Spike (2008)

SPIKE is a cheesy indie fantasy, heavily indebted to the classic BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The plot sees a trio of characters driving into the woods and getting lost, only to encounter a mysterious humanoid being which has designs on one of them. The whole film takes place in the dark and features consistently odd effects and dream imagery, with panthers and the like appearing. Unfortunately, the below par script means that this isn't romance, nor horrific, nor even interesting; just a dud.

Holy God in Heaven this is one of the worst pieces of garbage to ever hit the straight to DVD line up. If I ever have the displeasure of seeing something this bad again I promise I will never watch another movie again. This movie is nothing but terrible acting piled on top of useless plot set ups that never develop into anything. I don't know where they found the funding for this "movie" but the person who funded it cannot be too happy with how it turned out. Honestly I can't find one good thing to say about it besides that fact that a girl kind of gets naked in it, even though that isn't even that great because of her terrible "acting abilities". The movie was under the horror section in my local redbox and let me tell you it does not belong there. The synopsis said it was a movie about four people who get lost in the woods and hunted down by a spike monster. Not only is this not an accurate portrayal of the "plot" but it makes it sound like a real movie, which it is not. To sum up what I'm trying to say this movie wasn't worth the 1 dollar we rented it for and I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

Spike is one of those films that does not look like much at first glance but once you watch you become entranced by its wonder and majesty. Robert Beaucage weaves a dark tale that is scary, moving and ultimately tragic; it's like a fairy tale combined with a slasher. The characters are portrayed wonderfully, especially Edward Gusts as Spike, a man with the body of a monster but a heart as big as the earth itself. Sarah Livingston as the Girl is a mixture of beauty and strength as she fights to save her boyfriend from a creature torn by love and lust. even the music is dreamlike in its horror; The Marvelous little toy is used to creepy effect here and its truly unsettling when it plays. Spike is a sight to behold

It's been a while since I saw Spike, but I retain a lingering memory of the awful terror with which it begins -- long before the beast appears -- like Jaws, but much scarier. Spike's cinematography and direction are superb, but its strength is the story's poignant beauty, which reminds me of a Russian fairy tale -- think Baba Yaga. In a Russian fairy tale, even the Princess may die.The back-story's development without excessive flashbacks is inventive, and the delineation of a convincing rough homestead in a few sketched Picasso-like strokes a dark delight against the backdrop of a luxuriant wilderness.It's not been often that a love story has married fear, fantasy and psychology in a movie that takes such pains to conform to scientific reality -- for example, the difference between a person's two eyes.To summarize, though it may perhaps not be to everyone's taste, it is no surprise to me, on the basis of its plot and production quality, that Spike has been winning "Best Of" awards. It has a lot to like. I liked it enough to rate it "Excellent."