Coroner’s Report: Crazy Eights

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on July 3, 2008

Well folks, our run of After Dark Horrorfest 2007 films is quickly coming to a close.  It’s going to be exciting to move on to new releases and classic favorites, so keep coming back.  I wanted to get a full and official review for every film of Horrorfest though, as in my own experience, they are tough to come by.  Today is our second to last entry in the festival, Crazy Eights.

This creepy paranormal film follows a group of six friends who are reunited at the funeral of a seventh who has recently committed suicide.  While at the home of the deceased, they come across a last wish and a map which leads them back to a haunted ward to confront the spooky secret of their shared past.  What follows is a by the books spookfest.

Kills

The film doesn’t worry about ending the lives of those in it, however it does apparently take issue with showing it.  While there is a murder count up around six, most of the deaths are glossed over quickly, with two of them being entirely off camera.

Ills

The film starts off promising with its first injuries and the amount of blood we get.  I was genuinely excited to see some of the red stuff splatter.  Ultimately though, much of it occurs off-screen and is weak and quick.  The foley editor also had the day off, as most of the kills take place in dead silence.  While to some this may serve to heighten the experience, to most movie goers it seems as if something has gone wrong.  Bones break with nary a snap and painful wounds are afflicted with a wound of protest.  In the damage department, though, we do get some stabbings, some broken bones, some eye gouges, and a pretty cool little bit of jaw ripping.

Lust

Absolutely nothing in the lust/sex/nudity department, though this film didn’t exactly lend itself to that.  But when you cast former porn star Traci Lords, you really should throw a dog a bone.

Learning

If nothing else, Horrorfest has helped lay down the ultimate “what you should obviously avoid” list.  Add to that entering an abandoned building, especially one that used to be a psychiatric ward.  Also, you’re probably better off not honoring a dead friends wishes, especially if it involves maps leading to spooky places.

Review

This is a tough one.  On one hand, this film is entirely disappointing with a couple of few plot holes.  On the other, it still manages to be creepy enough to be one of the better films of Horrorfest.  If you just want to watch something creepy, this by the book horror will do the trick.  It utilizes a creepy sound tack, religious imagery, and random visual scares.  Nothing new, but things that have a long history of illiciting jumps out of the audience.  The directing is competent and even borders on stylish in a few places, but the sound problems I mentioned earlier serious detract from the film.  Not much really happens in the 80 minute run time and there is little plot to speak of.  The acting is pretty good and features several notable faces, chief among them Dina Meyers (Saw, Starship Troopers) and Gabrielle Anwar (The Tudors, Burn Notice).

I had  a few problems with the films plot and while I don’t want to give it away, part of it has to do with the title itself - Crazy Eights.  This should be considered mildly spoilerish, though it won’t ruin the film.  They refer to themselves as this, despite the fact that there are six of them.  Count the deceased friend is seven.  To get to 8, you have to add the girl at the center of the mystery, even though its implied she really wasn’t that close of a friend and they barely knew her.  Not really someone you’d count in your crew.  Also, the motivations for the whole haunting are flimsy at best.  It seems as though the wrong people are made to suffer over something that really wasn’t their fault.

So at the end of the day, the film is well directed and acted and provides plenty of cookie cutter scares.  If you’re not looking for plot, just for jumps, it may be for you.  Ultimately, the poor sound design and hazy, loose plot bring it down.  Still among the better installments of the Horrorfest lineup though.

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