Penny Dreadful

Horror happens always at night, in abandoned places, when no one is around to help, to see, to witness. Horror happens to only a few of us, the ones who are innocent already, the ones who are weak, the ones who are helpless. It seems that evil is a coward-entity, chickens out on places with many people and strong people and real adversaries. Evil is simply afraid, mushy, and has no integrity whatsoever. May that be how it is, Penny Dreadful is a film where this happens exactly by the book. By this I don't mean to put the film down. In the contrary. PD is an awesome story about to helpless women caught in the darkness, alone, and exposed to evil, or en evil entity. I had a great time watching this film and it scared the crap out of me. I love Mimi Rogers and felt the whole cast was doing a great job. I recommend this film to anyone and hopefully it will come out on DVD and I'll get me a copy of it. Go see it, it is scary!

Penny Deerborn (Rachel Miner) and her therapist, Orianna Volkes (Mimi Rogers) take a trip to help Penny overcome her fear of cars. But as with any horror film, things go wrong and the car they are traveling in ends up becoming a prison for Penny (wedged between two trees). Oh, and there's also a serial killer loose in the woods.

What is going to be the real deal-maker (or breaker) for this film is if the audience can relate to Penny's fear of cars. Roughly an hour of the film has her in the car by herself being scared. Not much of a plot, or much dialog -- just the actress and her expressions of fear. Many viewers will find this intensely boring. I, however, could relate quite well with this (as someone with anxiety, I often experience attacks in cars and can put myself in her shoes -- if I had been Penny, I would have been much less brave).

Rachel Miner deserves full credit for being amazing. I was not really familiar with her before this, though her name was somewhat known. She seems to have a very solid range, if this movie is any example -- she was asked to carry a film all on her own with no characters to talk to. And in my opinion, she did it.

Mimi Rogers (the former Mrs. Tom Cruise) also plays a unique role. As a corpse. I think that deserves some credit, too, as even acting dead must take some skills -- never really moving or breathing on camera. Definitely a new direction for Rogers.

Secondary characters were nice, if for no other reason than to round out the film... and I loved the visuals... the colors of the dark, snowy mountains. I don't know much about cameras, but I like the way the light was filtered to give it this dark, lonely look. Very good move.

I say check this one out. It may not be for you -- it might bore you to tears. So if you think you're one of those, don't watch it late at night when you're about to take a nap. If you have any sort of anxiety or claustrophobia, I think you'll get a lot more out of this one. And as long as everyone just ignores how conveniently coincidental the whole plot is, we'll be fine.

Now, this had all the elements of good horror - suspense, screams, breasts, and slashing. Not too bad for a film that takes place in the woods at night.

Penny (Rachel Miner) is traveling with her therapist (Mimi Rogers) to overcome her fear of cars after an auto accident as a child. Now, everyone knows not to pick up hitchhikers, and you should especially know not to take them into the woods, but hey, there wouldn't be a movie if they did the smart thing.

She, with a fear of cars, ends up stuck in a car with her dead therapist, and thus begins a night of horror. Dead bodies are piling up all over as she screams to get out.

I won't spoil it except to say that I really liked the ending.

And, I sure want to see some more of Tammy Filor.

This is the first time I summarized a movie. I thought that this may have gone under the radar and I would be the first. Still, the movie made enough of an impression so that I would write a review anyway.

I think the better horror movies are those that are closer to reality and Penny Dreadful is much more real than most in the genre. I really liked the tension and suspense and cat-and-mouse game. I ran into this on the Sci-Fi channel and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the run-of-the-mill shock schlock. I think the writer(s) should be applauded for a pretty original script rather than the pure gore we receive so much today. If you're a horror fan, I'm sure this would make your top 50 list, if not 40.

Penny Dreadful is not a great horror film, I've seen better. But what it is is an amazingly brilliant psychological thriller , Penny dreadful is a well made and well acted horror film that will satisfy any horror lovers urge for a good time. After surviving a horrible automobile accident that killed both her parents Penny Dearborn has an unstable and perpetual fear of cars, her therapists suggest that they confront her fear head on. So they take a road trip to cure Penny's fear, but it has dangerous and disastrous results when they pick up a psychotic hitchhiker. Penny Dreadful is a dark and gritty psychological thriller that takes you into the mind and soul of a frightened and traumatized young girl and her fight to say alive. This film explore three main themes, 1. terror and what it can do to you if you let it control you. 2: What certain events in your life can do to change who you are and what you are. 3: What the darkness of a quiet woods can do to turn your worst fears into a reality. Penny Dreadful is a psychological thriller that is right up there with the best and will continue to shock and scare you for a long time to come.