Absolutely Brilliant!

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

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

So says one part of the closing credits for AXED. If you read carefully, you will note that this disclaimer does NOT say one way or the other if any fully functioning brains were harmed making the movie, let alone later as the paying public began to watch this sorry excuse for a horror flick. I mean, how can anyone root for the chick to take her top off, when such an occurrence would be tantamount to incest? Not that the cringe-inducing family sex issue is totally avoided here, as the daughter penetrates her dad with chortles of orgiastic ecstasy (by means of a kitchen knife to the belly), just because he killed her boyfriend (or, maybe it's because he killed her mom and her mom's lover?). At any rate, this British offering is SO low-budget it begins to run out of potential victims about halfway through, necessitating the offing of some characters two or three times each. Jonathan Hansler as down-sized (by wife's lover) dad Kurt Wendell is more convincing in psycho mode than loving dad mood. Plus, the opening snippets of radio news readers announcing world-wide financial Armageddon is mere clutter, as it has nothing to do with the actual plot (contradicting it, if anything). All in all, the title is about the only thing clever about this movie. SPOILER: Seemingly working cell phones are boiled, axed, and stomped on throughout this film--prompting the disclaimer--but even the hot daughter does NOT have an iPhone!

This is a low budget that's for sure, you can easily spot it on the way it was filmed and the sound that isn't always that good, especially the dubbed sound. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it even as it never became scary or gory. You just want to know how it is going to end.A very strict father, Kurt Wendell (Jonathan Hansler) can't take it anymore. His wife is having an affair with his boss and he's fired. Not only that, his daughter walks around like a whore and his son looks like a fagot. The day he's fired he goes berserk. But not showing it he takes his family to the countryside for a nice day with dad. From there the horror comes in.The red stuff is available but most of the stabbing or axing is done off-screen. There's a lot of talking going on from dad explaining what he knows about the affair. And a lot of talking with his children. But somehow you want to know who survives and who will die. There's of course a lot of drama in it. The acting did add this flick to a higher level, Jonathan Hansler was believable. But I can understand that some will not like this flick because it's a bit low on the horror. Ideal for a starter.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

I am literally shocked at how low a rating this film has. Before I go on I want to mention that I actually really enjoyed this as a horror fan who has seen so much low budget crap lately. No film makers seem to know how use a low budget and still make a good solid movie like John Carpenter used to or people of his calibre. The film isn't perfect, some of it is laughable but that's par for the course when it comes to horror. The film is reminiscent of The Shining in some ways as we watch a man lose his mind and torture his own family. The performances in the film were first rate...I was extremely impressed with this small and very effective cast. The setting was brilliant, creepy and isolated and setting the tone. Perhaps the only complaint (but it is a pretty big complaint) is that you really have to suspend belief and ignore some massive plot holes to find it enjoyable. I know that is absolutely the cast with 99.9% (perhaps 100%) of horror films but I just felt like the script could have paved over those plot holes just a little bit better. Following the climax of the film into the last scenes it definitely treads on some cheesy moments but its so much fun and there is enough tension to keep it plugging along. This, in my opinion, was a solid slasher flick with some very different twists.Jonathan Hansler is outstanding as Kurt Wendell who loses his job and literally spirals out of control until he is a sputtering, raving mad lunatic torturing his own family. His emotional spiral is fast but significant and really well done on his part. His wide eyed, creepy maniac is right up there with any great horror performance. Andrea Gordon is decent as his wife. She shows some great chops in the intense scenes during the climax and her chemistry with Hansler and the two actors playing her children is very good. Christopher Rithin is also very good as the meek and bullied son. He perhaps has the biggest range as a character next to Hansler but at the same time he also feeds a couple of the more cheesy moments in the film. He is still very good in his part. Nicola Posener plays the daughter and does so decently well. She is, in some ways, the weakest member of the cast if not just for the reason that her character has the least range from beginning to end. Her and Rithin have really great chemistry as brother and sister at odds and then working together to survive. In all honesty, this might be one of the strongest low budget casts in a horror flick I have ever seen.It appears as though director and writer Ryan Lee Driscoll has a history in documentaries so this would be his first real foray into fictional film making and horror. I think he shows some incredible talent behind the camera and with the script. It isn't often you can find a unique horror film like this let alone one shot on a low budget that is entertaining and fun to watch. The plot holes that kept nagging at me were how long his family takes before actually trying to get away. I mean he is a middle aged, average shape joe and yet they don't even try to run or overpower him even after finding someone bound and gagged and cut up in their attic. He seems to gain on them no matter how badly hurt he is and no matter how fast they run. Its sort of typical horror movie plot holes but it still bothered me to some extent. I think some slight editing to the screenplay could have perhaps filled in some of these oversights. Regardless, if you like low budget horror than I think this one will really surprise you. For what it is and for what it was made for this one is a keeper!! Far from perfect and yet satisfying and well made. 7.5/10

This film was not bad, it had an okay storyline and some good old fashioned blood spilling. The plot, although not too original, moves along quite good and the characters are actually kind of likable. It is a low budget movie which does well compared to some higher budget films. I did get in to this movie as it kept me interested the whole way through, but it wasn't ground breaking or edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff. As I said, I did like as it was one of the better lower budget films around, but it had moments of lackluster acting which did let it down a bit. They had the right idea for a great movie here but they let it down in the delivery. But overall I give it a 6 out of 10.