Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
A good horror flick is hard to come by nowadays; whether plagued with reboots, remakes, or just bad storytelling, a lot of the genre is saturated with low-brow content. Luckily, however, there are the gems that emerge every few months, and one of best scare-fests of the last year, The Void, is now available to stream on Netflix.
Directed and written by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie (a duo with backgrounds in art direction and effects make-up), The Void kicks off one night as a police officer named Carter (Aaron Poole) brings a patient into an understaffed hospital and a series of bizarre, violent occurrences ensue as they find themselves cornered by a group of strange hooded figures. While Carter tries to lead this group of misfits to safety, it turns out that there might be something much more sinister behind these events than any of them ever imagined.
I don’t want to give too much away, because the progression of the flick is just too good to spoil, but horror lovers, take heed: there are enough gross-outs, jump scares (but not lazy ones!) and instances of gory body horror to make your demented little heart sing. The performances are all raw and believable, the effects are practical and realistic, and the development of suspense in each scene is something rarely encountered in flicks like this nowadays.
Whether you want something fresh or you’re yearning for a nod to things past, you’re bound to fall into this void. Largely a love letter to the creature features and gruesome body horror of John Carpenter from the 1980s, Kostanski and Gillespie perfectly demonstrate their understanding of (and love for) the classic trademarks genre as a whole while still managing to put their own spin on it.
The Void is definitely not for the faint of heart (or stomach), but if you can compromise by watching through your fingers at the ickiest of moments, your enjoyment is almost guaranteed. So what are you waiting for? Cozy up (preferably with a companion) and get ready for this heart-racing, bone-chilling, complete horror show of a movie. You have no excuse not to.
