Shrieker

The creature? Yeah, it and the movie it stars in. Hell would seem infinitely more frightening if the damned were forced to watch this for all eternity. Six college students shack up in a condemned hospital to save money and end up victims of an ancient monster who must claim five victims before it returns to "the shadowy world from which it came!" Other than having major logic and coherence problems (plus the fact it appears to be unfinished), this disaster is terribly acted, written, edited (by J.R. Bookwalter) and directed, and the make-up FX are almost nonexistent. It's also significantly shorter than it claims (at only 80 minutes), but I'm not complaining. It's the worst movie I've seen from executive producer Charles Band's Full Moon productions and boy is that BAD!

To note, I almost didn't bother with a review, but this has gotten inexplicably good reviews on here and I figured a varying opinion was in order. Proceed with caution!

I have to say, not the greatest horror film out there. However, well worth a viewing if only to see Jamie Gannon in his first horror film. That boy is gonna be a big star. Not only is he extremely talented (working with a completely implausible script and a monster that looks like it was made out of paper mache), but he has to be the hottest young actor out there - yum!!! His second horror film (Final Stab, also a Full Moon picture) is infinetly better and well worth renting. He is certainly an actor whose career I will be sure to follow.

This movie (for me) is about Jenya Lano starting out her career. The rest is crap, as one would expect from a movie with virtually no budget to speak of. The poor actors probably received meal vouchers as payment.

I regret to have watched the movie for any other reason than just seeing Jenya Lano. It's like "Stealing Candy" from a baby. Understand what I mean ? Catch my drift ?

I wish her every success in her career in the future. She's got what it takes. The other characters (actors) are all forgettable. As a whole they will not get very far, but who cares. That's the way life goes. Some make it, some don't. All in the name of survival of the fittest, and the movie industry is a prime example.

The best thing about Shrieker is the dialogue. Like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, this movie is cognizant of the conventions of this type of horror movie and manages to come up with a few good lines and scenes that play on those conventions. Unfortunately, Shrieker is just boring. The plot is your basic Ten Little Indians whodunnit with a monster controlled by one of the suspects/victims. You know from the beginning that each of the characters will get bumped off until only the hero(ine) is left to defeat the evil. And this is exactly what happens. Absolutely no surprises and no tension. Production values and acting were ok, but I had no motivation to watch to the end (although I did) because I already knew how the end scene would play out. The ending did surprise me a bit, because it managed to fizzle out, literally, instead of throwing out a bucket of special effects. Maybe the special effects budget had been spent up by the end.

Three couples take up residence in an abandoned hospital, only to find themselves stalked by the hideous demon of the title.

SHRIEKER is another goofy, yet fun movie from the golden age of Full Moon Productions. The monster isn't bad, though it's certainly not frightening either. Thankfully, it's screen time is scant.

The characters are generic, but passable monster fodder. As Full Moon movies go, this one is more "serious" than others of its era, and at only 72 minutes it flies right by!

If you enjoy movies about demons, black magic, or bickering squatters, then this should make your night...