Director – Alex Chandon (Inbred, The Perv Parlor)
Starring – Dani Filth (Baphomet, Dominator), Emily Booth (Doghouse, Evil Aliens), and Stuart Laing (Halo, Silent Witness)
Release Date – 2001
Rating – 2/5
Blu Release – 4/5
When I was in high school I had a friend that was really into Cradle of Filth. I couldn’t get into their music but it wasn’t without giving them several tries. Anyway, that same friend was a huge genre fan and was telling me about a British horror film that starred Dani Filth. I found that pretty interesting at the time and was able to snag a copy of the DVD super fucking cheap from eBay.
Sadly, I didn’t care for the film at the time and over the years I completely forgot about it. A few weeks ago I was sent a copy of Unearthed Film’s release of the film on blu for review. Honestly, I don’t remember a damn thing about the film aside from Dani Filth starring in it. I decided to revisit it with this release and I would like to thank Unearthed for sending this one over for review.
**Spoiler ALert** The film follows the unexpected spirals of several people with one unknown connection. We follow a detective investigating a string of brutal murders. A young woman hooks up with a goth guy at a club and soon discovers that she is carrying his child and can see visions of demons. The detective’s son works for an internet company who finds himself becoming obsessed with snuff films. A amputee finds a leg and has it sewn back on with unexpected results. Two women break into a home to steal some cash where they are confronted by the owner resulting in a bloodbath. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this viewing with an open mind because I absolutely hate giving a movie sent my way for a review a negative score. I didn’t remember a lot about my initial viewing of the film except I wasn’t really a fan at the time but I had hoped that the film would sit with me a second time. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and I found myself not enjoying it the second time around.
The acting in this one is extremely stiff and flat. Most of the cast delivers their dialogue with little to no conviction. We have no emotional range and most of the dialogue delivery is extremely awkward to watch. It’s almost as if we are watching a high school play for most of the film. There is a few scenes where we get some decent enough performances but not enough to make up for the akward ones.
The story for this one looks great on paper but wasn’t executed that well. I like the idea of all these people and the suffering they encounter is connected to a serial killer. However, the film itself jumps from person to person which can be a bit confusing at times. I wish the film was shot like a typical anthology as to make it easier to watch.
Finally, the film doesn’t shy away from the blood and there is a few moments that try to be shocking but does not have the impact they wanted. While they effects look decent, they are not that memorable. Overall, Cradle of Fear has a fantastic idea but the way they went about it made it a bit difficult to finish. I seriously wanted to like this one but it’s not for me.
Special Features:
DISC ONE: FEATURE & EXTRAS
Some Making of Cradle of Fear
Important Words
The Special German DVD Making of Thingy Something for Cradle of Fear
Behind the Scenes
Gallery
Trailers
DISC TWO: SHORT FILM COLLECTION & EXTRAS
Alex Chandon’s Shorts Collection Including:
Chainsaw Scumfuck
Bad Manor
Bad Karma
Drillbit
Night Pastor
Bullshit News
Film Extremes 3 Promo
Borderline
Shorts Outtakes
Shorts Behind the Scenes Gallery
Shorts Trailers
