Rating: ***
Starring: Jerry Broome, Suzannah Lawson Matalon, Bridget Megan Clark
If you've already seen the underrated Halloween sequel Halloween: Resurrection (2002), then the plot for this movie is no short of another case of "been-there-done-that". But, to be fair, the concept has potential to be a fun fright flick, so I took some consideration in giving this film credit for trying it out.
Some time ago, mountain climber Sean McIntyre suffers an altitude sickness attack and ends up hallucinating during a trip with his crew, killing one of them with an ice axe after mistaking him for a monster. He's then institutionalized and released soon after, believing to have recovered, only for him to succumb to the same madness again and, this time, massacres his entire family during one Thanksgiving before committing suicide via hanging.
Jump ahead to the present; an internet entrepreneur plans on hosting a live Halloween web broadcast with six couples staying inside a supposed haunted house overnight for a chance to win $5,000. The same house, of course, is the same one where our mad climber used to live in and murdered his entire family. One of the contestants is a practicing psychic who, through her tarot cards, saw the impending danger that's yet to happen should they proceed with the challenge but, as many horror films out there, nobody listens to her. So, it's not too surprising that the legend of Sean's ghost still roaming around turns out to be true, apparently awakened by a careless group's tomfoolery. What's worse for these hapless thespians is that Sean's still sick in the head, and he has a bag load of mountaineering tools ready to use against some pesky teens.It's not exactly a lot, but Death on Demand (2008) is a fun fright flick that provides the gore, some decent scares and a lot of nudity for the fans. The supernatural slasher elements may have taken its time to get around, waiting for almost an hour before ghost Sean finally puts his ice axe to good use again, but once it starts, the momentum never slows down and the practical effects guarantee us a generous amount of splatter to get along with its juicy killings.
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| This knife. Into your heel. |
Acting isn't gonna be in everyone's favor, though, since most of these victims are dumb frat members, their stereotyped idiocy is played a tad too well. Even our final girl's fight for survival isn't all too exciting since all she did is scream and cower up in an attic while trying to do a séance with a dead body and a doll in a desperate attempt to save what remains of them. It's a bit of a dunk into the cheese, with some very gratuitous sex scenes and frat house silliness that sort of fits well enough with the casual horror tone, giving Death on Demand (2008) at least the decency of being an option for a party night's rental.Unless you're looking for more, well, substance, Death on Demand (2008) is a slasher film good enough to be seen for the sake of having fun. If you could ignore the far-less believable acting and the fact you had to waddle through moron characters being themselves for you to get to the good stuff, then rent away!
Bodycount:
1 male seen killed, mentioned hacked on the head with ice axe
1 female beaten against the table
1 female decapitated with an ice axe
2 girls murdered offcamera
1 male hanged
1 female disemboweled with an ice axe, hacked on the head
1 female Achilles' heel cut out with buck knife, killed with an ice axe
1 male gets his head crushed with a spiked hiking boot
1 female ran through the head with a camming device
1 male hacked on the gut with an ice axe
1 male hacked to death with an ice axe
1 male gets an arm lopped off with an ice axe, hacked to death
1 female gets a grappling hook through the gut
Total: 14
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| Just to keep in touch with the film's web broadcast theme, check out this guy cosplaying as a troll from the web comic Homestuck! |
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