User reviews

First, I'd like to say that I'm grading this movie on a curve. It's not that great, and parts are downright amateurish (whoever was in charge of continuity should be smacked in the back of the head), but it's not all that bad and, for what it is, micro budget splatter horror, it's kind of entertaining.

I was really looking forward to this movie because of horror legends Bill Moseley (Otis Driftwood, Chop-Top) and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees, Victor Crowley), in the lead, because it had actual merchandise so I thought it might not be totally disposable, and because the idea is actually kind of cool. Two serial killers ride around in an ambulance preying on the injured, posing as paramedics. Not bad, huh?

Well, that's not really what it's about. It's about two sadistic rednecks, one a motor mouth sleaze ball (Moseley), the other a towering mute in a mask (Hodder), stalking a group of obnoxious rich kids that ran over their mother while drag racing. They vow revenge, and damn well get it in rather gory fashion.

The cast isn't embarrassingly bad, but not great either. There's too much teen melodrama and the first half really drags because of it. The second half, when Moseley and Hodder become more prevalent, is better.

The gore effects aren't bad, Moseley and Hodder are good playing exactly the kind of roles they usually play, Miley Cyrus's sister has a tiny part, there's too much music crammed into the movie from unknown indie bands, one girl briefly shows her butt, and continuity is terrible. Day and night seem like one big blur sometimes.

That's about all I have on this one. Check it out, or don't. Your call.

For some reason then "Old 37" had managed to elude me until 2017, which is a bit odd as it has both Kane Hodder and Bill Mosely on the cast list, two huge iconic horror names, and two actors that I do like in movies.

So when I got the chance to sit down and watch "Old 37", I needed no convincing and I didn't even have to read the synopsis for the movie. All that was needed was the horror label and the fact that both Hodder and Mosely were starring in this movie.

The pacing of the movie was somewhat of a mixed result. I especially liked how the movie did lay the groundwork for the setting from the very beginning. But the movie did follow the generic formula of how to make a horror movie, which was so clearly apparent, for better or worse. And it does slow down quite a lot during the first half of the movie in order to establish characters and background. That made it somewhat tedious, but then it gradually started to pick up pace again as Jon Roy (played by Kane Hodder) and Darryl (played by Bill Mosely) made a return to perform their ghastly endeavor.

The cast in "Old 37" was good, especially because most of the faces appearing on the screen were new to me. And personally I do enjoy watching new performers on the screen, as they are not already associated with other roles in other movies. And having two horror icons in one movie needs no explanation.

As for the characters in the movie, well I will say that the character gallery was quite diverse. Some characters more likable than others, naturally. However, the overall impression is that the characters could just as easily had been in any other horror movie, so there was a feeling of generic character build to some of them.

There wasn't an abundance of special effects, much less CGI effects. But I will say that the practical effects that were in the movie were quite nice, especially the special effects make-up on Brooke, when she was found, that looked quite good. It was interesting to have Jon Roy cover his lower part of the face with a mask throughout the movie, but when his face was revealed it was somewhat of an anti-climatic reveal, because his face wasn't that scary or deformed.

"Old 37" was actually quite nicely filmed and edited, which made for a very enjoyable viewing pleasure. And that also made for a very good flow to the movie.

The music score for the movie was actually quite good, and the music was quite fitting for the particular atmosphere that permeated the movie.

I must admit that I had expected more mayhem and mutilation that what director Alan Smithee managed to deliver here with the help of writers Joe Landes and Paul Travers. And the ups and downs in the pacing of the movie was also somewhat of a setback for the overall enjoyment of the movie. "Old 37" wasn't an impressive or outstanding horror movie in any way, and not even the two iconic horror figures Hodder and Mosely could salvage this one.

I had such expectations for this one. It promised me Bill Moseley as a villain, it promised me the-always-relevant twist (paramedics gone wrong) and thus both a psychological and visceral, brutal horror.

I expect many of you have the same expectations, but heed my warning - this is NOTHING compared to what it could've been.

This movie is an insult in regards to casting/acting, script/story, scenery/footage and editing/effects/gore. And no, you will not even laugh at how campy it is. You will feel insulted, and probably turn it off quite early.

I feel bad for Moseley. Poor, old man having to interact with such amateurs. You should get another agent.

2/10.

Taking an "Alan Smithee" seems petty. I can't imagine what "other" direction the director had in mind for this film. I mean, what other course could this film possibly have taken? This is boilerplate horror.

I couldn't finish this movie, which for a horror film - there's just no excuse for that. Even bad horror films hold one's attention, if only via anticipation. With this plot and this cast, they had a golden opportunity to make something genuinely cool and interesting.

