The Gravedancers

...till I'm sure that you're dead!(B.Dylan) Profanations have become frequent nowadays and it is a burning subject which deserved a responsible writer and a reliable director.

The movie fails twice: mediocre story,poor acting,awful directing relying on horrible (and non-scary) special effects.The movie hits rock bottom when they hire ghost busters (from a famous university of course),one of them is the unfortunate Tcheky Karyo in what is perhaps the worst part of his career;he is abetted by a bubble head assistant (collaborator,she says)."The night of the living dead" has still no contenders in this field.

Well, this film is often regarded as one of the better entries in the 'Eight Films to Die For' sets; but I wasn't very impressed with it. Sure, it has a handful of good points; but unfortunately the film is not particularly original or interesting and that ultimately condemns it. The film does feature a starring role for Dominic Purcell; who apparently is a star of a TV program called Prison Break, which I've never watched. So I guess that a lot of Prison Break fans have given this film a high rating. Anyway, the plot focuses on three people that used to be friends and have reunited for the funeral of another friend, who died (obviously). Anyway, the three of them go out and get drunk and then decide (as you do) to go to a graveyard, where they read an incantation from one of the gravestones and then proceed to dance on the graves. This might not have been such a bad idea if it wasn't for the fact that they were in the 'psycho section'. Anyway, it turns out that the dead don't appreciate having their graves danced on; and the three are terrorised by vengeful spirits.

Credit where credit is due; and it's due in the case of whoever designed the ghosts. Like most people, I'm tired of the Japanese style watery black haired ghosts, and the common smoke-like spectres that have featured all too often. For this film, the ghosts look more like something out of The Evil Dead (and possibly took some influence from the final chapter of the Mario Bava masterpiece Black Sabbath) and they really do look horrific. They're mostly well used too, and while the film goes way over the top on many occasions; it does feature a few jump scares that work well. However, the simple fact is that the story and characters just aren't interesting enough and the reason behind what is happening to the central characters lacks imagination. I have to admit that I didn't really care about anything that went on with the plot of this film and things only got less interesting when the whole ghost hunter plot was introduced. It all boils down to a silly ending and overall, while I really did like the special effects, this is a disappointing horror film and I do not recommend it.

Three friends curse themselves by dancing on graves.

This has a simple plot. There's not a lot of depth but there's enough information for the viewer to invest into some characters more than others. The special effects are ok seeing as how this was released in '06 but not overly impressive.

I actually liked the story. It was a solid concept. I may never watch it again but I'm glad I checked it out.

Mike Mendez's follow up to his kick butt movie The Convent is a mixed bag of tricks. some work, some don't. Gravedancers tells the creative and original story of a group of friends reunited by a funeral. On the night of the occasion they get drunk and accidentally dance on some graves releasing the evil spirits in the wrong side of the cemetery. The spirits of a rapist/murderer, a pyre maniac and another murderer. The friends are haunted by these ghosts according to the curse for a month. And as the month comes to a close the paranormal attacks become stronger and stronger as the ghosts try to take the people with them. It's an intriguing concept and much fun is to be had with it. The performances are all decent, the story is creative and the movie is a little slow at the start but is wildly inventive and macabre once it gets going. Everything in the film is done with a winking eye so you can appreciate the film without feeling to guilty about it. The makeup is cartooned and freaky while the cgi is a little fake looking but an understandable necessity with a low budget especially in a film of this caliber. My main gripes however don't come with the film, it's more with the way it was released. You know i didn't mind shelling out 9.50 for this movie but I'm mad as heck that the film's sound transfer was messed up and sounded mono, and the film quality was amateur looking. It wasn't even fine tuned or polished by After Dark. what could've been delightfully freakish come across humorously because of the films lighting. It's dreadfully bright which kind of kills the suspense of a horror flick. The film looks like a rough cut and should have been really touched up before getting a theatrical release. Because they had a good product but ruined it with no effort at all. This doesn't bode well for their film company or the continuing success of a festival of this sorts. But in conclusion I would just like to say although not on the par of a worthy theatrical release this is definitely worth a look on DVD.

"The Gravedancers", one of the 8 Films To Die For at the After Dark Horrorfest, is a surprisingly original little supernatural horror movie. The film centers around three long-time friends - Kira, Sid, and Harris. After their close friend dies, Kira and Harris show up for the funeral, and later meet up with Sid, who decided not to attend it. Wanting to say goodbye, Sid convinces them to go out to the graveyard with him, where things get out of hand after the three have been drinking, and they ultimately end up dancing around the cemetery on some graves. Unfortunately for them, they danced upon the graves of just about the worst people possible - and soon find themselves haunted by the ghosts of a child pyromaniac, a woman who killed her lover with an axe, and a sadistic sexual murderer who was the town judge. They decide to seek help in two parapsychologists, and try and survive until the curse ends - but can they?

Definitely one of the better films to be part of the After Dark Horror Fest, "The Gravedancers" is a pretty original movie that captures the style of '70s and '80s supernatural horror films. Storywise, I thought it was pretty unique. The entire idea of desecrating someone's grave and having the spirit come back to haunt you is unique, and the first time I've seen something like it done in the genre. The writing is pretty good here, and the movie was entertaining and significantly thrilling at times. It plods a bit in areas, but during the last thirty minutes things really kick in. There are a few typical scare moments in the movie though (and there are some clichés that abound), but for the most part I thought this film at least tried to avoid most of the clichéd horror set-ups, which was a real benefit here. There is actually some really scary substance here, and I was genuinely spooked by some scenes in this film. The director took good advantage of those "things that go bump in the night" kind of scares, and they are effectively used and really creepy.

As far as the acting goes, it isn't bad. Could have been more convincing I suppose, but I thought everyone gave competent performances. Dominic Purcell (of TV's "Prison Break") is our main lead, and Clare Kramer ("Bring It On" and TV's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer") plays his wife. The acting isn't bad, it's a little bit lacking on some occasions, but overall good enough. The only real complaint I have is the special effects used in the film. The strange thing about this is that they are really good in some scenes, but in others just not. The incarnations of the ghosts are leaning on the corny side, mainly because of the facial makeup (grinning teeth, large eyes - something that almost looks like a Halloween mask). I think a more subtle make up would have been more realistic. And the CGI blowout during the last ten minutes of the film was a little overdone I felt, but I'm not going to complain too much, I'd rather just take this movie for what it is.

Overall, "The Gravedancers" is a horror movie that is worth watching. It delivers a fairly original story and some really nice scares, which are always welcome. In some respects it's a bit corny (mostly with it's special effects usage), but the film is done in a style that is reminiscent of past horror films, so these things are forgivable considering that it's a throwback-type of movie. I'm assuming the budget for this film was pretty modest as well, and taking that into consideration, this movie was pretty well done. Worth a look for horror fans. 7/10.