, obviously shocked she runs downstairs where she meets her dead Grandfather (Tim Thomerson) who tells her that she is dead & stuck in a place somewhere between heaven & hell & that a load of soul eating zombies are trying to, well, eat her soul. Can she survive death, even though she's already dead if you know what I mean & get to heaven where good little girls like he go?
Directed by Steven R. Monroe I personally hated Left in Darkness & it's as simple & straight forward as that. The script by Philip Daay & Jane Whitney tries to be different but ends up being a load of old tosh, it's slow, it's boring & it introduces so many obscure 'rules' it's hard to keep track of things & even harder to care. Firstly there's the sanctuary bit, the bit about where the zombies are & aren't allowed, the touching the mirror, being able to affect certain objects & situations, some nonsense about a dead persons light that gives protection, a guardian angel dude who becomes the focus of the most obvious 'twist' ending ever, Celia all of a sudden having to complete tasks, zombies not being able to touch her unless she touches them & more besides. Now don't get me wrong as I love something a bit different, something where you have to think & something totally original but I also hate bad films & ladies & gentlemen I suggest to you that Left in Darkness is a very bad film. All these silly elements are thrown together with one new rule being introduced every few minutes as the previous one is totally forgotten, I found it incredibly tedious to watch, I couldn't get into the story because of all the stupid shifts in the narrative, the film lacks any decent horror elements & as a whole I have no fondness for Left in Darkness at all.
Director Monroe does OK although it's neither any better nor any worse than the dozens of low budget straight-to-video horror films that seem to be around at the moment. There's zero atmosphere, there's zero tension & zero gore. I couldn't get over he ridiculous sounding fact that zombies were trying to kill someone who was in principal already dead, the more I think about this film the more I want to lower my IMDb score for it.
Technically the film is fine, it's reasonably well made with no obvious problems. Shame about the over-elaborate & confused script which tries to throw some new pointless 'rule' in every few minutes. The acting wasn't that great either, leading lady Keena was easy on the eyes but I doubt she'll get much work because of Left in Darkness.
Left in Darkness is crap, I'll give it three stars out of ten because I will openly admit that it does at least try to do something a bit different, it's just a shame it all turned out so terrible. Definitely not recommend. -
miss_kristyd24 February 2007Just saw the movie, and it was pretty bad. Usually, when one watches a "horror" movie, you don't expect great dialouge. But this bordered on ridiculous! Monica Keena ("Celia") might have possibly given one of the worst performances I've seen. And the special effects certainly reflected the very low budget....come on guys, flashing lights as an effect for EVERY SINGLE PLOT POINT??? It kind of felt like when the a.v. kids in high school make a horror movie with their dad's camcorder.
Okay, so with that slam out of the way, I do have to say that David Anders, who played the guardian angel Donovan, was actually quite good in the movie. He delivered the aforementioned awful dialouge with poise and interest, and I found myself rooting for him instead of the supposed heroine. I hope he starts getting larger roles because he is really an untapped talent (not counting Alias of course. he was amazing in it, but seeing as how that's over...). -
turnip_didi18 January 2007i thought this film was actually quite good. i watched it on 'zone horror', which usually airs low budget gore-fests (not a bad thing, i love em), so i was surprised to find this film which contained minimal guts, a couple of scares and was quite intelligent. i thought it had original ideas, in a genre which has spawned film after film of teen horror flicks which follow the same pattern over and over. i found the soul takers creepy, without being jump-behind-the-couch-pray-for-your-life scary. i did, however, guess the end ALL along, but I've spent my life watching this sort of thing, so i guess 99.9% of anything i watch.
if your the sort of person who likes a good scare, without all the gore and jumps most films have, i'd recommend this one. and in fact, as a person who DOES like all the gore and the scares, i still liked it. -
soimiipatriei20 January 2007Well i think this movie is based on a great idea ... but damn' the acting is poor. And it wasn't such a hard to play role... isn't it??
For the good vs evil movies fan .. well you should see this movie once... bun never try it twice or more ;D!
Such a shame... It could be a very good movie.
For sure isn't a great movie, but i think you should find it interesting after all.
