The Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even in a lesser degree The Sleepaway Camp franchises all knew how to utilize particular elements of the slasher genre and make it work for their perspective audiences. Those series worked so well that it would be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is in each of those films that allowed the audience to become so invested and with that being said it is easy to say why NECROSIS doesn’t work. To put it simply the main characters are lame yuppies that no audience can respect or become involved with.
1846’s infamous Donner Party Massacre is what the premise of this picture is based on. Don’t look for historical accuracy here. That very incident inspired the hysterical spoof “Cannibal: The Musical,” which you might be better off purchasing than this travesty of cinema.
So naturally that site is where six friends, one of whom is battling schizophrenia decide to spend their vacations. (Insert eye rolling now.) It goes without saying that a brutal snow storm will hit the area trapping them to certain doom. I mean if this didn’t happen I suppose there wouldn’t be a movie and at this point in time maybe that would have been a better choice.
The scene becomes set as the group try to battle demonic entities and each other and nothing of value happens in this picture. And what is most lazy about NECROSIS is the fact it only has a 72 minutes running time, which is padded with credits to almost make the 80 minutes mark. Filmmakers need to understand that if you are going to try and make money off your product at least respect the audience enough to give your film a proper running time.
Sales for this DVD may be hinged on the nostalgia value of seeing Pop-teen sensation Tiffany in an acting role, which is really not that great of an attraction. The singer still looks very sexy and maybe a part of her lousy performance is the pitiful writing of the script. (Or the fact nothing remotely scary happens.)
Another nostalgia factor is an brief cameo by Michael Berryman, who the director should have used more of. Berryman is a living legend in horror movies and he adds a genuine aura of creepiness to his roles. 10-15 minutes more of screen time for Berryman could have been a saving grace for NECROSIS.
Brink DVD did a nice job of bringing this title that no one wants to see to DVD. Including a nice little package for anyone dumb enough to buy a copy. Jason Stephens is on hand for a commentary, and to introduce the audience to thirty minutes of behind the scenes. It is all rounded out by a boring little trailer for the picture.
NECROSIS had the elements to be a good picture and simply squandered it on lousy casting, a plot like Swiss cheese, and bad dialogue. This picture should be examined in college classes on bad filmmaking.
– Anthony Benedetto
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
