Hallowed Ground

Hallowed Ground was neither a good or great movie. In my eyes, I'd say it was mediocre. I did like the stylish camera work, there are some haunting moments in the score, the acting is decent considering what they had to work with and there are a few good ideas in the mix. On the other hand, while not bottom-of-the-barrel awful, the effects do still have a rather cheap look to them, the scarecrow is alright but not as menacing as he should be as a result. The characters are clichéd and not really that engaging and the script has a rather stilted nature about it, but the biggest let down was the story, which promised much but was too derivative and dull in alternative to thrilling and atmospheric. All in all, not good and disappointing but not as bad as some have made out. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This movie is fairly predictable, nothing that you will not be able to figure out rather quickly. However, there are a good couple of kills, and the flow of the movie is very fast. The story, gal gets stranded in a town with a bizarre past of a preacher using living scarecrows to scare off actual crows. He was subsequently killed by people in the neighboring town. Our stranded lady learns this from a reporter of a tabloid paper who is doing a story on the town. Some how they become best buds in what is essentially maybe an hour worth of time, I somewhat enjoyed this flick, but then it is not without some flaws. There is a scarecrow, and lots of religious nuts and we have quite a few chase scenes. The movie is not without its many faults though as it is a cheaply made direct to DVD movie. The opening features a horrible computer animated scene of a guy in a cornfield with crows and it looks awful, I was expecting a much worse picture from that scene as I hate computer generation that is completely unnecessary. How hard is it to find a cornfield and to put skeletons on crosses in it, I would wager not to difficult. The scarecrow angle was rather good then abandoned and forgotten near the end where we have a crappy looking crow attack. Still, it passes some time and I found it on the whole somewhat entertaining. Just do not expect to much.

While decidedly overdone, and giving us an early taste of weak CGI that threatens our suspension of disbelief, the opening scene is mildly promising as a suggestion of what the narrative could be. The opening credits display a list of names that offer a world of welcome possibility, and I can't help but be mildly gleeful at finding out that composer extraordinaire Neil Acree lends his talents for this feature; even the first few themes we get to hear are quietly inspiring. Even with his involvement, though, it's very fair to enter 'Hallowed ground' with at best mixed expectations - after all, it was released direct-to-video, and had its grand premiere on... the Sci-Fi Channel.

Yet then, before 15 minutes have passed, we get an absolute treat: purposefully, abjectly over the top, and more than a little tongue-in-cheek comedic horror. The glassy-eyed stare townspeople give protagonist Liz is delightfully hammy, while Hudson Leick gives reporter Sarah the same intense, wild energy she brought to villain Callisto in 'Xena: Warrior princess' - while gushing a veritable flood of exposition within 5 minutes. Why, she even gets to deliver an outstanding pun, and inorganically speak the film's title aloud, only a few minutes later! Nick Chinlund happily chews scenery in what we see of town founder Jonas Hathaway, while one small embellishment after another greets our vision. 'Hallowed ground' actively, willfully declines any sense of subtlety, and with that it becomes a wonderful, jolly good time very quickly.

The plot is kind of light, and one or two details are perhaps not really explained, but it's plentifully sufficient in light of what this movie wants to be. Jaimie Alexander, playing it straight in the lead role, offers a nice contrast of some nuance and range relative to the deliberate bombast we get otherwise. The unbothered fun includes the appearance of Ethan Phillips, whose soft timbre is so out of place in a horror flick that it would be impossible to take 'Hallowed ground' totally seriously even if it wanted us to - I mean, just imagine if John Fiedler, long-time voice of Winnie the Pooh, appeared in a similar prominent role. Dialogue and scene writing bears a lot of familiar slasher notions, all but tropes - but they're done well such as they are. While the narrative includes ideas that could easily be played to earnest, terrifying ends - religious zealotry, a long-simmering conspiracy, coordinated movement against an innocent woman - here they are amplified to a degree that only amplifies the pomposity.

True, 'Hallowed ground' is a bit inconsistent. For all the consciously overcooked bluster that initially greets us, in the second half that aspect takes a backseat and it feels like writer-director David Benullo was aiming for more straightforward horror thrills. Then, too, we get a small scene imparting the protagonist's backstory, and it's an intended emotional beat that here just seems out of place. The computer-generated special effects are an eyesore - glimpsed in the opening scene, and regrettably far more prevalent at the climax. An early passing line of throwaway dialogue includes an utterly unnecessary transphobic slur. And, while part of a cohesive, coherent narrative, a content warning should be mentioned for themes of sexual assault.

Still, where the narrative writing falters, rather than sloppiness I think this is more a reflection of the concept just not entirely working as intended. Because by and large, I think this is actually fairly well done. There's just enough personality to most characters so they don't feel entirely flat and dull; there's some intelligence in the dialogue, and the scenario; the scene writing seems fairly tight. A bit rough at the start, overall I think Keith Duggan's cinematography is suitably rich and crisp. Blood and gore looks fine. And while Benullo's list of credits doesn't particularly bat an eye, he demonstrates some capability in arranging some nice shots. From a technical standpoint, and in the broad strokes of the writing, I don't see any major issues with this movie.

The chief fault as I see it is simply that 'Hallowed ground' doesn't have one consistent tone. It's hilarious at the outset, catching us off guard, before easing into a more serious air of horror. It's possible that transition was intentional, but either way, the shift is noticeable and comes across as a tad incongruent; to have stuck with one mood throughout would have strengthened the whole. Regardless, I began watching with very low expectations, and was surprised at how enjoyable the picture turned out to be. It's hardly essential - whatever flavor of horror film you're looking for, there are better examples, and I can only offer a soft recommendation. When all is said and done, though, I found this duly entertaining, and I'm reasonably sure that, if nothing else is true, was the intent all along. So, even if imperfect, I'd call this a success.

After she becomes stranded in a small town, a young woman (played by Jaimie Alexander of "Rest Stop") discovers her arrival there was foretold a century earlier by the town's founding preacher and that she is an integral part of his impending -- and terrifying -- rebirth. Oh, and there's a scarecrow that likes to kill people, too.

So I waited too long to write this review and the film is no longer fresh in my mind. Therefore, I cannot make very good specific criticisms. Sorry. But maybe the film isn't worth a thorough dissemination, as it really wasn't particularly good. I enjoy Jaimie Alexander, so it was nice to see her in another horror movie (are you a horror actress or a TV actress, Jaimie?) but besides that... I don't know.

Having seen both "Superstition" and "Horror Rises From the Tomb" this year, the idea of a prophecy that has an old religious fanatic coming back from the grave really wasn't a shocking new development in cinema for me. So this time it was a preacher instead of a warlock or witch... it was still a man who believes in the supernatural who had turned to killing in order to get his way with things, so there's not really a huge stretch.

What really struck me as the mistake with this film is the focus on the city of believers (not unlike "The Reaping" or any other film with a religious, isolated city) and not so much on the scarecrow that came back to kill people. I didn't quite understand the scarecrow, but I wanted to see more of him (an maybe get a better background). People with cult beliefs just don't do it for me, unless there's some really, really good explanation (which there rarely is). I'd complain about the cop being in on the whole thing, but I already made that complaint today in my review for "Lake Dead"... just stop it already! Should I complain about the gas station being in on it, too? You know, like "House of 1000 Corpses" or "Vacancy" or many others? Do all these small towns take notes from the same textbook?

Sure, you get a crucifixion. I like them, you like them... we all like seeing people nailed to the cross. Some of us like to look at this sort of thing once a week or more (I'm not one of those people). So there's blood. I don't recall any nudity, though... unfortunately. I mean, I like Jaimie Alexander with clothe on -- she's classy. But she had a friend in the film... if you're going to die anyway, why not just take your shirt off?

Like I said, I cannot make very good specific complaints. But I wasn't impressed. Everything about this film reeked off some other films. Oh, scarecrows like "Jeepers Creepers" or corn rows like... "Children of the Corn"? And I've already made numerous other references in this review. I suppose if you're going to rent this, you're going to rent this. Some of you may even be gullible enough to buy it. But I want you to know if you're going to do it, it's not going to be because of me. My copy is getting less play than Richard Simmons at the Playboy Mansion.

Most reviews make this out to be horrid. I watched it because of Jaimie Alexander and Hudson Leick. I wasn't expecting very much, especially with plot keywords like "Killer scarecrow", and it's not my particular favorite horror sub-genre.

In the end, it wasn't that bad. It was somewhat predictable, falling prey to many clichés of the genre. It had a couple twists to make it seem to break away though. Overall the acting was OK...some of the townspeople seemed a little cardboard, but the leads do a good job.

It could have done with a few less scenes of people running through cornfields, but at 83 minutes with credits, I think it needed all the time it could get. If you like Jaimie, it's a good view. While the storyline is a little generic, overall it is mostly put together well and better than some things out there.