The action.... the storyline... sometimes goes far beyond simple logic... why she keeps going outside? why the soul-eaters so fast sometimes.. in other situations trip on the stairs?... but... than again... isn't a great movie...:D -
matches812 January 2008I really liked this movie, although I initially didn't expect it to be much good. Overall it was a really nice afterlife flick.
If you're a Christian you might be disappointed, because how you led your life obviously doesn't matter all too much in this version of the "purgatory". Also, "hell" doesn't try to tempt you into going there, being shown blatantly for what it is. That left aside the film actually manages to provide some likable characters. The acting isn't the best of the best, but I've seen much much ... much worse. There is much talk in this film and close to no gore. Still it manages to not get boring. I found the plot easy to follow and the rules of the afterlife simple to understand. There aren't too many rules anyway, if you turn your brains on it comes down to two or three, although they get reiterated from time to time.
If you've got a movie night coming up with some friends that don't like gore but still want to have something that would count as a horror movie, this one isn't a bad choice at all. -
slayrrr6663 March 2007"Left in Darkness" is a potentially good film with a few large, nearly unforgivable flaws.
**SPOILERS**
Depressed over her mother's day during childbirth with her, Celia, (Monica Keena) agrees to go to a frat party with her friend Rachel, (Tarah Paige) when she turns 21. Given a spiked drink, she is drugged, raped and dies of an accidental overdose and left for dead at the party. Awakening with her guardian angel, Donovan, (David Anders) by her side, she realizes that she has died during the night. Trapped in a netherworld between sanctuary and damnation, her recently deceased grandfather, Grandpa Joe, (Tim Thomerson) appears to her, but changes into a demon, leading her to the realization that all people who die are trapped in the limbo waiting to be picked off by soul-eating demons unless they are able to find a doorway to Heaven. With the opportunity closing, she races to find the entrance to Heaven before the demons can get to her and take her soul.
The Good News: This had some nice moments inside it. The film's best moments easily come from the "Soul-Eaters"-like zombies that are thrown into the proceedings and they are pretty cool. They look like zombies, as they have pointed fingernails, very weird and distorted faces that are appropriately demonic and eat human flesh like zombies. As they derive a large amount of menace from their looks, and with a really rational motive for being there that mixes the action up a bit, they get most of the film's best scenes and look incredibly. Some of the chases aren't that terrible and do have a certain flair to them, including one where they chase a victim around a floor and into a room filled with glass, which is promptly broken and leaves huge glass shards on the floor, which in close-up is soon trampled through by large boots. It's a pretty creepy scene and the best chase in the film. Also found within the film is a clear mastery of darkness and shadow, creating an ambiance of dread with little more than some incredibly effective mood lighting. As the lights go out, the suspense is amped up through what is happening and the race to get moving generates some good moments. The originality of the plot, though, is the film's strongest positive. It's really new and clever, and takes an established scenario that is incredibly common, and wraps a new twist around it that is logical in the context and done with a lot of cleverness. Otherwise, this wasn't all that great.
The Bad News: This does have a couple of serious flaws. The editing is a mess, as it's hard to be sure how much jump cuts, unnecessary flashes, and slowing down and speeding up of the frame rate are thrown into this. At times, it's nearly impossible to see what's going on in the scene. Such editing techniques tend to ruin the sustained tension that a scene can convey, and as most find them annoying and unnecessary, this is a very noticeable and serious flaw of the film. Also a problem is the film's back-story. As good as it's cleverness is, it's just way to talky. Therein lies the biggest problem of the movie, as it's essentially ninety minutes of exposition spruced up with a few chases. There just isn't anything remotely scary about people standing around explaining the rules of the afterlife. The heroine has to take in all this afterlife nonsense, without even a way of speeding up the introductions while fighting to keep her soul. Her helper is not helping matters either, as he explains so much of what goes on that it becomes hard to keep track of everything. This creates a large number of plot-holes and confusing scenes. He explains that the frat house, in the netherworld she now finds herself, is her sanctuary, which is almost over. After that, the soul-eating demons can enter. How the first demon got in is not explained. Why she only has a short time to find the physical doorway to Heaven is also not explained. And why does she need to find the entrance to heaven anyway? Isn't dying bad enough? Why would God want her to play detective? It is theological plot devices like these that drive me crazy. All of this would be fine, though, if a grave error isn't committed along the way. If they let her act intelligently, she'll stay in the light and keep things safe until she can find her stairway to heaven. As that would lead to an uneventful movie, great effort is made to get her thrown into the pit of Hell with every chance she gets. She runs out of the light like an idiot many times. Her guardian angel comes down to help her but even then, it doesn't matter much, as that only leads her into more encounters. It starts to get annoyed watching her act like a suicidal, unintelligent person. It destroys a lot of what happens when all the problems could've been easily avoided with common sense. These all bring the film down a lot.
