**Potential Spoilers **
It has been a while since I last watched a horror movie and then reviewed it, so without further ado here is my review of The Void, a Shucder exclusive from 2016. The movie piqued my interest with it's seemingly Lovecraft influenced theme and aesthetics, and the special effects reminded me somewhat of the classic John Carpenter movie The Thing (1982). I am pleased to say that The Void was a very entertaining and surprisingly good movie.
The plot of The Void is in some ways nothing new, and in parts is vague but enough meat is left on the bones for the viewer to have a general idea of what is going on. A policeman named Daniel comes across a man slumped at the side of the road. The man has escaped from two men who are trying to kill him. He is alive but requires medical attention so is taken to a hospital that is in the middle of closing (Precint 13? Cough) Whilst at the hospital cultists surround the hospital. One of the nurses seemingly goes crazy and murderes one of the patients. Rather than die the dead start to transform and become twisted creatures with tentacles. Why is this happening? You will have to watch the movie to find out.
It is quite obvious that a lot of inspiration for this movie has come from John Carpenters movies, namely The Thing, particularly with regard to the special effects used. To my eye a lot of the special effects were practical effects as opposed to CGI. Whilst I do not disagree that CGI has it's place, it is also refreshing when the creatures in a horror movie are practical, for example Frankenstein's Army (2013) is an excellent example of this. Whilst The Void is not on a par it was sufficient and looked better than many movies with CGI creatures.
The technical aspects of the movie were also good generally speaking. The cinematography was competent with several memorable scenes. The acting was mixed, but generally was quite good, as was the dialogue. There is a decent helping of gore present without being too over the top.
In conclusion The Void made me think of several great movies as I watched it. One of the movies was The Thing, another was Assault on Precinct 13, and lastly the ending made me think of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. That said The Void is very much inspired by rather than a simulacrum of other such movies. Lastly we have the Lovecraft influence, the creatures with their tentacles, the other dimension and of creatures older than time itself. All in all a good movie.
7 out of 10
Summary: if you enjoy old fashioned practical effects, combined with a Lovecraft influenced plot you should enjoy this movie.