I'm not hard to please. I enjoy dumb horror. This,,, just terrible. Hodder and Mosley obviously just needed the paychecks.

DO. NOT. WATCH!!!

It's all bait n' switch with some movie companies. You can hire a couple of 'name' stars and a competent film crew and churn out some garbage that desperate fans will show up for... and walk away cheated. But hey, you got some cash out of them and word won't spread fast enough to keep you from making back your investment plus a bit to see the next bit of cinematic snake oil.

Really, I thought the basic idea could have worked... and the actors were decent... and with modern technology and film schools churning out tech-competent students desperate to pay off their loans it's hard to make a bad looking movie... but geeez! Who wrote this crap?!!! It's dumb and dumbest right from the start. Does Moseley even read the scripts for the movies before he signs up?

Truly a waste of time, talent and energy.

Just caught an early screening of Old 37 at the "Scares that Care" weekend. I don't know what this Phil Armitage guy has shoved up his balloon knot, but I don't think his mommy let him get any boob time. The movie was great. Lots of blood. Lots of violence and a great story. Everything you could ask for in a slasher. It was great to see Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley together mutilating people. Great horror flick. This movie was tons of fun. Highly recommended for any true horror fans. Get this movie to kick off your Halloween movie season. You won't be disappointed, I wasn't and neither was the packed room Pre-screening. Kept my attention the whole time, the writing was refreshing and the killings were visceral. Everyone gave a standing ovation at the conclusion. Old 37 is the best independent horror film I've seen this year.

I mean THE GAMBLER from Lithuania and released in France in 2015; a movie about ambulance men betting in accidents and deceased people. Nasty topic, as NIGHT CALL on was too. If you know those two films, this very one I comment now will sound familiar to you, but treated in a total different manner, of course. This one is totally lousy, but fun; disgusting but enjoyable, expendable but interesting. I think it could have been made in a far better way for the same topic and story. It seems to hesitate between thriller, romance, horror...it looks like a kaleidoscope of several genres and directing methods which would have been put together. But when you know that Allan Smithee is an aka of several directors... Some kind of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, anyone could have made the link, but Tobe - and not Tobor - the Great was more gifted in camera work and overall directing than those producers job. Good ending though.

Says the movie is about two serial killers who pretend to be ambulance drivers, but really focuses more on some teens in a "I Know What You Did Last Summer" rip off.

They had two incredible horror legends with Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder, yet failed to utilize them in any meaningful way. Rather, the movie focuses on an annoying and shallow girl who has a way too long breast implant scene. (No joke unfortunately). More effort should've been put into the brothers' plot and backstory. Alas, we have a painful teen drama with a 'protagonist' you'll want dead from the word go.

Or "Ambulance 37". What do we have here? Another modern day tale of unbridled sadism, but one coupled with revenge. Young dudes who keep their brains inside their trousers; young floozies who are more than willing to play ball with them, reckless games bordering on suicidal stupidity played with fast cars. If you haven't seen this film, you've certainly seen one like it, perhaps the slightly later "Bodies" that also includes an ambulance.

The most merciful thing about "Old 37" is that it is reasonably short, but don't watch it if you like horror with a meaningful plot and characters with even a little depth.

Only good thing about this film was Kane Hodder. I really feel for Kane & bill for being in this awful film. 1/10

I did not like this movie. It was dull and poorly acted. The characters were shallow and made terrible, stupid decisions that no one would make. Even the character transformation in the finale doesn't make any sense and just comes off as a plot device. The writers had a good idea about having killer paramedics, but this is not the movie that exploited that idea.

Pass on this one.

I figure a film with Kane Hodder and Bill Mosely as killer paramedics should be better. Its still watchable though. A quarter of the film plays like a Lifetime teen drama.

Let me tell you - I was lucky enough to be one of the few people who got to watch OLD 37 at a screening in early 2014, and this movie is still as fresh in my mind as if I saw it yesterday. The blood, the gore, the screams - it's all so well crafted that you leave the theater thinking what you saw was not a movie, but was something real right in front of you. The movie was not only well- written, but was filmed beautifully and edited with precision. I would highly recommend watching this if you are a horror fan. This film does not disappoint.

Just be warned, you will not want to dial 911 after watching...I can honestly say that I get shivers every time I hear an ambulance's sirens.

After a string of disappearances around town, a group of friends find that the events are committed by a pair of psychotic brothers posing as paramedics intercepting emergency calls to kidnap and torture victims and forcing them to stop their rampage.

