Where there is imagination, I will dwell."
A horror artist, Colin Childress(Jeffrey Combs in an opening cameo appearance) unleashes a werewolf-type monster thanks to his creations for a new comic, because he uses encryptions from a demonic book titled "Curses of the Ancient Dead"(..sounds a lot like the one used in THE EVIL DEAD). Anytime, you create something on paper with the monster and pentagram star on it's chest, adding a specific written spell on the demonic book, then whatever is printed happens in reality. Dying during a fire after he tries to destroy the beast who has just murdered a girl the artist put to paper, the house is now in present day a commune for various talents trying to hone their craft with each other providing critical views. The commune is ran by Mrs. Briggs(Yvonne De Carlo)who is repelled by newcomer Whitney Taylor(Debra Farentino)because of her brand of art..Whitney is a disciple of Childress' horror comics and wishes to create her own work right in the very place her idol once brought to life monsters. Taylor herself unknowingly makes the same mistake as her idol, finding the evil book, drawing the same damn wolf-beast which murdered the girl many years ago, and unleashes terror on her accompaniment of eccentrics, in particular the ones who disapprove of her work. Rubber-faced Brian Robbins is the kid painter, Phillip, whose work yields different results from different folks. Pamela Bellwood is Whitney's arch-rival, Amanda..they have a history where Amanda always tried to ruin any potential at success Whitney ever hoped for due to jealousy. Miranda Wilson is the bubbly "performance artist" Lisa, and provides the viewer with plenty of tits, especially her time in and out of a shower. Through her acts of anger towards Amanda, Whitney gives birth to the beast by having it murder her rival on paper..we watch the beast stalk after Amanda as she develops an expose on how Whitney plagiarizes Childress' work. A domino effect ensues with everyone being knocked off one by one. Can Whitney kill the beast she gave birth to, or become a victim of her own creation?
I felt that such a fun premise is undermined by such a minor budget, and poor storytelling. The art work is magnificent, and the idea of juxtaposing the creation of scenarios on paper, and seeing those scenarios take shape as they are being drawn quite nifty. Down the road, the film makes a startling mistake which opens a crater-sized plot hole..somehow the monster itself can kill on it's own as those being hunted down, ripped apart, and eaten are created on paper without an artist pinning these scenarios. Who brings these scenarios to life on paper is never established and there's one scene where an important character in the plot transforms into the beast herself. These occurrences make no sense whatsoever and the film just continues losing steam until it's conclusion because the protagonist, Whitney Taylor,tries to right the wrongs of the ghost-artist resulting in a final twist which leaves you scratching your head. There are a choice few death sequences, with director John Carl Buechler opting instead(..due to funding, I guess)to show the demise of certain characters on paper through comic artistry, while they are being pursued by the monster. You do get a nice beheading and some arm chewing from the beast with a look of glee on it's face. Director Buechler often shoots the monster from the pentagrammed chest up so that he can hide the fact that it's a rather immobile suit with a stuntman inside. I'm not a fan of Buechler's, to be honest, but I think an ideal opening premise deserves a more talented director and polished screenplay which, at the very least, coats over the plot holes which are so distracting.
A horror artist, Colin Childress(Jeffrey Combs in an opening cameo appearance) unleashes a werewolf-type monster thanks to his creations for a new comic, because he uses encryptions from a demonic book titled "Curses of the Ancient Dead"(..sounds a lot like the one used in THE EVIL DEAD). Anytime, you create something on paper with the monster and pentagram star on it's chest, adding a specific written spell on the demonic book, then whatever is printed happens in reality. Dying during a fire after he tries to destroy the beast who has just murdered a girl the artist put to paper, the house is now in present day a commune for various talents trying to hone their craft with each other providing critical views. The commune is ran by Mrs. Briggs(Yvonne De Carlo)who is repelled by newcomer Whitney Taylor(Debra Farentino)because of her brand of art..Whitney is a disciple of Childress' horror comics and wishes to create her own work right in the very place her idol once brought to life monsters. Taylor herself unknowingly makes the same mistake as her idol, finding the evil book, drawing the same damn wolf-beast which murdered the girl many years ago, and unleashes terror on her accompaniment of eccentrics, in particular the ones who disapprove of her work. Rubber-faced Brian Robbins is the kid painter, Phillip, whose work yields different results from different folks. Pamela Bellwood is Whitney's arch-rival, Amanda..they have a history where Amanda always tried to ruin any potential at success Whitney ever hoped for due to jealousy. Miranda Wilson is the bubbly "performance artist" Lisa, and provides the viewer with plenty of tits, especially her time in and out of a shower. Through her acts of anger towards Amanda, Whitney gives birth to the beast by having it murder her rival on paper..we watch the beast stalk after Amanda as she develops an expose on how Whitney plagiarizes Childress' work. A domino effect ensues with everyone being knocked off one by one. Can Whitney kill the beast she gave birth to, or become a victim of her own creation?
I felt that such a fun premise is undermined by such a minor budget, and poor storytelling. The art work is magnificent, and the idea of juxtaposing the creation of scenarios on paper, and seeing those scenarios take shape as they are being drawn quite nifty. Down the road, the film makes a startling mistake which opens a crater-sized plot hole..somehow the monster itself can kill on it's own as those being hunted down, ripped apart, and eaten are created on paper without an artist pinning these scenarios. Who brings these scenarios to life on paper is never established and there's one scene where an important character in the plot transforms into the beast herself. These occurrences make no sense whatsoever and the film just continues losing steam until it's conclusion because the protagonist, Whitney Taylor,tries to right the wrongs of the ghost-artist resulting in a final twist which leaves you scratching your head. There are a choice few death sequences, with director John Carl Buechler opting instead(..due to funding, I guess)to show the demise of certain characters on paper through comic artistry, while they are being pursued by the monster. You do get a nice beheading and some arm chewing from the beast with a look of glee on it's face. Director Buechler often shoots the monster from the pentagrammed chest up so that he can hide the fact that it's a rather immobile suit with a stuntman inside. I'm not a fan of Buechler's, to be honest, but I think an ideal opening premise deserves a more talented director and polished screenplay which, at the very least, coats over the plot holes which are so distracting.