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Kolobos
Haunted House
USA 1999
produced by Dana Altma, Nne Ebong, Edward R. Taylor (executive) for Armitage Pictures
directed by Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk
starring Amy Weber, Donny Terranova, Nichole Pelerine, John Fairlie, Promise LaMarco, Ilia Volok, Kim Simms Thomas, Todd Beadle, Mari Weiss, Jonathan Rone, Linnea Quigley, Ivan Battee, Blaine Bolton, Jeremy Kendall, Laura Holman, Crystal Holman, Monique Moral, Joann Wabisca, Kelly John Okla, Laura Walker, Craig Hammond, Cassie Kaser, Sam Hays, Laura Chang
written by Nne Ebong, Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk, music by William Kidd, special makeup effects by Jason Collins, Elizabeth Villamarin
review by Mike Haberfelner
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There is an ad in the classifieds that asks for "freeloaders"
to take part in an "experimental" film - that's actually based
on a Real World or Big Brother like reality TV
concept ... but of course, there's no shortage of attention seekers who
desperately want to get in on such a project - from bubbly Tina (Promise
LaMarco) to pseudo-intellectual film student Gary (John Fairlie), from
mediocre comedian Tom (Donny Terranova) to
horror-actress-wanting-to-get-"serious"-roles Erica (Nichole
Pelerine) ... and then there's Kyra (Amy Weber), a self harmer with
suicidal tendencies and anxiety issues who's also an artist who doesn't
show her drawings to anyone.
Well, the first few hours in the house go as one would expect,
friendships form between some, between others not so much, there's
blossoming romance and rejection, and soon everyone's a little freaked out
by Kyra, because they are worried about her condition (even if she's
medicated now), and Kyra, a looner by nature, doesn't really click too
well with the others. And then, during movie night (they're watching a
marathon of slashers starring Erica), Tina, who was only going to get some
soda from the kitchen, is badly mutilated by some in-built apparatus, and
while the others try to get help, her body disappears, only for her
severed head turning up on a platter later on. Now that's of course creepy
enough in itself, but when our heroes realize they're not only locked in
but all the windows are barred by metal plates, they pretty much panic -
not that you could blame them. Of course, they at first blame the director
(Jonathan Rone) of the project for everything, but then his corpse turns
up. Soon, some of Kyra's drawings turn up that seem to have predicted the
killings, and the others blame her (even though physical evidence would
redeem her) and lock her up - but that's when things really go downhill
for everybody ...
Horror fave Linnea Quigley plays Kyra's best friend who's advising her
before she gets into the thick of things.
Kolobos is most certainly a gravely underrated gem as
it puts a highly original spin on the slasher formula, returning it to its
mystery roots while at the same time adding the right amount of weirdness
to things to really freak the audience out. Plus, the resolution keeps one
guessing in a good way. On the directorial side of things, the directors
really find a balance between going all-out gore and creating an
atmosphere of unease, between well-placed jump scares and build-up of
suspense. And the cast's of course uniformly up for the task to make this
into something more than just your average shocker. Actually, this one's
probably among the best horror flicks of the 1990s - and too bad not more
people are aware of it ...
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