DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 90 minutes, outtakes, featurette, threatical trailer, previews

VIDEO: 1.85:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO: Dutch 5.1, 2.0 Dolby Surround, 5.1 DTS

Subtitles: English, Spanish

STUDIO: Tartan Video/ Lagestee Film BV/ SL8N8 Film CV

RELEASE DATE: 4-10-2007

SLAUGHTER NIGHT (SL8N8) is a roller coaster ride. It starts out with a little speed to slow down before another jolt followed by a slower pace before the action ramps up again. SL8N8 isn't the worst slasher film, but it is an entertaining ride despite the few moments where I was yelling at the screen for the characters to do something different. Maybe I miss the point and that what slasher films are supposed to be like. The film starts in the 1850s with the police closing in on Andries Martiens, a man who has killed at least seven kids in attempts to intact a supernatural pact. He gets caught and is offered an alternative to the death penalty as a fireman. Firemen in Belgium would go down into mines to ignite methane. If they survived, their death sentence would be commuted. None of them survived and the death penalty was abolished in 1860. Flash forward to the presnt where a young college student, Kristel, is getting a ride home from her Dad when a truck hits his car and he dies in the explosion. Kristel starts to see things and she decides to take a trip to a closed gold mine to retreive her father's final manuscript about Andries Martiens. Her friends come along for the trip to southern Limburg and they decide to take the tour of the mine for what turns into a very deadly night as the ghost of Anries Martiens is out to claim more victims.

Does SL8N8 share many things with other horror films? Yes. You have the annoying friend or two, the bitchy friend, the black chick, and the old miner with a sense of humor. It is one hell of an entertaining ride. Too bad the first person to buy it didn't stick around longer. You don't have lots of room for character development, but it is sure fun to see how and where people get killed within the mine. Also how do you stopa ghost who will possess the next person after you knock off the head of the body Martiens is in? Fun indeed. A thrill ride that they should have left more room for a possible sequel in the end even if there probably won't be one.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The original theatrical trailer is included along with a three minute outtakes reel consisting of flubbed lines, screwed up takes, and the clapper being left in the frame. THE MAKING OF SLAUGHTER NIGHT is a 25 minute featurette. It gets down into the making of the film (with interviews with cast and crew) and it isn't an excercise in promo fluff. The mine set they created in the studio is impressive and you get to see how they made fake severed heads.

FINAL ANALYSIS: SL8N8 is a good horror movie for a Friday night rental (or blind buy for fans of foreign horror) or any night you're looking for a gory film where people get offed one by one.

this review is (c)4-10-2007 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com