Laid to Rest

source: Laid to Rest

let me first say i liked a lot of aspect in this film and i would have given it at least an 7 or 8 if it wasn't for the awful acting of Bobbi Sue Luther, who to no surprise was the producer cause that is probably the only reason she ended up getting the lead in this film. I have rarely seen such a horrible performance, even given that this is a horror film. She should stick to the extra work she's done previously cause obviously that's where she does it the best - in the background. Having said that I still watched the film till the end even though there wasn't really anything new or original about it, but on the other hand something did have me amazed and i cannot quite say what it was. If you're into horror and you can live with a horrible lead actress' performance, you should watch this film. Like I said I'd have given it a 7 but the performance Bobbi Sue Luther lowered it to a 5, sorry..

I saw the trailer and promotional material at New York Comicon this year and I thought it had possibilities. Now I've seen the film and I'm less impressed. The nominal plot has a young woman waking up in a coffin unaware of who she is or how she got there. Almost immediately she finds herself stalked by a guy wearing a silver skull mask and two huge knives. There is no set up the film just goes from there as random people die around her and she hooks up with people who later die. The deaths are horrible and bloody. Technically the film is a gore lovers delight. There are so many "great new ways to die" that odd are those looking for great special effects will be pleased. Those looking for plot or tension, beyond the what is the next nasty thing thats going to happen sort, will be disappointed since there is none (and I do mean none this is not tense its gross). Its girl gets chased and people die, thats the whole plot. We eventually find out who she is and how this all started (sort of kind of) but really this is just a catalog of bloody ways to mangle the human body. If you like that sort of thing (and go to movies only for that) this is your movie. If you don't this is something to avoid like the plague.

A girl wakes up in a coffin with memory loss and manages to get out and escape. Some weirdo with a skeletonmask is chasing her while she has no idea why or who he is, or even what her own name is. On the run she meets some people who try to help her. I think this movie is well-made, there's blood and gore for the fans of the genre and the follow-ups aren't that bad either. Bobbi Sue Luther's performance was good, although it mostly meant she had to be confused and scared. Still, she didn't annoy me at all, I've seen plenty of movies where the chased girl annoyed the heck out of me. Lena Heady's role (who you might recognize as Queen Gorgo from 300) is very small, which surprised me. It's not just chasing, blood and gore (well, the biggest part is but) there are also some moments where they managed to squeeze in some emotional moments that worked well. Overall, I was entertained, the effects were OK, the camera-work good and, well, I have a weak for Bobbi Sue Luther ;) (I'm Dutch, so pardon my English)

Bad.Bad.Bad. I spent most of the movie laughing, sadly. Did Bobbi Sue have breast implants or just Porn star sized implants? I hoped she didn't think that looked natural. She is one of the worst actresses I've ever seen. I'm serious. I feel bad for her. And her husband directed and she produced this movie? I wonder why she got the lead role? The script writers are just as much to blame. The characters were "over acting" to the point of being pathetic. A monkey at a typewriter could have done better. Steer clear for the love of horror. ......Bad. I need to watch something good.

This is a okay slasher with a few gruesome deaths that are actually sort of creative. The movie doesn't even really have a plot, just tries to make a excuse for some blood and gore. I am usually forgiving when it comes to movies like this but the plot holes were just way too noticeable. And it never tells or shows why the killer does what he does, he just goes around filming everyone of his kills while wearing a chrome skull mask. It had a strong start though, it was actually pretty creepy but after the first scene it quickly ran out of it's flair. A young woman waking up inside of locked casket with no memory of who she is or how she got there is a unoriginal but cool concept, but after that first scene the suspense dies. I thought it would have a cool build up and a decent twist, but the twist was actually pretty stupid as well. You just end up wanting the chrome skull killer to kill everyone, cause like I said I am forgiving but the characters or victims are just too damn stupid. I guess it's worth a look though for major slasher fans or if your in a appetite for slaughter. 4.2/10

