Stag Night (2008)
Directed by: Peter A. Dowling
Written by: Peter A. Dowling
Starring: Breckin Meyer, Kip Pardue, Vinessa Shaw
STAG NIGHT
Fans of Wrong Turn rejoice, the 4th instalment is out, in the disguise of this little straight to DVD offer titled Stag Night, that as those inbred bastards take residents underneath an underground tube station. To make sure we know this, a gang of men out on…..what was it again…..oh yes, a stag night, stumble on their little home and spend the rest of the early morning, trying to avoid becoming their next meat.
Horror fans will know what is on offer here….another variety of 80’s cult Deathline and the more recent Creep, and while this offers nothing new to the well used formula, its still a decent watch for all those who like their cheap weekend horror.
Its Mikes (Wizard of Gore’s Kip Pardue) last days has a bachelor, and while he has doubts of his upcoming marriage, his most pressing concern is suffering the remaining few hours of the night has his troublesome brother Tony (Breckin Meyer-Roadtrip) is up to his usual tricks and having just been kicked out of a strip club, they decide to go to another place on the other side of town. Taking the tube, they come across two strippers from the club, and while Tony again acts the fool, they and the two women get off the train, only to realise they have got off on the wrong platform, and before they realise their mistake, the train pulls off, leaving them under the vast underground which platform has been abandoned since the early 70’s.
Before you can cry…The Underground Have Eyes, a family with a vast of tools, who live in the shadows start to target them, and has they hope to find a way out…the death count starts to rise…….
What is desperately needed in this film is some freshness and originality but the strong acting makes you feel sympathy for the characters plight, and what it lacks in script it makes up with for gore death scenes that are of the highest order, especially for such a limited budget. Yes there are some moments that will have you shake your head in disbelief, the script giving massive cause of “yeah right” at times, highlighted by the daft moment when the young inbred starts to whack the tube rails and the gang stand around wondering what he is doing, until five minutes later, the monkey starts to turn in the brain, and you hear the words “he is sending a message through the tracks!” yes mate, and while its taking you lot to come up with that, those murderous bastards have caught up with you…
But that is me picking holes, because there is a lot to enjoy. The film carries a huge amount of tension and some people die who you least expect. Also first time director Peter A.Dowling is very John Carpenter, some tracking shots call the horror legend style, and the score is very much the great man, that brings back memories of The Fog and Halloween. Dowling spoils some of his good work, with some moments of poor shaky moments that cause the viewer to wonder what the heck is going on in front of you, but for most of the short running time, it suggests that Dowling is one to look out for.
The final twist shock, wont surprise anyone, but its a film that does wonders to fill your horror thirst on a weekend…..
OVERALL: Nothing new, but fans of Creep and Wrong Turn will lap up what is on offer. Some great set pieces and a considerable amount of tension papers over the many moments of stupidity that would engulf many other films……otherwise a perfect after pub horror…..
[pt-filmtitle]Stag Night[/pt-filmtitle]
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