Sunday, May 16, 2010

Horror Movie Review: The Reeds

The Reeds

Starring: Scarlett Alice Johnson, Geoff Bell, Emma Catherwood, O.T. Fagbenle, and Will Mellor

Directed by: Nick Cohen

Written by: Chris Baker and Mark Anthony Galluzzo

Production Companies: Delacheroy Films, Eye Film and Television, Funnyman Films, and Reeds Film

Release Date: October 30, 2009

I have to admit I go into the After Dark Horrorfest movies with doubts. You can never be certain what you are going to get. The films' production qualities are generally pretty good, the acting is often times shallow, and the plots can vary amongst dull and plodding, intense, or predictable. I was particularly put off the year they said the 8 Films to Die For claimed the movies were too scary for theaters...and they just weren't.

But I've forgiven them since then and I decided to give the Horrorfest another shot. I'm not sure why I started off with The Reeds...I mean, the title isn't interesting, the plot summaries I found were all vague, and the trailer let me know little more than it had potential, but I started off with it nonetheless.

And I was impressed...

Helen, Mel, Nick, Chris and friends rent a boat but lose their way amongst the reeds. But being lost is the least of their concerns after an impact with a piece of metal leaves the boat with a hole in the hull and one of the party injured. Then they find themselves harassed by teenage punks and a hooded man with a rifle.

What starts off like a waterlogged rehash of Wrong Turn or Wolf Creek takes a mindbending turn as Nick finds himself seeing himself in the boat just before their wreck.

Turns out The Reeds is not just a mad killer movie, but a psychadelic ghost story. Some of the twists near the end remind me of Herschell Gordon Lewis's Wizard Of Gore, but unfortunately without the tits and gore. But then what movie wouldn't be better by adding tits and gore? Tell me Avatar wouldn't be even better with some Na'vi breasts and chainsaw wounds spurting blood at the camera!

But even without such "sexploitation gimmicks," The Reeds is a surprising little gem. It seems I'm in the minority with that opinion, but if you can appreciate a story despite flimsy acting, then give this one a look.

Related Videos

Geoff Bell, who plays , also appears in Tormented. A bullied teenager comes back from the dead to take revenge on his classmates.


Against the Dark

Emma Catherwood, who plays Mel, also stars in Against the Dark. When most of the population of Earth is infected by a virus and transformed in flesh eaters and blood drinking creatures, a group of hunters leaded by Tao and his word chases the vampire zombies to eliminate them. Six non-infected survivors try to find the exit of an abandoned hospital crowded of the infected creatures, and Tao and his group help them. Meanwhile the military command is ready to bomb and wipe out the area from the map.


Long Time Dead

Chris Baker also contributed to the script for Long Time Dead. A young Londoner and his friends use a Ouija board to hold a seance, triggering a chain of mysterious deaths that may be caused by an otherworldly force.

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