The Final Verdict: Despite a marvelously original premise and some good scenes, this here isn't that spectacular overall. It's too loose with it's own rules and too dull to really be of much interest beyond those who enjoy the direct-to-video market or think the premise is original enough to give it a look.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity, Rape and Violence -
mattbaxter7219 December 2006I caught this on cable the other night, and to be honest I wasn't expecting much. You don't expect much from Zone Horror, not after a while - there are an awful lot of Z-grade turkeys on that channel, but occasionally they do come up with a gem, almost in spite of themselves. This film isn't quite a lost diamond, but it's not at all bad.
If nothing else, the writer and director have a bit of imagination. The plot goes like this: Celia goes to a party, messes about with a ouija board, then gets raped and murdered. Most films would take a drearily predictable tack at this point - Celia has to ensure that her killer is brought to justice, yadda yadda. You can see half a dozen movies with that plot on any given evening, if you really want to.
But this film takes another tack. Celia finds herself in something like Purgatory, a dangerous place inhabited by creatures who will eat your soul, given half a chance. By working through the ghosts of her past, and working with her 'imaginary' friend from childhood, she has to try to escape and get to, presumably, Heaven.
The bad news is that the budget was obviously about seven dollars. Purgatory is represented by something that looks very like suburbia, and there is at least one scene too many set in the front of a car. Parts of the plot are slightly repetitive, too, and the dialogue isn't particularly memorable.
But - and it's a very big but - everyone involved obviously cared about this movie. The acting is more than competent, especially from David Anders as the morally ambiguous childhood friend, who is a rarity in this type of horror film - a really interesting character. The movie whooshes along at a good clip, the plot actually makes some sense, and I found myself genuinely caring about Celia's plight, which was totally unexpected.
The most surprising thing, for me, was the the director of this movie also did a couple of truly horrible films that I saw recently, It Waits and Sasquatch Mountain. This movie is, thank God, in a different class to those cheese-fests. Hopefully this means that Steven Monroe is getting the hang of this directing business, and we can expect more like this in the future. -
Scarecrow-8811 September 2010The lovely, voluptuous Monica Keena stars as a date rape victim, the drug used killing her. She is trapped in a sort of limbo, a sanctuary whose light is dimming, her Celia needing to find the door into heaven. Donovan(David Anders)has been a kind of guardian angel for Celia, keeping her from harm..that is until now where she has to avoid "soul eaters" which have secured her grandfather's soul since his life before death had been less than satisfactory for heaven. Celia spends most of the film running from the darkness and the creatures which desire to feast on her soul. Donovan's motives, which seem just, may not be what they seem. Donovan wishes for her to enter a room which may not be access to heaven, but instead somewhere as dark as damnation itself. Tim Thomerson has a nice role as Celia's grandfather, who she must save while staying one step ahead of the soul eaters out to get her. Celia also seeks to find a way out of her predicament so she can join her mother and grandmother in the afterlife. In the movie, Celia receives pointers on how to successfully attain her desired goal, through ambiguous means from her loved ones. We see that her father(a drunk who left Celia behind) and a childhood friend(a volleyball player), however, weren't so lucky. Director Steven R Monroe keeps his movie moving at an exhausting pace, creating, and maintaining, a disorienting and nightmarish atmosphere where poor Keena must go wherever sanctuary resides, barely able to catch a breath for any long periods due to the darkness which manifests and attempts to engulf her. The beautiful Jessica Stroup(HOMECOMING)is Keena's best friend, Justine, who she must keep safe from the same fate as she suffered. Monroe shrouds the character of Donovan with enough mystery and doubt that we aren't ever completely sure of his real reasons for helping Celia. Monroe shoots Celia's journey after death(and, actually, before she is killed)in a discombobulated fashion to convey how confounding her situation really is..how does one face such a terrifying scenario as not only having to accept that you're dead, but keep from being consumed by evil which comes at you from all angles? Keena's role is demanding physically because she's constantly running about to and fro, and she must show the emotional upheaval as well. Kudos to her in a tour-de-force performance.
