‘The Void’ Channels ‘Hellraiser’, ‘The Thing’, and ‘Splinter’ with Great Success (Review)

A colleague of mine said to me, “Matt, this movie is like Phantasm.” I responded favorably, and then faltered when he dropped this bombshell on me. “Not grave robbing Tall Man Phantasm, like 100 different ideas in one movie, Phantasm.”

I was scared.

He was right.

The story is an absolute trip. It’s all over the place, and while it does manage to pull itself together fairly well during the final half hour, the build up to that will have you shaking your head in bewilderment. Everything comes alive in this movie, and it makes for bone chilling entertainment.

A sudden wave of beautifully graphic special effects are an absolute blast to see. The monster design, what we see of it (a lot of blood and guts don’t make it in front of the camera) is sublime, at times harkening back John Carpenter’s The Thing and other times, specifically aggressive times, it’s almost got a Splinter look to it, which is mighty appropriate giving the early setting of this film and the single location of Splinter.

And none of those statements are meant to be demeaning to anyone, at all. It’s simply to illuminate a few awesome movies with similar elements. Believe me, Splinter and The Void are both excellent pieces of work.

What’s interesting about The Void is that it travels an expansive length of the emotional spectrum. Although it starts slow, it suddenly warms up and then pounds the pedal to the metal at all times. Threats and otherworldly things seem to surface with frequency, each time representing a new challenge. These sequences, however build just slightly from one shot to the next, which prevents the repetitive booby trap that so many other action oriented pictures fall into.

You want some awesome crazy cult activity? How about some top notch special effects and makeup work? The acting is mighty fine too, to be honest. What the hell, you want this movie. Believe it.

Rating: 4/5