Launa's sister Nikki has mysteriously disappeared while gone camping in the mountain town of Halcyon Springs. Together with two friends, Launa heads off to the small town to look for her sister and finds out about an old abandoned prison where she thinks Nikki might be at. She asks a local man named Mason for help, since he used to be a guard at the prison and together they all head to Halcyon Ridge Correctional Facility. But soon after their arrival, they come upon an ancient evil that has awaken within the walls of the prison.
To tell you the truth, I often have my doubts when about to watch an indie film and so was the case with The 8th Plague as well. But to my big surprise, The 8th Plague did not just turn out to be one impressive movie, it was also one of the best indie flicks I've seen to date and while it might be an indie film, it didn't feel like one at all due to that it looked smashing and did things right. The acting was belivable, the directing was good, the colors were above decent and sure did their part of creating a certain atmosphere, but most of all, it had the tension and the horror that I'm always on the look-out for.
The story revolves around Launa, the fact that her sister Nikki has disappeared and that Launa needs to find her. Together with two friends, one ex prison guard and a local cop, their search leads Launa and c/o to the town of Halcyon Springs and furthermore, to the Halcyon Ridge Correctional Facility which is an old abandoned prison. Once there, the group stumbles upon an ancient evil which is released upon them and not only does Launa need to find the truth to what happened to her sister, but she also has to try and make it out alive. The story was cool enough, but the abandoned prison itself created one helluva horrorish atmosphere and I guess did a lot for the film itself. Inside the prison walls, once the movie gets going, it never stops delivering full-on horror for even the slightest minute and was one great horrific ride from start to finish.
 
It's not too often movies manages to completely draw you in and to be able to hold you like that all the way through, but this one sure did. I know that I'm giving the movie a very positive image now, but trust me one this, it had so much to offer. I have absolutely no idea what kind of budget they had when shooting the film, but let me tell ya, it looks great and 5 minutes into the movie, I had already forgotten that I was watching an indie film, that's how good it looked. But even though if you could tell or whatever, The 8th Plague had so much going for it both on the horror and gore front as well as it did deliver a whole lotta tension and suspense which made one busy enough not to concentrate on that it was in fact a low-budget film, if you know what I mean. When it comes to gore, the movie had some really horrific moments to offer and I'm happy to say that it did never hold back, but instead always went all the way and that was appreciated and of course made everything come out looking a lot better in the end. It sure had some nasty scenes so beware!
The evil that's inside the prison comes in the form of zombies, or that is those that have been exposed to the evil itself. All the zombies or the people who had been affected by it looked pretty nasty and attacked in a way that sometimes made it hard for you to sit still while watching it. It's not too often a movie manages to make you site on the edge of your seat, but this one delivered doing that too. Some stuff might be predictable for hardcore horror fans, but it also had some unexpected stuff that came right out of the blue and I was truly thankful for that. If you want great indie horror, but that rises far above the normal indie standard, The 8th Plague would be an excellent choise.
I'll definitely watch this movie again real soon. It had the gore, the horror, the great scares as well as the chills and the thrills. Always accompanied by an atmosphere that made you sit on the edge of your seat, waiting for what would come next. I for one am definitely gonna keep track of Franklin Guerrero Jr. as this guy obviously has a lot of potential. Instead of holding back, it went all the way at times and had most things that you'd look for when it comes to great horror. You need to see this one folks, it's as simple as that.
By
Back to Horror Review Archive
|
ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 2006
DIRECTOR: Franklin Guerrero Jr.
WRITING CREDITS: Eric Williford, Franklin Guerrero Jr.
GENRE: Horror
CAST: DJ Perry, Leslie Ann Valenza, Hollis Zemany
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 92 min
RATING: 9/10
8th Plague, The Website/IMDB Click here
8th Plague, The Trailer Click here
|
