DOA CASE NUMBER #007 (Revisited)

This review was originally done on The Horror Syndicate site in March of 2017 with a mere 366 views, however that actually occurred before a set format and tended more for length rather than clear cut examination of the movie.

Therefore, let’s walk into land of the DOA where many wretched rotting films lay in unmarked graves, shocking discoveries await from the visuals to those that starred in these productions. This opening of the grave of All Sinners Night, it actually came from a screener disc sent to me in a white envelope from a company called World Wide Multi-Media, think Chemical Burn Entertainment meets Troma Films in a sleazy back alley of grim and gore. First the grave marker, the title, IMDB states “All Sinner’s Night”  so right off the bat, the film suffers from an identity crisis, fret not more issues such as the menus on the screener play quite strangely, now it could be just my copy but the it doesn’t hold much faith when this easier aspect becomes another warning sign. This movie comes from director and writer Bobby Easley known for The Boogeyman (2014) and recently The Dead Bodies in #223 (2017), takes a convoluted tale of satanic mumbo jumbo and endless killings, and presents it all disjointed on the screen. Some stated Easley’s style reminds them of Mario Bava or even Dario Argento with the brewing horror and bright color palate, however that is very far from the actual display, rather the view gets a dull, off color presentation, many too dark scenes and SOV (Shot on video) .

AUTOPSY OF THE FILM

The film opens with a quote from Revelations 20:7 “and when the thousand years are expired. Satan shall be loosed out of his prison”, which comes from the King James Bible, and only if the film lived up to this expectation. A quick fade into a full moon shot and that the camera personnel struggles to hold in tight focus, and shifts often, before a jump cut to a ride-along in a neighborhood. Meanwhile a voiceover plays pitifully of a woman calling 911 while someone breaks into her home, but sounds horrendous, the glass sounds very cheap. Unsure what the opening tries to tell us, as then switching to a woman wearing a Halloween mask and commits suicide in front of her husband, David Shipman (Tom Sparx). Suddenly two strangers David and Lana Williams team up somehow (who knows) they both lost someone one year ago on Halloween – 12 hours apart. Then the phrases ‘one year later’ appears on the screen – nice transition to the next Halloween season. As Lana, a woman who lost her brother walks across Butler University in Indiana, while a student in the background wearing a mask performance in from of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity (likely the Alpha-Alpha Zeta chapter). The dynamic duo believes everything connects to a hidden secretive group of satanic followers who happen to be following the Reverend Hiram Graves (Bill Levin). Many jump cuts get the viewer to this point, and no hiding who’s in charge of the Satanic cult, and along the way get to meet a quirky Vietnam Veteran, trying to act in a comical role, that falters badly, portrayed by none other than, Grandpa from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), John Dugan. The Satanic ceremony brings some very good moments, but just as it starts to clear the fog, of understanding, it all becomes rushed. The coven, the members all wear masks, unifying but individually interesting, creepy, and in total on a trivia note, 31 different ones appear to represent the 31 days of Halloween, but the followers carry tiki patio torches. Oh Please!

CAUSES OF DEATH:

The ending of the film, leaves many plot holes open for one to spelunk into, omitting the development lacks the viewer to understanding the conclusion, especially during a cult shootout with two police officers. First, a shootout is a choreographed dance, but here, no one has a clue of the parameters, the distance or confines. In addition, the usage of the firearms and explosion from them works horribly and all mismatched. This movie also contains its fair share of tiresome walking scenes for transition shots, constant dreadful framing issues, and then the weirdest panning. In one special scene the audience hears the line “sh*t man you scare me” twice in two separate cuts at the same moment. While holding a standard 90 minutes horror film length, it sadly feels more like 5-hours, as the scenes wander and plod aimlessly, trying to capture poignant moments but failing miserably. While the blood spattering tends for creative input, it can’t help of the gluttony of other errors, the acting stumbles in certain areas, and the characters do not all work well together. The brutality misses on some points in horror films the audience wants especially on low-budgets, not the cookie cutter implied rather the full-on works of gushing blood and guts. As for the editing, it finds all hit and miss, and the sound effects bring a tint of fuzziness, especially in the final act the audio goes to pieces. The herky jerky camera works in certain cases but not when following someone on calm walk or when trying to capture action sequences please avoid the poor framing, constant close-ups – are we suppose to count nose hairs or pores on their faces.

SUMMARY FROM INVESTIGATOR:

All Sinner’s Night or All Sinners Night, whichever it chooses, is not a sendup to exploitation classics, nor a nod to Bava or Argento, it never achieves that level, the audio and sound crimp the movie, along with poor framing, and weak dialogue. Aside from a good music score, and some cool masks, the film lacks enjoyment, as it all just drags leading to the poor pacing of the story, just leave this to rot for another 30- ears in an unmarked grave.

IMDb Rating: 1.5/10
Baron’s Rating: 1.5

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5235434/