-
Have you ever seen a horror movie where the protagonist is so dumb you want them to get eaten, because, quite frankly, they deserve it? This is one of those movies.
In Left in Darkness, the main character, Ceila is killed at a frat party and ends up in purgatory, purgatory being the same house she was killed in during the party. There she is chased by "souleaters" which as the name suggests, eat the souls who enter purgatory. The only other "person" there with her is Donavan, who claims to have been her imaginary friend when she was young and also that he was her guardian angel. Donavan repeatedly warns her to stay in the light (souleater's won't enter it), stay in the house (sould eaters can't come in unless she invites them), and stay away from pretty much anyone she meets (because souleaters can take the shape off and the memories from any soul they eat and thus impersonate people she knew before death.) Therefore, she leaves the house, walks in darkness, and time after time falls for a souleater's illusion and almost gets eaten. Which brings us back to the beginning. At some point during the movie, probably around the fourth or fifth complication, you want her to get eaten, just so the movie will end. -
ce_wyatt4 August 2007Perhaps I would have liked this film better if I hadn't been so distracted by the incredible fakeness and plastic appearance of the lead actress, Monica Keena. I don't know which has more silicone: her lips or her bosom. For a while into the film I wondered why in every scene she was eating a bagel, then I realized it was simply her lips. Her augmentations made her appear more of a joke than a serious actress. No doubt those were her only qualifications for being cast in this role, since it obviously was not her acting ability.
With a better actress in the lead role, or even one without exaggerated props, this could have been a good film. The premise was different enough to make it interesting and above the usual fray. Sadly, though, I cannot recommend it. -
reeves200220 August 2007I thought this movie would be a lot better especially since a lot of the other Stephen J. Cannell straight to DVD movies i've seen were pretty good.Ones like It lives,the garden and room 6 were enjoyable but left in darkness was a good script and good idea but it reminded me more of an all ages movie that you would see on TV.The score was more like a Disney movie and the acting was OK but not great.It was just not scary.I can't believe Steve and the director actually thought it was scary when they said it was in the making of or behind the scenes extra feature.The character of Donovan was the worst written because when he died he was an 8 year old boy,so why was he 20 something all of a sudden when Celia died.I didn't realize you aged after you died.I assumed you stayed the same age.Also why was he her guardian angel while she was alive,and then a demon or devil when she dies.That whole part was stupid and made no sense.It would have made more sense if she met Donovan again as an 8 year old boy the way he appeared to her in a cemetery.But aging him and making him evil is just very inconsistent.And as if a little girl is going to fly through the air after nearly being hit by a car.The monsters looked more like something from a sci-fi or fantasy movie not a horror.It was very predictable and not well executed.I have seen movies with way lower budgets that are actually scary and seemed believable.This one was more of a disappointment.
-
moseszzz28 September 2006A girl (Monica Keena) is murdered on her 21. birthday and stucked between the real life and the afterlife.
I normally like movies about afterlife. But nothing works in this movie. The script was awful, the acting was worse than anything I've ever seen. You can watch Monica Keena in her worst performance. Putting her as the leading character was maybe the biggest mistake of the producer (shooting this movie is the 2. mistake). I could't stand her laughter and actually I was relieved when she died.
The only thing good in that movie was David Anders. He did his best even with the hokey dialogue in the script.
