If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. You really wonder, what could of gone wrong with this dull, though trying film, like if, you had a perfect recipe, and your meal came out different. I mentionedtrying just then, but this one also tries your patience. I just found this one repugnant or repugnantly dull. Just check out it's covers, the CBS Fox one I had. Though I know repugnantly isn't a word, but cut me a break, which you'll be saying while watching this. Poor sorry soul, Hurst who was brainwashed into killing his parents, by evil controller/scientist, Day (the best thing about this film, besides sexy Umbers- I can still see that white low cut top, with an arm hung around boyfriend, Hurst) and ending up in a looney ward, vows revenge, returning to the scene of the crime to take down Day. This film won't make your day. What, am I being too harsh or picking on this film too much? This just doesn't work. It's just a bland, repellent, boring, and trying view. Don't worry, a couple of other films in the years to follow, had the same effect on me, but I won't movie drop. You do kind of get caught up in Hurst's tortured self, and you do feel empathy for the lad. The acting from the youngsters, is average, nothing to write home about, like the movie. It kinds of reminds you, of something Peter Jackson would do, this one being made a few years before his pics. Though only seeing the trailer, for that movie, The Ugly, also made in Kiwi land, 12 years, later I kind of relate it to The Ugly, much better movie fare of course. Also titled Death Warmed Over. But really, who gives a s..t. A 'Death movie has never been so cruel. This one is just terrible. So that's it, for DWU. Sorry.

It was an odd movie, and admittedly - the first two or three times I tried to watch some parts, I was gravely confused at... what was going on. Now that I understand what is going on a little better, I really like the idea... and I like the style the movie had, it just felt cozy.As for Spider, you were the best character in the whole movie in my sincere opinion.It takes a certain pallet, but it was really kind of an awesome style, and I admire that in a movie... it added to the overall surreal effect, like the whole world was kind of distorted. The irony is that the world IS distorted in both the movie and reality, lol.The style isn't for everyone, but I liked it! It was really quite gruesome and visceral at times, which was pretty well blended with the weird, dream-like subject matter. Like you're on the edge of sanity - again, more irony!It speaks a language that only few can understand, I suppose one could say. All in all though, I really liked it - not exactly your stereotypical b-movie about monsters, which was essentially what I was expecting.

This film was featured in a collection of 50 horror films, that most likely are in the public domain. I had never heard or seen this one before, so it was the third film I viewed. As I watched it, I couldn't help think to myself that this film is almost good. It has a nice idea, the acting is not bad and the settings are good too. Unfortunately, the editing is utterly loathsome, the story has huge gaping holes in it and they did not seem to know quite how to end the film. The bad outweighs the good and thus my score of 4. It is almost a shame, because I did think they had something going, but the editor was most likely Edward Scissorhands and he went to town on the film. Someone frantically tried gluing it back together, but just was not up to the task.The plot has a doctor who wishes to perform experiments to prolong life. A doctor opposes this idea, so the one doctor hypnotizes the son the doctor who is opposed and makes him kill not only his father, but also his mother. The son gets locked away and the doctor is now free to perform his bizarre experiments on an island. Years later, the son is let out of the mental institution and he and three friends go to the island so the son can exact his revenge upon the doctor. Strange people reside on this island as the friends encounter some strange people on the ferry going to it. Well, seems something is happening to those who have received the life prolonging procedure. Soon general mayhem ensues as the young man will stop at nothing to get to the doctor, though honestly the guy could have easily gotten to the doctor upon his arrival as he saw him going into a store.The problems with this movie is that it is hard to figure out what is going on at times, whether it is a bunch of shots sloppily edited in the dark or huge chunks of logic missing from the story. I was completely baffled if the man looking for revenge had told his friends that he was going for revenge. The man's girlfriend seemed to know, but I was not sure about the other couple. They go into some tunnels, but I have no idea why. Once again, getting to the doctor did not seem to require them doing this. Just a bit to jumbled, then a final showdown seems to be brewing between the son and this villain named Spider, but instead of showing this, they cut away to the son and his girlfriend driving away.The film almost had something, I enjoyed the idea behind the story. The film just lacked execution in certain areas. Not acting, the acting was pretty good for a low budget horror film. I really enjoyed the character named Spider, which is probably why I really did not enjoy that a final showdown was omitted. I was also kind of rooting for Spider at the end, because the son looking for revenge had done so much to put his friends into harm's way. Also, son and his friend kind of started the whole mess with Spider and his buddy anyway. So, while it was not a good horror film, it almost was.

These revenge, gore-fest movies are all a little the same. It starts with no real motivation for the initial actions. The mad scientist is just mad. Still, he seems to have plenty of money for his sick research. What is his product? A bunch of zombie characters. Do we really need some of these? Anyway, the hero(?) drags his pals into his effort to avenge his father and mother's murders (actually, he committed them under the doctor's influence). Then there's the agony and the pain that goes on and on and on. People are dismembered, stabbed, burned, one after the other. I don't get the attraction. Why do audiences want so much of this? In the end, we're left wondering about a lot of things. There are no real answers. Maybe it's just obsession. Who knows.