Staunton Hill

source: Staunton Hill

Son of George Romero follows in his father weaker foot steps with the tale of some kids going to a rally in DC and ending up in the clutches of an evil family. While it's been done before, rarely has a story like this been this boring. Lots of set up and such before anything of interest happens. Actually what is interesting is trying to determine when the film takes place since it has things from a variety of times in it. I won't lie, my finger hit the fast forward to scan through chunks of it. Some of this is good, but much of it is well, dull. I'd take a pass.

I know the pressure on Cameron Romero must be massive. I mean...he went into directing horror movies as the son of a legend. That's got to be like being the kid of Lance Armstrong and picking up a bicycle for the first time. That being said, I'm willing to cut him some slack, but sometimes I feel like I'm giving him just enough rope to hang himself with. Staunton Hill is definitely not something you want in your portfolio if you're trying to make a name as a horror director. Nothing about this film feels original at all and even though you've seen it done a million times, you've seen it done much better. I won't place the blame solely on Romero because the whole thing was pretty bad...acting, directing, writing, the theme...pretty much everything. One of my major gripes with this film is the end. I'm not going to give anything away, but I think the end of the movie is supposed to be a surprise reveal. The problem? The movie very clearly addresses this about half way through. Why anyone thought the ending would be a surprise is beyond me, and it's almost insulting. I still have hopes for the younger Romero, but this is just beating a dead horse with another dead horse.

As a true horror fan, coming across a movie that was made of no one less than Romero Jr., it was obvious that one had to see if directing can be inherited from father to son. And with no surprise, Romero Jr. decided to follow his father's path by using gut-wrenching gore as a major ingredient to make his mark on the horror scene. Then he had to come up with a story that meets most of the elementary requirements of the genre. Unlike his father, he decides to pick the raisins out of the cookie instead of exploring a new field that made daddy George world famous…. once upon a time! The entire plot of the story is taken from one single classic cult movie: Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Nothing wrong with that, however, when a director decides to make his/her own interpretation of a classic cult, it heightens the expectations! Despite high ambitions from the director, the move fails to deliver that particular suspense that is the very meaning of watching a horror in first place. My conclusive review of this movie is that in this day and age, and with the plethora of horror movies that are released on a daily basis, a lot more is needed in order to provide something that is worthwhile watching.

In Germany the cover of the DVD states: Romero's Staunton Hill. And while it is true, that the directors name is Romero, it is not Mr. George A. Romero himself. It is his son. While not his first movie (and hopefully not his creative height), this is a decent effort. Of course with the burden of the Romero name, he almost is damned to deliver. I wonder what daddy says/thinks ... Seriously though: I'm sure he encouraged his son to take this step into the film world. If it the right decision ... well only time will tell. Judging him after this movie wouldn't be fair. After all, not everyone can be a Romero ... A. Romero that is, and deliver a Masterpiece as his first big movie (Night of the living Dead). While the characters are bland, the storyline confusing and quite some flaws in the story department, it's still more or less your standard fare backwoods horror movie. Nothing special, but not particularly bad either ...

The year is 1969 (supposedly). A group of friends traveling to a rally in Washington, D.C. hitch a ride with a nice enough fellow they meet up with at a run down gas station. However, a few miles along their journey, the fellow's car breaks down, causing the group to have to hike through the hills in search of shelter and help. They happen upon an isolated farmhouse, which at first seems abandoned. They take it upon themselves to camp out in the barn for the night, only to be greeted by the Stauton family in the morning. This odd bunch consists of the the mother, grandmother, and a mentally challenged adult boy. At first, the family is nice (except the boy, who takes a hammer to one of the traveler's face for saying HI to him). It doesn't take long before the true intentions of the Staunton family is exposed and they friends begin getting brutally butchered and dismembered one by one. The Good: The acting in "Staunton Hill" is actually pretty good. The setting is creepy and used to full effect. However, what the film has going for it is a few inspired moments of gore and how the killer casually goes about brutally disposing of his victims. It is rather disturbing, though the motive behind the killings is confusing and not fully elaborated on. The Bad: The plot is EXTREMELY clichéd. This is the same old "friends venture upon a isolated house and are slaughtered by a disturbed family" formula that we have seen many, many times before. Worse yet, director Cameron Romero (horror icon George Romero's son) does absolutely nothing new with the formula. It is business as usual as characters do the exact things we expect them to do and the film ends the exact way we expect it to end. The film is also suppose to be set in 1969; however, it is painfully obvious from the clothing, hair styles, and some set pieces that it is modern day. This is troubling because there is absolutely no reason mentioned for WHY the film has to be set in 1969. It would have been the exact same film had it been set in 79, 89, or 09. Romero's direction shows some inspired moments, yet is still pretty run-of-the-mill. When your last name is Romero and you are directing a horror film, you should probably take painstaking steps to make sure your film stands out among the countless others like it; this does not happen here. Maybe it us unfair to hold Cameron Romero to a higher standard, but with the Romero name plastered numerous times of the DVD cover, I think it is fair game. Does he show potential? Yes, but hopefully with his next project he makes an interesting movie that is not steeped in your typical horror clichés. Overall: While "Staunton Hill" isn't the worst movie of its kind, it certainly has very few redeeming qualities. It's clichéd, rather boring in parts, and offers nothing new to the genre. Rewatching "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" would be time better spent if you are dying to see a deranged family kill of innocent victims who stumble upon their residence. My Grade: D