Summary, don't waste your time and money, go watch Silent Hill or rent the DVD of Darkness. -
Hey_Sweden7 October 2022Celia (Monica Keena of "Freddy vs. Jason") has always felt lots of guilt over the fact that her mother died giving birth to her. Now, as a young adult, she's mourning the recent death of her grandfather Joe (the legendary Tim Thomerson of the "Trancers" series), who raised her after her worthless father took a powder. She celebrates her 21st birthday by going to a wild frat party where she has the worst, and final, night of her life: she is drugged, raped, and dies of an overdose.
Now stuck in some kind of netherworld, she has to navigate her surroundings, not sure if she should follow the advice of her guardian angel Donovan (David Anders of 'Alias'), who saved her life as a child. While she tries to figure out how to get to Heaven, she must avoid beings known as "soul eaters".
This well-intentioned but resolutely average horror movie does subvert conventions in some ways (it's not really about righting wrongs committed in real life). But it spends too much time laying on the exposition and the ground rules (which is basically Donovans' job). Occasionally, there are some interesting visuals, and director Steven R. Monroe ("It Waits", "I Spit on Your Grave" 1 and 2, "The Exorcism of Molly Hartley") gives it a reasonable amount of atmosphere and pace. It gets most of its mileage from the sincere lead performance by Keena, and from the participation of ever-reliable Thomerson. Anders is fairly amusing in his role; Jessica Stroup ("The Hills Have Eyes II"), Chris Engen ('The Young and the Restless'), and Travis Van Winkle ("Friday the 13th" '09) co-star. Former "Bad Seed" Patty McCormack has a cameo as Celias' grandmother. And that's co-producer Stephen J. Cannells' daughter Chelsea as Tawnia.
Overall, this viewer would have to say that while he has seen worse than this, he's also seen better.
Five out of 10. -
I was drawn to this film by it's interesting premise. Of course, as a straight to video film I wasn't really expecting much even though I hoped for the best. The film sat somewhere in the middle for me. It was enjoyable and somewhat interesting, but I couldn't help but feel it had much more potential than it displayed. Perhaps on a higher budget with a better script, we could have seen something really special. When the movie was over, I shrugged... I wasn't overly satisfied, yet not disappointed. But as far as straight to video films go, this one is definitely in the upper class.
And what was up with Monica Keena's lips? -
snowman-7079229 May 2022Wasn't bad not really great either but I liked the idea I wish it was a little more fleshed out and to be honest it was sort of hard to take the movie serious with her rack bouncing around everywhere not that I mind that but still kinda takes away from the seriousness of the movie. There were things that didn't really make sense like having a guardian who end up being not such a angel but horror movies will horror movie. Worth a watch.
-
Family tragedy seems to be affect the young people often. For Celia(Monica Keena) losing a loved one seems to have taken its toll on her. When she was born, her mother died. Then she has the friend who saved her from a on-coming car when she was young. On her 21st birthday, she goes to a fraternity party where she is drugged, raped, and killed. Talk about having a hard life. She ends up being the next family tragedy, and no close relative to tell the news. Only her "friend" Donovan(David Anders) tells her who to avoid, and who to trust. Donovan was her guardian angel throughout her life, until she learns he's not the trusting person he claims to be. She does find the guy who drugged and raped her, before she died. And he gets his just desserts after he commits suicide. Seems like the only family member who was at peace was her mother. The only person in the family who could be saved was her grandfather, Joe(Tim Thomerson). He was always around Celia until his death, and knowing who Donovan worked for, made her think for herself. I guess she knew what it takes to be a guardian angel. I know that Celia will definitely earn her wings. This horror is intriguing, and some form of biblical matter was mentioned. It was worth the watch. 3 out of 5 stars!
-
hijadedios7422 September 2006Be forewarned - There may be spoilers in this review! I really liked this movie! I have to admit, I don't really like movies with a lot of gore, so I tend to avoid most, if not all, horror movies. This movie, however, seemed to rely more on mood and suspense instead of blood and guts. I feel as though the movie really upped the ante because instead of just having the heroine trying to flee for her life, she is trying to save her soul.
Also, for all of you David Anders fans, you will not be disappointed. He did an excellent job and I really hope to see him in more movies. It was as if this role was written just for him. I couldn't imagine another person in the role.
