In the first three minutes of Slaughter, a young woman, who's trussed up, is
dragged through a darkened field to a dock, where her
feet are secured by a strand of rope to a cinder block, and then she’s
shoved over the side, into the deep waters of a lake. My first thought upon
seeing this opening scene was that the makers of Slaughter were big fans of
Dead In 3 Days, the innovative Austrian horror/stalker
film whose villain has the same M.O. in dispatching his victims. But as
Slaughter then flashes back to the events that lead up to this dark moment, it
winds up being an extremely well-made horror thriller in its own right. Don't
let the opening scene misguide you into thinking that this is just another cookie
cutter slasher film.
Amy Shiels is superb as as Faith, a sensitive young woman who’s on the run
from an abusive ex-boyfriend. With the help of a close friend, she sets up a new
life in an apartment somewhere in the city--with only her close friend knowing
where she’s presently living. As Faith struggles to carry on with her life, she
meets another young woman in a bar one night who looks like she’s being hassled
by a guy. Feeling sorry for the woman--whose name is Lola (and well played by
Lucy Holt)--Faith rescues her from the man. A grateful Lola invites Faith to her
family farm. And when Faith’s psycho ex-boyfriend gets a lead on where she is,
Faith flees to Lola’s farm, becoming her roommate.
Slaughter is very well thought out, with the
filmmakers slowly building up the tension to the point where Faith gets tossed
into the lake. While the first two thirds of Slaughter plays like a great
thriller, the final half hour explodes into a gory horror film--with the payoff
still making sense, story wise. Amy Shiels and Lucy Holt both do a fabulous job
of carrying the movie on their slender shoulders, and the filmmakers also do a
great job--not only in just making the film--but also in hiding the fact that it
was actually shot in Hungary. The gore, when it comes, is grisly...especially
an intense scene in the slaughterhouse, which made even me cringe. Slaughter
well earns its R rating.
There’s a great half hour long making of documentary on the disc (just don't watch
the documentary until after you've seen the film, as it gives away plot twists),
as well as a commentary. There’s also an hour long segment which features the
highlights of an online short film contest that’s also a lot of fun to watch.
Many of these amateur films show more verve and talent than some of the
professional Hollywood horror flicks I’ve seen recently. But Slaughter is the
real reason to buy this DVD. As part of the third annual After Dark Horrorfest,
it’s easily one of the stand outs of this film festival, and a testament to the
malingering effects of abuse.
--SF
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