The Void (4/5)

The Void is crazy, unpredictable, and absolutely relentless! You’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat and there seems to be no escape… but the characters keep fighting for their lives.

I had no idea what to expect from The Void, but that only meant it hit me perfectly. I sat there, constantly surprised by the twists and characters’ actions. Only very few times did I think the characters should act differently. Mostly because they’re all just struggling to survive.

Also, the tagline for The Void is “There is a Hell. This is worse!” and it really is. But in the best damn horror way, you could want.

There is no escape and no simple way of battling the creatures in this one. I was reminded of the most entertaining creature features from the 1980s. Well, with the exception that this is probably darker!

The Void stays with you for a while

I love it when there’s an open and shut ending to a movie. But I also love it when the ending leaves me with a shocked look on my face. The Void did manage to do this. It goes all sorts of crazy towards the end, but that’s the point.

There.Is.No.Escape.

Once you’re caught up in this Hell, you’re pretty much fucked. However, as a spectator watching the story unfold, you just sit there with a mildly disgusted look on your face. Or maybe a goofy grin. To each their own.

What I did enjoy – and was disgusted by, in a good way – was the amazing effects used in this. Whenever I watch a movie like this, I cannot fathom why anyone would settle for shitty CGI solutions. Well, as far as any creatures are involved anyway. I get that it’s cheaper, but this is so much more effective. Not to mention impressive and entertaining.

The effective cult focus

There’s something about cults that just works for me. In The Void, it’s not that the cult theme is all that prevalent. Still, it’s there as the driving force whenever the poor souls trapped in the hospital look outside and see this…

Seriously, no one wants to fight these kinds of cult figures. It’s probably the fact that you know they don’t care if they die cause they’re already brainwashed. And also, it’s probably the fact that cults have already taken the lives of many people in real life. This makes the (almost stereotypical) horror image of uniformed cult members seem like a very realistic threat.

For me, it’s always about the realism if I’m to feel true horror. Everything else is just entertainment. And fortunately, the cult figures are the only “realistic” elements because the entertainment of nasty creatures takes over the story. I keep calling them creatures, but honestly, this is way too mild a description.

The Void should entertain most horror fans

Whether you like dark and psychological horror movies or the gory and exaggerated ones, you should enjoy The Void.

With the exception of Kenneth Welsh (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), I didn’t really recognize any of the actors. However, they all deliver solid performances.

The Void was written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski. This horror power duo has already been on a whole slew of gorgeous movies. Jeremy Gillespie worked as an assistant art director on Pacific Rim and RoboCop (2014). Steven Kostanski was a special makeup effects artist on Crimson Peak, Clown, and won a Best Make-Up award at Sitges in 2011 for his work on The Divide. Also, they both worked on Suicide Squad and a little upcoming movie the horror world is very excited about: It.

Oh yeah, Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski know how to make things look really awesome for the horror audience. They’ve done a few horror productions before including the horror comedy Father’s Day from 2011. They also did the W for Wish segment of ABCs of Death 2, which they directed together while Gillespie wrote it.

Whatever Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski do next, you can be sure I’ll want to check it out. And you should too!

After The Void premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2016, it went on to play at both genre and international film festivals. It even won the jury award at the 2017 Nevermore Film Festival for Best Feature.

The Void is finally out in UK theaters on March 31 and in US on April 7, 2017.
Also on April 7, it will be released on Digital and from April 24 it will be available on DVD & Blu-ray.

Details

Director: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
Writer: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
Cast: Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Kenneth Welsh, Aaron Poole, Grace Munro, Mik Byskov

Plot

When a police officer discovers a blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road, he rushes him to a local hospital with a barebones, night shift staff. As cloaked, cult-like figures surround the building, the patients and staff inside start turning ravenously insane. Trying to protect the survivors, officer Carter leads them into the depths of the hospital where something evil is waiting.