I highly recommend this film! -
nogodnomasters15 May 2019Celia (Monica Keena) has had an imaginary friend Donovan as a protector. Her mother died at child birth, dad ran off, raised by grandparents, major league guilt, etc. etc. On her 21st birthday Cecia goes to a frat party, is given a date rape drug and makes lots of friends she never knew. Her spirit awakens in a world akin to "Silent Hill" where she must combat "soul eaters" which are zombie like creatures who imitate her family and friends. Donovan (David Anders) is there to guide her, but somehow she doesn't trust anyone after been given a roofie, gang raped, left for dead and attacked by a zombie/Freddy version of her loving grandfather.
It was an interesting film and I recommend "Silent Hill" for those who like the quirkiness of a duo world. I didn't like the characters as much as I should have. Celia was a bit annoying even with the high beams on for most of the feature...I guess when you are cold in the afterlife.... Donovan was downright boring. Dialogue needed pizazz. Better than a lot of "B" horror films. Kudos for a unique script.
Parental Guide: F-bombs. Mild rape scene. Background wall photo nudity. -
In agreement with the another commenter, this is an upper class B horror flick. I came across it randomly the other night, and sacrificed much needed sleep because I had to see how it ends. Heaven & Hell movies are intriguing. Anders is impressively precise and mature. His confidence in his lines make his character believable. He has good foreshadowing qualities - a bit of Loki in his eyes. Monica does the horror damsel thing well. She's good at crying, funny at running. Tim Thomerson steals the show with his Soul-Eating Grandpa. Good plot structure - shocking beginning into good filler and wrap it up. I will be adding this one to my archives.
-
violent_j-0318 November 2006i'm this guys bro,but i have to say, this is one of the most awesomely originally awesome horror flicks I've seen in a long,long time!! i was excited and scared through the whole thing! i loved the way it was written and filmed! the plot, the lack of gallons of blood, and the twists that prevented me from knowing what was coming next!!! absolutely amazing! please make more movies like this. u rule!!!your movie had hot chicks, ghouls, and insane parties! you cant argue with that. not to mention, you never left the same block that it happened on.easy to keep up with.other than that,i'm just filling space to get this notion to where u can eventually read it. loved your work,and really hope to see more in the future.
-
henryggruning6 June 2021I've seen this movie quite a few times, I saw it for the first time when I was somewhat 6 or 7 (Don't know how my parents allowed)
The movie starts with the main character Celia as a child in the grave yard where she meets this young boy named Donavin. Celia gets almost hit that day by a car but she is saved by supernatural forces.
Next we see Celia heading to a party where she is drugged, raped and ends up overdosing and dying. She wakes up in the bathroom where she was raped and sees her dead body. This place is named the Sanctuary that has a protective light that keeps on fading. She has approx 2 hours to escape otherwise the light dies and her soul becomes vurnable.
The rest of the movie is basically her running from soul eaters (Beasts who have to consume fresh souls otherwise they get sent to hell) The soul eaters have the ability to look human and in the movie we see people who were close to Celia (Grandfather, her friend, father and the guy who raped her). Celia also meets her mother and grandmother who have managed to escape the place.
The plot mainly repeats on that point Celia running from soul eaters, getting hurt a lot and finding out that her "Guardian Angel" (She called Donavin that) is evil.
When Celia finds the "Source" (Place where the light originates from and is also the escape hatch of the place) she is told by her mother that to escape she has to prove herself by saving her grandfather.
Celia is also able to interact with the world using mirrors, She even manages to save her best friend who almost gets drugged by the same guys by hitting the cup while she has her hand on a mirror. She uses the same ability to inform her friend that she is dead in the bathroom.
When Celia finally escapes she uses the Ouiji board to tell her friend this message. "When you die, I will come for you" - This part is what makes me come back to the movie, because I get very emotional and start tearing up seeing Celia smile at her friend.
In conclusion while this movie looks like those tacky early 2000s movies with not the best effects. It's worth a watch because the director and actors have but their heart into this movie and it is visible throughout the whole movie.