Starring: Mary Woronov, Janet Tracy Keijser, Shawn Savage, Stephanie
Leighs, Athena Demos, Monica Shere, Joseph Tatner, Michael Gaglio.
Directed by: Kenneth J. Hall
Story: Young girls are disappearing in and around the Mary Magdalen Halfway
House for Troubled Girls. Desperate to find out what became of her sister,
Larissa Morgan goes undercover to infiltrate the Catholic-run institution.
Once inside, she encounters Father Fogerty, a priest with a passion for
punishment; Sister Cecelia, a nun with a dark past plotting an even blacker
future; Edwina and her love-toy Cherry Pie; tough Latino Angelina and her
home girls and a sinister handyman named Lutkus. It's not long before she's
caught up in a twisted web of sadism, violence, and wanton lust before finally
learning the ultimate secret of the Halfway House.
Review:
Lets face it, in today’s world of horror its tough to come up with something
new or different. In the big budget market we are being promised tons of
remakes to old horror flicks from the past. I know remakes aren't the most
popular topic and I can understand the pain of seeing something go straight
to hell. Well ladies and gentlemen there is a solution, its called independent
films. Yes including some of the direct to video stuff you're used to seeing at
your local video store. If you search really hard you can find something good
and entertaining. Well thanks to our great friend Kenneth J. Hall (creator of
the Puppet Master series) he was kind enough to send us a copy of his latest
film 'The Halfway House'. An independent horror film which is filled with
violence, humor, lust and of course one eyed monsters.
The story is about a woman named Larissa who is in search of her lost sister.
Larissa teams up with a cop and they soon discover that there have been
many other disappearances surrounding women staying at a catholic house.
Larissa then goes undercover at the Halfway House only to discover that
there is much more going on than what she sees. I would speak more about
the plot but I don’t want to ruin too much for you guys, its just something
that you have to see for yourself. The Halfway House is a really good film
filled with some interesting characters. Cops, lesbians, creepy nuns, a
perverted handyman, a priest who has a hard on for spanking and of course
a monster who loves to eat half naked girls. I loved the cool characters and
the incredible cast of actors as well. I found the movie to be very enjoyable
and I actually had a fun time watching it.
My heart goes out to all the actors and staff behind this film. I was pretty
amazed by the cinematography and I couldn't help but love the way it was
filmed. In parts the movie actually brought back some familiar feelings I had
when I grew up as a kid watching flicks like the evil dead and re-animator.
This movie also has the old school animatronics monster FX which was a big
highlight in my childhood. This film has no CGI that I am aware of. Kenneth
Hall does a great job of paying homage to classics films from the past. As
you watch the film you can tell that he was influenced very much by older
horror films and as I said before it definitely brings back those old memories.
Hall also does a great job of keeping things realistic. This movie doesn't go
over the top with the gore or the monsters, instead everything is kept to a
steady and fluid pace.
Overall The Halfway House is a well made and really entertaining film. The
story is good, the characters are great and there’s plenty of violence to boot.
Its always great to see something different and The Halfway House delivers all
the good stuff. I enjoyed the film very much and will be sitting down to watch
it all over again. This DVD also includes some cool special features. There’s
audio commentary with writer/director Kenneth J. Hall and producer Ed
Polgary, deleted scenes, A making of featurette, uncensored trailer and a
really cool music video from the band Insecto Circus. Its really good stuff and
I definitely recommend this movie to fans who have a heart for the old stuff,
or if you just want to watch something different. The Halfway House is a
good and entertaining independent flick which is definitely worth checking
out. Just remember kids, the power of Christ compels you!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Leighs, Athena Demos, Monica Shere, Joseph Tatner, Michael Gaglio.
Directed by: Kenneth J. Hall
Story: Young girls are disappearing in and around the Mary Magdalen Halfway
House for Troubled Girls. Desperate to find out what became of her sister,
Larissa Morgan goes undercover to infiltrate the Catholic-run institution.
Once inside, she encounters Father Fogerty, a priest with a passion for
punishment; Sister Cecelia, a nun with a dark past plotting an even blacker
future; Edwina and her love-toy Cherry Pie; tough Latino Angelina and her
home girls and a sinister handyman named Lutkus. It's not long before she's
caught up in a twisted web of sadism, violence, and wanton lust before finally
learning the ultimate secret of the Halfway House.
Review:
Lets face it, in today’s world of horror its tough to come up with something
new or different. In the big budget market we are being promised tons of
remakes to old horror flicks from the past. I know remakes aren't the most
popular topic and I can understand the pain of seeing something go straight
to hell. Well ladies and gentlemen there is a solution, its called independent
films. Yes including some of the direct to video stuff you're used to seeing at
your local video store. If you search really hard you can find something good
and entertaining. Well thanks to our great friend Kenneth J. Hall (creator of
the Puppet Master series) he was kind enough to send us a copy of his latest
film 'The Halfway House'. An independent horror film which is filled with
violence, humor, lust and of course one eyed monsters.
The story is about a woman named Larissa who is in search of her lost sister.
Larissa teams up with a cop and they soon discover that there have been
many other disappearances surrounding women staying at a catholic house.
Larissa then goes undercover at the Halfway House only to discover that
there is much more going on than what she sees. I would speak more about
the plot but I don’t want to ruin too much for you guys, its just something
that you have to see for yourself. The Halfway House is a really good film
filled with some interesting characters. Cops, lesbians, creepy nuns, a
perverted handyman, a priest who has a hard on for spanking and of course
a monster who loves to eat half naked girls. I loved the cool characters and
the incredible cast of actors as well. I found the movie to be very enjoyable
and I actually had a fun time watching it.
My heart goes out to all the actors and staff behind this film. I was pretty
amazed by the cinematography and I couldn't help but love the way it was
filmed. In parts the movie actually brought back some familiar feelings I had
when I grew up as a kid watching flicks like the evil dead and re-animator.
This movie also has the old school animatronics monster FX which was a big
highlight in my childhood. This film has no CGI that I am aware of. Kenneth
Hall does a great job of paying homage to classics films from the past. As
you watch the film you can tell that he was influenced very much by older
horror films and as I said before it definitely brings back those old memories.
Hall also does a great job of keeping things realistic. This movie doesn't go
over the top with the gore or the monsters, instead everything is kept to a
steady and fluid pace.
Overall The Halfway House is a well made and really entertaining film. The
story is good, the characters are great and there’s plenty of violence to boot.
Its always great to see something different and The Halfway House delivers all
the good stuff. I enjoyed the film very much and will be sitting down to watch
it all over again. This DVD also includes some cool special features. There’s
audio commentary with writer/director Kenneth J. Hall and producer Ed
Polgary, deleted scenes, A making of featurette, uncensored trailer and a
really cool music video from the band Insecto Circus. Its really good stuff and
I definitely recommend this movie to fans who have a heart for the old stuff,
or if you just want to watch something different. The Halfway House is a
good and entertaining independent flick which is definitely worth checking
out. Just remember kids, the power of Christ compels you!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Genres: Independent Horror
Rated: R
Country: USA
Year: 2004
Runtime: 90 minutes
Studio: Skouras
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Rated: R
Country: USA
Year: 2004
Runtime: 90 minutes
Studio: Skouras
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Online since: February 20th, 2006
Review done by: Nightmare Child
