The Void

In the realm of undemanding, straightforward horror B-movies, The Void is way ahead of the competition of recent years. It has a bit of Lovecraft, a bit of Barker, and a bit of Carpenter. The fast tempo starts right at the beginning, and by the end, there’s not a single quiet moment; basically, there’s always something revolting, terrible or atmospheric going on. That the mythology is bollocks? Yeah, sure, but thanks to the joy I got from the brilliant practical effects, I don’t care. On the other hand, I was expecting a bigger payload of gore and monsters, but they are somewhat economical with it, and for most of the run, the creators play more through the atmosphere (which for me is a plus!). When a monster does show up, it’s of course lean. (03/01/2017)

With this year's drought so far, we have an excellent anticipated piece. The Void has several plus points. It is set in a hospital, which always had, has and will have its own atmosphere, because as one of the actresses says, according to statistics, most people die there. The pace is fast and it gets going more or less from the start, which is also a very welcome thing. The characters confined to the hospital don't all work together, which again creates an uncomfortable stuffiness in the air. The best thing, however, is the honest make-up work and the mechanical effects, which make you reminisce about the 80s, and surprisingly it doesn't sound at all awkward on the contrary! The monsters have pizzazz, they are scary and there is no shortage of gore either. The downside is that they mostly appear in the dark, so they are rarely seen in their full glory, but what the hell, horror movies like this are not made anymore and should be appreciated. Story 6/10, Atmosphere 8/10, Gore 7/10, Visuals 7/10, Action 7/10, Suspense 7/10, Humour 0/10. Entertainment 7/10, Scares 4/10. (04/12/2017)

For me, The Void is an old-school horror film, a horror film that doesn't play at being anything, even if the script tries to do a little more than simply massacre the characters. There's a little more depth, but it doesn't have to upset you in any way, and it’s that little something extra that you might not expect. In fact, you might not enjoy it. Even so, I found The Void to be an accomplished film that appears bland at first glance. (07/11/2018)