Whilst George A. Romero might forever be pigeonholed as a filmmaker of living dead movies, and perhaps quite rightly, as some of his best work has been centred around the zombie genre, I did have have a notion in thinking that his son, Cameron might just be a chip of the old block. Needless to say, such is not the case! Would it be folly to just place the blame soley at the hands of Romero Jr? Let's just say partly, as a lions share of the blame should also head straight in the direction of scriptwriter and bum actor David Rountree. Not content with taking on one of the roles within the movie, Mr Rountree somehow managed to persuade the producers and Cameron Romero to get involved in this ultra slow moving Southern Fried Mash up! Granted, having read the synopsis on the back of the DVD cover, I did reserve judgement, however such hoped were soon slapped in the face, as many other reviewers have quite rightly noted, that nothing of major note happens for the first forty-five minutes. And even in saying that when something does occur, it's all done in a very slow fashion, such was the lethargy for me, I had to reach for the fast forward button just to ward of the tedium. Of course I know I could've just turned it off and forgot all about it, but having watched many a horror movie both good and atrocious down through the years I wanted to persevere. The net result was ultimately, a lack of pacing, a god-awful script courtesy of you know you, and although some of the acting was okay, it was the actions in the script that left much to the imagination, and as for the direction, whilst Cameron Romero might have a decent visual eye, he has a long way to go before he emulates the achievements of his father. Keeping in mind the tag line, In God's Name They Prey! We should all pray that we never have to sit through another Texas Chainsaw themed rip off.

I tried really hard to like this movie. It has more holes than a golf course. I have no idea what even happened to buddy at the end, or any of the other characters that weren't killed "on-screen." (all the guys.) Who was that little girl in the beginning? the daughter of the mechanic? related to Quinton and his physco killing family? It's a slow starting film, boring at times, i kept it on in hopes it would get better....it didn't. Some scence were cringe worthy. Lots of blood but what horror movie doesn't have that? I don't understand why the hitch hikers didn't just walk back to the junk yard after the car broke down down less than 10 mins away. why spend half a day walking through the woods? That makes no sense. The acting was decent, better than most horror movies. BTW isn't Cole the "hunk" from that Britney spears song? I'm sure he is. Horrible movie. I wish i could erase it from my memory and get back my Sunday night.

My first glimpse of how this film would turn out was while still browsing at the video store. I saw the name Romero and thought to myself "Could that be the son of George Romero?" I flipped it over to read the back thinking how silly of me expecting to see some reference to George Romero, that would just be cheesy and unprofessional, but there it was. Great big bold letters that said "Son of the legendary George Romero!" My heart sank. I saw this as a sign that the son, as a director, and the film could not stand on it's own without the support of the name of his father. Being pressed for time I rented it and took it home, hoping for the best. It was just as bad as I feared it would be. I'll start of with the dialogue. It seems like the writing was done before deciding to set the film in the 1960's. It is throughout the film awkward and badly written, with a couple of 1960's slang phrases thrown in here and there. Then, as if the bold outline of his family ties printed on the back was not enough for the audience to make a connection to George Romero, the "hippies" had to bring up 'Night of the Living Dead.' The acting falls short of a that you would find on a television soap opera. I was waiting for the commercials to interrupt, and there definitely were enough pauses in the filming to insert them. It's as if he had a thought for a scene, then another thought for a scene further down in the sequence, but couldn't really think of what could go in between to connect them. Instead of filling in the plot holes he just faded out and faded into another scene. That not only looks terrible, it is leads to a non-cohesive storyline. Even with all of the inconsistencies in the story, it was clear at the beginning what the end would be. After watching it, I realize where the bulk of the effort went... gore, gore, and more gore. Disgusting, useless, and at times, clearly fake. I feel that I could recreate most of the torture and mutilation scenes with some fake body parts from a prop shop and about 30 gallons of fake blood, but who would want to recreate that? It seems that all of the violence and blood spill has become a universal cover-up for lack of creative thought. If you know an audience is not going to be interested in your story, try to add the most over-the-top gore and hopefully they wont notice how lame your story is. But if all else fails, drop the name of your famous father and it will be sure to get at least a bit of circulation.

While I wouldn't call this unimaginative, stupid film "the worst movie ever", it would certainly make the list. Unoriginal in every single way that a waste of time torture * movie can be, this goes on the garbage pile with the various Saws, Wrong turns and Hostel type films. Cameron Romero shows no talent for direction at all and throwing the Romero name on this to sucker in fans, is simply crass. We've seen this all before, an attractive group of young people are set upon (why aren't any of these kids ever homely or average looking?)by an (take your pick) inbreds, isolated or simply nuts family. As usual when their friends are disaapearing no one notices. Also as usual, its the women who get the worst deaths. And one of the murdering clan is a superstrong moron. Bored yet? You will be if you waste any time with this crapfest. Its even worse than his Dads recent outing, Survival of the Dead. Avoid. Even Uwe Boll couldn't have done much worse.