The Void (2016)

The movie starts off with a couple of men chasing a pair of figures out of a house. One of them is shot and burned while still alive. The other escapes, only to be found by a deputy and taken to the hospital. Not long after arriving the hospital is surrounded by mysterious figures in white robes who attack the deputy, Carter, when he ventures outside. If that weren’t enough one of the nurses goes crazy and kill a patient. Why? Not sure but when she turns into a creepy mutated monster with tentacles it seems suspicious! The two men from the beginning also show up and immediately try to kill the survivor from earlier. More monster mayhem, yelling, and a good bit of chanting to the old ones happens before the credits roll.

This movie is excellent. The story harkens back to the sort of stuff that was made in the ‘80s. There is the isolated setting, here a partially burned out hospital, that is creepy and gives the actors a lot of chances to wander around in the dark. The characters are familiar and each serve their purpose. Those that you expect to survive do so and the others end up right where you would think. This kind of predictability adds to the nostalgic feeling of the movie. It is familiar and makes The Void that much more fun to watch. The minimalist soundtrack works perfectly and has that low budget ambiance that again reminded me of the tapes I was renting in the ‘80s.

The Lovecraftian vibe to the movie put a huge smile on my face. While the exact mythos isn’t mentioned we do get references to older things than the devil. Plus, the tentacles that seem to be everywhere reminded me of everyone’s favorite Elder God. Even the ending, which I won’t spoil, fits perfectly. Toss in some cultists and insanity and you have a movie that would feel right at home in my recent H.P. Lovecraft marathon.

Loved the effects work!

The greatest thing about The Void are the special effects. There are two featured creatures and a villain that mangles himself up in a nasty way. All the designs are practical. Yes, a movie made in 2016 has latex critters running around! That is awesome. But it doesn’t stop there. We get a lot of kills from a face being slashed, scissors thru the eye, a head shot, and tentacles finding every orifice possible to force their way into. How cool is that? I love it when filmmakers skip CGI with their creatures and kills.

The Void is great. It feels old school without trying too hard. Cool story, great settings, and killer special effects work together to create an experience that goes beyond a fun way to spend an hour and a half. Not only is it a good time, but the nostalgia that it dredged up in me put a huge smile on my face. With all the great directors from the ‘70s and ‘80s that we have lost this year I needed something like The Void. There are still people out there who love the sort of films that I do and continue to make them. I recommend checking it out.

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer