For fans of horror flicks, this movie might be a nice little surprise if you haven't yet seen it. Jenny Wright plays a woman who finds that the pair of obscure pulp novels she has been reading are beginning to cause very real events to happen in her own life, as the crazed doctor at the center of the stories begins to enter the real world with the intention of mutilating Virginia's friends in order to replenish his own missing facial features.
The gory premise allows for some great physical horror, while the actual story is interesting enough to keep you watching for more than just the shocks. There's even some interesting stop-motion animation for one of the weirder monsters in movie history, "Jackal boy".
On the downside, the film runs out of steam after the first two thirds, delivering a disappointing final act that does not live up to everything that came before it. Specifically, the character played by Jenny Wright suddenly goes flat. She starts out really interesting and seems intelligent, but toward the end of the movie she's whimpering and starts acting really dumb. For instance, why does it take her so long to figure out that the killer will target people she knows? One scene where the madman corners Virginia in an elevator is particularly laughable because of the botched delivery of the lines. Considering how strong her early scenes are, I suspect Jenny Wright was directed to act this way, and the film suffers for it.
Still, this movie has a great look. The sets are memorable, even if they're a little unrealistic (how could Virginia afford such a great apartment if she's a book clerk? Geez!). There's a great establishing aerial view of Virginia's noir-ish neighborhood, and the acting isn't that bad (except as mentioned above). The graphic violence is also memorable, reminiscent of "Dawn of the Dead" in the way that the gore comes off as cartoonish instead of realistic. Recommended, although be prepared for the film's third-act fumble.