Not Boo as in "I scared you" but Boo as in this movie was a huge disappointment. I have two good words about this movie...Kevin Gage. Thankfully, he was in most of the movie. The movie begins with a girl in a coffin. She doesn't know who she is or how she got there. She has a basic understanding of the human language, so we guess she sustained a head injury. As the mortuary attendant starts to free her, he's killed and we get our first glimpse of the killer. Kevin Gage becomes her hero, trying to keep her safe and stop the bad guy, even to his own detriment. The lead actress was a poor actress and her character was very one dimensional. She remains dumb throughout the movie, not acting in ways that a normal person in her situation would act. It was more like she was in cahoots with the killer setting up victims for him. We never find out who the killer is or why he does what he does. His knife is awesome and very effective. The special effects were very well done. If I didn't love Kevin Gage and his acting abilities, I would have turned this movie off after the first 30 minutes.

For a slasher movie "Laid to rest" has some things going for it... first of all the kills are pretty gory, so the crowd should be pleased in this department. Secondly it manages to grab your attention with a strange atmosphere of uncertainty. It follows a girl who wakes up in a coffin with amnesia, soon being stalked by a killer with a chrome skull mask on who slashes everyone in his way with some pretty artistic knife cutting. Girl teams up with a rough old guy and some internet freak whose mom died and the dynamic three are trying to survive and unfold the mystery around the killer. Actually I thought I was in for a huuuuuge twist because the movie soon starts to get incredibly ridiculous so I stuck to the amnesia thing and the obscure killer with a camera and mask. The guy can kill someone in one house then have the dynamic three flee miles in a car and yet Mr. Killer (who just was stabbed in the leg BTW) re-appears in front of another house right after the fleeing three stopped there. Also the back plot with the funeral home and several girls in coffins and many other hints are thrown in there with no real explanation. The movie manages to keep your attention but believe me... you are let down in the end when you expect more than some gory kills. The plot is a joke and there is so much abysmal dialog in there or plenty of scenes that make no sense. First of all... no one has a phone, the next police station is 100 miles away, the only guy who can help has internet but no phone. Then the killer turns out to be some kind of James Bond guy with high-tech equipment, a remote controlled super car and a "state of the art Chinese fancy handy". Its really unbelievable to have the dynamic three find the killers handy which is password protected and then guessing it like this (I am not joking!): "Try DIE! No, try COFFIN. Ah, I know... try CHROMESKULL. Yeah, thats a smart one". Where the movie manages to build some dark atmosphere it immediately puts it to waste with such ridiculous scenes and dialog. There is no real motivation given for the killer being so obsessed with the lead actress that he wipes out an entire small town and his mask glued to his face with industrial super-glue is just a fancy shiny but meaningless gimmick like his secret agent high-tech equipment. "Laid to rest" could have been something but ends up being just another movie with a laughable script and some nice visuals and gore FX.

A good horror film is a bit like obscenity in that it is impossible to describe what makes the horror picture good but you know it when you see it. Laid To Rest looks and acts extremely well with lots of amusing moments. It has great FX and really nasty kills. It has competent acting, photography, and direction but something doesn't quite work. I think the fault probably lies in the script. The main things I didn't understand were that the characters always seemed to want to backtrack to places where the killer already terrorized them. The girl wants to go back to the mortuary and the bearded guy wants to go back home to cover a previous victims body! Another is the fact that they have constant access to vehicles (including at one point the killer's!) but nobody suggests they pick a direction and drive! These things would be of little concern if there was better suspense generated by their encounters with the killer. I chalk this up as an okay near miss.

I would give this a "0" or a "1", but I give minimal props to the visceral killings and the overall concept of the antagonist. The acting is horrible (what in the world is Lena Headey doing in this thing). The writing is pathetic. There is no continuity to any of the conversations, and trying to just follow what they say to each other from one sentence to the next is completely impossible. Even the setup from scene to scene is bad. None of it makes any sense. She's outside hobbling down the road at about half-mile per hour and your telling me the guy doesn't know where she came from? And the killer couldn't catch up to her? And don't even start worrying about Computer Boy and his idea to "email" the authorities then looking up the serial killer. That being said, Chrome Skull was pretty cool. He was intimidating, unemotional, quiet, and vicious: everything you need in a mass murderer