As slasher movies go, Curse of the Forty Niner is pretty damn good. It feels like an 80s film, kinda similar to the tail end of the Friday the 13th series. Instead of resorting to splatter to scare, Forty Niner uses a lot of suspense to bring in the scares.
This works to its advantage. Many low budget films are hamstrung by bad effects or scares that would only shock newbies and wimps. I've lost count of the amount of horror movies, high and low budget alike, that I've sat through without even flinching. Forty Niner made me jump out of my skin at least twice during its short 80 minutes.
Scene veteran John Carl Buechler has always known his stuff, and his 80s heritage (Buechler was involved as a director/special effects head with the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series') shows right through this taut movie. His trademark splatter effects take a back seat to jarring suspense and uncomfortable moments, making the movie a pared down exercise in shocks and creepiness, unlike his earlier effort Deep Freeze, which kind of lacked anything aside from a few gross effects. It's basically a return to form for Buechler.
It isn't perfect by a long shot though. Certain effects shots are unfortunately badly goofed, like a woman who gets set on fire where you can see the protective fire-retardant face gear in plain view of the camera. This jars you temporarily out of the film's atmosphere, which is pretty unwelcome.
Also the acting is very hit and miss. It has to be said, it's of a far better calibre than many other movies of it's ilk, but some of the characters are so one dimensional that if they turned sideways they'd disappear. This rubs up against the other characters who do a good job of their lines.
Personally though, this was a lot of fun for me, and probably anyone else who misses the horror of the 80s. Fans of stuff like Jeepers Creepers and the new Texas Chainsaw will probably find a lot to enjoy too. On a final note though, the movie is not for the faint of heart, as a few sequences are pretty horrific, particularly a segment involving a woman getting pickaxed in the chest, which was pretty harsh (and not in a 'rubbish splatter effect' way) and some other fairly meaty bits of violence.
So, if you like horror and miss movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween, you owe it to yourself to check this out. However if you don't know those movies, check them out first then try this.
This works to its advantage. Many low budget films are hamstrung by bad effects or scares that would only shock newbies and wimps. I've lost count of the amount of horror movies, high and low budget alike, that I've sat through without even flinching. Forty Niner made me jump out of my skin at least twice during its short 80 minutes.
Scene veteran John Carl Buechler has always known his stuff, and his 80s heritage (Buechler was involved as a director/special effects head with the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series') shows right through this taut movie. His trademark splatter effects take a back seat to jarring suspense and uncomfortable moments, making the movie a pared down exercise in shocks and creepiness, unlike his earlier effort Deep Freeze, which kind of lacked anything aside from a few gross effects. It's basically a return to form for Buechler.
It isn't perfect by a long shot though. Certain effects shots are unfortunately badly goofed, like a woman who gets set on fire where you can see the protective fire-retardant face gear in plain view of the camera. This jars you temporarily out of the film's atmosphere, which is pretty unwelcome.
Also the acting is very hit and miss. It has to be said, it's of a far better calibre than many other movies of it's ilk, but some of the characters are so one dimensional that if they turned sideways they'd disappear. This rubs up against the other characters who do a good job of their lines.
Personally though, this was a lot of fun for me, and probably anyone else who misses the horror of the 80s. Fans of stuff like Jeepers Creepers and the new Texas Chainsaw will probably find a lot to enjoy too. On a final note though, the movie is not for the faint of heart, as a few sequences are pretty horrific, particularly a segment involving a woman getting pickaxed in the chest, which was pretty harsh (and not in a 'rubbish splatter effect' way) and some other fairly meaty bits of violence.
So, if you like horror and miss movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween, you owe it to yourself to check this out. However if you don't know those movies, check them out first then try this.