Well, you can tell a lot of care went in to this via Dee Snider (late of Twisted Sister). He is really the only thing worth watching in this movie. He is the definition of body modification excess, and genuinely creepy. However, same cannot be said of the movie as a whole. I think the problem lies in the direction. First of all, the main character (Kevin Gage) is curiously subdued for a man investigating a sadist who has seized his daughter (twice!!!). In my opinion, he should have been a little more frantic in the pursuit of his daughter, but most of the time he is lumbering around like a cop out of Law & Order. For a central character he seems to have too much on his plate. Maybe it would have worked better if he was a cop OR the missing girl's father, not both. And the mother (a completely wasted Elizabeth Pena) has one emotional scene that is not really all that believable since it comes toward the end of the picture. By that point, the psycho (Dee Snider) has abducted her daughter twice and NOW she freaks out! After the first time I wouldn't have let the girl out of her room!! As for Dee Snider (who also scripted), his character is freaky and the method of his torture of his victims is unpleasant, but the character babbles on and on with observations about our society. This is not a social commentary, it is a horror movie....stay on track, folks. He is the only one, however, putting any effort into his performance. The others are, well, misdirected...too low key for people investigating missing teens. Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger himself) turns up in a cameo towards the end and adds some needed life to the film, though his trailer-trash character isn't very likeable at all.
I wanted to see this film when it came out in theaters. Suffice it to say, I'm glad I didn't pay full price to see it.
I wanted to see this film when it came out in theaters. Suffice it to say, I'm glad I didn't pay full price to see it.