LaidtoRest

Laid to Rest (2009)

The story opens up with a young woman waking up in a locked coffin. She frees herself only to find that she is in a mortuary. Confused and suffering from a serious head wound she wanders around until she sees an elderly man killed by a mysterious masked killer, who starts to pursue her. The rest of the night is her looking for help as the masked killer kills off everyone they come in contact with, well mostly everyone. This is further complicated by the fact that the woman can’t remember her name or why the killer is chasing her around.

For several years now fans have been clamoring for a throwback to the 80s slasher genre that was satisfying and bloody. I’m going to be interested in seeing how this movie is received because Laid to Rest is exactly what everyone has been asking for. The story is very simple and doesn’t feel the need to explain the killer, Chrome Skull, or his motives for killing. Basically the movie sets up the premise that the guy wants to kill people and is pretty damn good at it. I also love the fact that the main character, the girl, has no idea what is going and can’t even remember her name. This allows the movie to just get to the stalking and gore right from the start without pausing to introduce the characters or do any background. It gets to the killing and really never stops. Now the neat trick here is that in spite of what I just said the movie does a great job introducing the characters the girl runs into over the evening and in the case of a couple of them actually makes you care about their fates. So in addition to being a good slasher movie that delivers the goods it is also fun to watch the characters running around the screen.

So with the story being so simple why are the characters so well developed and fun to watch on screen? Partly I would have to say it is because the script is solid and filled with fun dialogue that helps to flesh out the characters. But in the case of the three non-killer leads it has a lot to do with the cast. Bobbi Sue Luther as the girl, Kevin Gage as Tucker, and Sean Whalen as Stephen are all wonderful in their roles, especially Gage who is very memorable in his role. See if everyone that tried to make an 80s slasher homage would take the time to get a decent story and cast instead of thinking the effects and nudity could carry the movie they would have much more success.

Speaking of effects I do need to talk about the effects in Laid to Rest. Now I’ll start off by mentioning that there are some obvious CGI “assists” in this movie. Well hell some of the effects look to be mostly CGI actually. But the CGI is decently done and is combined with some good practical effects. This makes for a movie that is very bloody and is filled with a couple very memorable kills. There is one early on in a car that I just loved and won’t spoil here. Watch the movie, you’ll know the one. Also I love the design and look of the killer. Chrome Skull has the potential to be an iconic slasher (if they have the good sense to make this a franchise). The mask just looks too damn cool, and the fact that he uses technology like he does is awesome as well. A very subtle but appreciated update.

Before I finish I wanted to mention a 30-minute documentary that is included on the DVD as a special feature. IT is called Postmortem: The Making of Laid to Rest. There are tons of great interviews with those involved in the production from director to actors. They talk about writing the movie, casting it, finding locations and all sorts of other behind the scenes stuff. With as much as I enjoyed the movie it was a must to check this out.

If you haven’t figured it out yet I love this movie. This is as close to the classic slasher movies of the horror genre that anyone has come in at least the last 20 years. If you love slasher movies and are willing to give something new a chance you are going to love Laid to Rest. Here is hoping that they bring Chrome Skull back for some more fun. Check out the Anchor Bay website at http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com/

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer