Slasher House (2012)

Red (Eleanor James) awakens naked in a prison cell with a three note piano playing as a soundtrack and the film quickly goes down hill from there. She discovers other prisoners behind locked cell doors with timed lock releases. She teams up with dweeb Nathan as they try to avoid and battle the other serial killer inmates.This is a film for those who can't get enough of these "Where am I and why am I here" mystery film. This wasn't the worst of the lot with a clown, anime girl, and slashers, but the dialogue needed zip and the quick background scenes were amateur.Guide: F-bomb, nudity, plenty of blood.

SLASHER HOUSE is a micro budget British horror film with a surrealistic edge. It was made by MJ Dixon, a force to be reckoned with in regards to British independent horror cinema, and it stars the distinctive Eleanor James who wakes up naked in a prison house and soon discovers she's in the middle of a never-ending nightmare.You see, this building just so happens to be home to a number of serial killers, all of whom quickly set their sights on here. What plays out is regularly gruesome but altogether low budget, with a lack of realism in the action bits which hurts it quite a bit. A lot of pressure is heaped on to James' shoulders but she acquits herself well with her role here. It's a very arty film and the green look of the building makes it quite distinctive on a visual level, although it doesn't really add up to all that much.

After watching this movie I was going to give it 3/10 but I read around the net and learned that the movie was made with a budget of like 5000 (ukrains?) bucks. Interesting.So, keeping that in mind I should mention few things..==== Pros ==== Despite the low budget, I must say that they did a impressive job with the whole look of the characters and the set. I suspect that the green tint also helps in hiding a lot of "cheapness" by giving it a stylish look.Acting is.. average. The protagonist is certainly beautiful and can act (but not very good at it..) and she does emotions quite well. The criminals she was trapped with, they did the job well (except for one guy who starts operating.. he was just comically bad).Good intros for the criminals as they are released from their cells, one of them (the most dangerous of them all) was definitely well done.Good music. Not great but was good enough, though too loud during dialogs for some reason.==== Cons ==== Acting overall was just bad. But I guess for the budget it was pretty good. Honestly, it didn't bother me that much.The "cuts" introducing the characters are good but oddly placed.Storyline, especially after the twist, turned stupid really fast.I still find it hard to take the protagonist seriously. Most of her kills seem accidental or so "girly" that the enemies just shake it off and keep moving.. until the script tells them to die.I am guessing that her inspiration came from Uma's Bride from Kill Bill, but yeah, not very convincing.=============In the end. I didn't hate the movie, but didn't really like it as well. It is a good movie if you have nothing else to watch. It's watchable and entertaining here and there. Also, 5000 budget is impressive. Movie was shot well for that budget (and like I said, set pieces and characters are well done).

"Slasher House" is an Independent film from Mycho Entertainment. Directed by MJ Dixon and produced on a budget of only 5,000 dollars the film is a very creative and stylized film that focuses on strong psychotic personalities that collide. A young woman awakens in a dilapidated institutional facility with a bizarre cast of characters and limited understanding of the tense orchestrated construct of her ordeal. The cast for this film that has been in the works since 2010 and final completion arriving in 2012 are Eleanor James, Adam Williams, Andrew M Greenwood, Wellington Grosvenor, Alex Grimshaw and featuring the voice of Blaze Bayley. I was given the opportunity to screen this film which quite frankly is a project that I have been keeping tabs on over the past couple of years mostly because of the vibrant promo artwork and curious story line.In this film which begins in an almost abstract art-house meets cinema verite style the first thing that drew me in was the use of a singular color shown in almost Argento celebratory fashion against a monochromatic harshness of fluorescent lighting. The visual approach of this creates a cold desolate atmosphere that seems to dance with near graphic novel vibrancy. It held my attention with it's shear uniqueness in artist prominence even as the slow emotionless beginning of the film gave me concern. That is not really a complaint against the film because I have learned when watching films that have a definite almost avant- garde technique that there is a process unfolding. A steady and strong build to some fevered pitch that will climax proudly before a brisk and dead stop. It is something that is both beautiful and beloved in genre film making that mirrors playhouse and expressionist artistry around the world. Almost symphonic, okay before I sound like a psychotic let me get to the point of that long descriptive. "Slasher House" at times holds this ability beautifully and at other times tends to loose control during the crescendo to the climactic end. The parts that caused my mind to loosen the grip the film had where mostly during the steady dramatic interaction of the characters at the beginning of the film which seemed a bit cold but however harsh that may sound the part that works about this film is the fine dance between graphic action and character backstory sequences that are revealed in near grindhouse tribulation. If my comments seemed confusing I do apologize but I try to stay open and spoiler free in talking about movies and always approach my opinion based on the artist's intend and direction and not on some preconceived notion that a set standard of expectations govern what makes a film work based on genre. Here is the cut and dry truth of "Slasher House" and it's blended genre styles. It has moments that make you want to turn off and if your looking for some major gore rich action packed spectacle then the film will disappoint you. If however you are a patient fan of Indie horror then you will be pleasantly surprised by cast of characters thrown into this creative story and the true character study perspective that calls your attention in anticipation of the final moments of the character interactions. Yes it is artistic and very experimental in vision playing with elements of gore, exploitation and grindhouse against atmospheric industrial art-house moments which when it works it works well and when it doesn't, you feel it. There is blood and gore and action and all those things at play in the film when required which satisfies the core of the story which is horror. The ending left me with a bit more questioning as to the continuity of story's major objective but I enjoyed the strange and steady storytelling that unfolds in "Slasher House" and I appreciated that the main focus was not specifically set on the blood gore or torture of lives here. The film won't be for everyone where horror fans are concerned but as a Indie film fan that likes the elements of avant-garde I enjoyed this movie.