This here was decent enough and had some good parts. What really works nicely here is the fact that there's some rather fun times to be had here from the way this one goes about delivering the torturing and tormenting that the two guys dole out, providing a great amount of bloodshed. The opening attacks on the different travelers, from the father's assault on the girl to their present- day ambush on the other couple and finally appearing to the high- school kids manages to really get quite enjoyable with the different dismembering and torturing done on the victims while getting this one set-up quite nicely Several other rather fun stalking scenes are found throughout here, from the stalking of the couple in the car out in the woods or the rather creepy attack on the lone victim in the impound lot, though the fun really comes from the finale where there's plenty of highly enjoyable stalking and chasing done throughout here, from the confrontation in the woods where they get abducted into the ambulance and the great stalking through the darkened impound lot, the brawling with the family in the shack and finally the big finish which gets some nice action and gore involved as well. These here are the film's best parts. Still, beyond these issues there's quite a few problems to be found here. There's not a whole lot that's of any real interest here for the majority of the film, really dragging the pace out in the first half. The storyline about the teens getting ready for the party aware of the different accidents afflicting their classmates and the utterly banal social hierarchy involving everyone there which manages to include the cliché story about their secret back-story and the mean girl structure that involves everyone out trying to outwit each other in order to better themselves, and none of this is all that clever, original or enjoyable in the slightest. It just makes the film quite bland and boring while also highlighting the other flaw in that the brothers don't really have a whole lot to do here. By forcing all that into the film, they tend to take a backseat and show up for a few brief scenes which are quite enjoyable somewhat but don't really generate the kind of interest they really should seeing these hulking behemoths on-screen which is somewhat frustrating. Their back-story isn't all that enjoyable anyway and really tends to come off as so cliché and expected it's all going to be guessed without much difficulty and really brings down it's effectiveness. Likewise, the other small flaw here is the finale which features the turn for no reason here other than giving the heroine a chance to escape out of the situation as it makes no sense why that would occur or the motive behind it. Otherwise, this one wasn't that bad.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and strong themes of child abuse.

Very disappointing and boring. I have seen cheaper made films that have been so much better. Gory yes but just trying to copy bits and pieces from A list Horror movies. Waste of time.

It might be scarier if anyone knew what an Old 37 was.

Think of the most convoluted, confusing and frankly, boring plot of the worst of the Saw series and you'll have yourself your own Old 37 including all the same Saw-gore and bad acting you can tolerate. Mercifully, it's not the same plot, but all of the outer edges are the same despite having such a dull blade to begin with.

I guess the main plot is SUPPOSED to be about two evil Tucker & Dales who use an ambulance to prey on innocent victim victims...of car crashes, but is turned into some not-so-teen drama straight outta I Know What You Did Last Summer. Actually, make that: it's more like the parody of that movie from within Scary Movie.

In truth, there are about 28 flashbacks making up a good half of the runtime from both the killers driving the Old 37 (the ambulance's name, I believe, who knows?) and "teen's" POV and those made my mind wander so much, I have no real idea what this mess is about.

But, hey, when is it NOT great to have horror screen legends: Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder in front of the camera and very nice gore graphics? Also, no-spoilers, but I LOVED the very end. To be honest, it didn't fit the scene before, but it still was a pretty good final shot. (And the scene before, I totally got the reference, Mr. Hodder. I sure did.)

But, no amount of a Masked Hodder, a Bored Bill, gore and a great finale will save this all-over-the-place horror film. I didn't even get to the weird mother/daughter relationship.

At least, I think they were mother and daughter. They really looked like a handful of years apart in age. I'm so confused.

***

Final thoughts: Maybe this is just past my generation. I am an Old 46-year-old, myself.

I had the pleasure of an early screening at HorrorHound in Ohio where Kane Hodder introduced the film. He said that his 18 year old son did an interview for a documentary recently and said OLD 37 was his favorite movie his Dad (Kane) ever made. That is some high praise before a screening.

Kane also went on to praise the team he worked with and talked about his time working with Bill Moseley.

What an honor!

Then we got to watch it and it delivered, a lot. I got there early and had a chair and the room fit about 500 people and it was full. People were sitting on the floor to watch this movie. Everyone cheered at the end but I wont spoil anything.

This film was awesome. Really great kills but mostly a great story. Not something you see in horror everyday. It was also shot really pretty. A step above your average horror. I was able to bring my teenage daughter with me and she really liked it as well. We bought t-shirts and Kane signed them!

We cannot wait to get the DVD. Already pre ordered!