Plasterhead

All you have to do is go to Netflix to see just how many god-awful horror films there are that were made in the last 10 years. It seems that every loser with a video camera seems to think he's John Carpenter.

While this is no masterpiece, PLASTERHEAD still manages to create a good deal of low-key suspense in the first half, during which we rarely get a glimpse of the murderous Plasterhead. (In that, the film is very much like a lot of 1950's "monster" movies, where budgetary limitations almost dictated that the "creature" not be shown until halfway through {or later}). Since this is obviously a low-budget film, the filmmakers were wise to use this approach.

Some other reviewers of this film have commented on how bad the acting is. The "teenagers" in the film are pretty raw and unpolished in their overly-dramatic performances, but you'll see plenty worse in this genre. And there's at least one really good performance by Gerard Adimondo as the local lawman. He's easily the best element of the film and one wishes the screenwriters had developed his "back story" better because he is the most interesting character in the film. From his first few minutes on film, one can sense that he is a conscientious lawman but there is something dark about the character. All of that is conveyed in the actor's performance: Adimondo is terrific.

The film runs out of gas (and ideas) near the end, but that's not unusual for this genre. As for those "critics" who complained about the characters' accents -- Give me a break. This isn't Shakespeare!!

All in all, PLASTERHEAD is an enjoyable, low-budget film, though it's far from a genre classic.