Plasterhead
Low-budget horror has been experiencing a lull as of late; Plasterhead was one of the movies that I had high hopes for. This low-budget film is your run of the mill slasher movie, which isn’t a bad thing for fans of the genre. Plasterhead is your typical mysterious killer in the woods type with a mask made out of plaster to hide his terribly scarred face. A group of college kids get stuck in West Virginia… because A. They take a shortcut and B. They forget to fill up on gas when they have the chance. These low-rent stock characters must find out the horrible truth behind the existence of Plasterhead or else perish trying… but they’re out of gas, so they’re not going far whether they find anything out or not.
The direction by first-time director Kevin Higgins is your typical low-budget fare. None of the shots are that exciting and the film’s small budget pops up every now and then to spit in the viewer’s face. The sets are woefully sparse, and the interior of the “long-abandoned” house merely looks like someone moved the furniture out of granny’s house, one room at a time. Higgins wastes a lot of time on his pathetic excuse for dialogue and many of his shots are static and bland. Higgins’ film is a one-hour movie cut to be an hour and a half, even though it would have worked better if it was shorter. The beginning of the film is actually pretty interesting, but once Higgins tries to introduce his milquetoast characters, the film falls apart. It’s clear that he only has a general idea of what this movie should be and relies on heavy-slasher staples that are ineffectively executed.
The acting in the film is less than average with some terrible performances and casting choices. None of the actors are any good and I would be surprised to see any of these actors in anything of higher quality than a straight to DVD release. The amount of lispy guys in this film is disconcerting and the cast’s inability to pull off redneck kitsch is just plain sad. How hard is it to find some dude that can do a decent rendition of the standard backwards hick? At least there’s a nice appearance of the dreaded stunt boobies.
The special effects in the film are garbage. Plasterhead’s plaster head only looks cool in the beginning of the movie and after that it looks pretty stupid as the scars on Plasterhead’s face disappear throughout the movie whenever he has his mask on. The kills are unsatisfactory and bland. I’ve seen more creative kills watching kids play cops and robbers… but the death scenes are about the same quality.
Plasterhead is a case of a good idea gone bad. With some better writing, some actual money to put furniture in the house they use, and some ok actors, the film probably could have gotten by on its weak story. Unfortunately, none of the things I just mentioned are present and what you are left with is your typical straight to DVD horror flick with a cool name and a cool picture on the DVD case.
Final Synopsis: This is no good. Don’t rent this or watch it… it’ll put you to sleep.
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