Necromentia (2009/Image Entertainment DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras:
B- Film: D
Necromentia is a film best described by it’s
own cover, which compares it to both Saw and Hellraiser. It
certainly is a mix of these two franchises, at least on the surface. But
sadly for writer/director Pearry Teo, it lacks the depth of even the lesser
entries in Saw cannon. Unquestionably, even the Hellraiser
series has had its bad moments (almost any of the sequels that follow Hellbound),
but I have found more enjoyment from the barrel scrapings of that franchise
than anything he has conjured up here.
The story concerns three men whose lives are tied together through death and
deception. Two of the men seek out hell in order to bring back a loved
one. The third now appears to be a demon, and is seeking revenge for his
murder. Throughout the movie we see the circumstances which brought their
paths together and are shown just how inescapable to clutches of hell prove to
be. As simple a concept as this is, the plot still manages to trip over
itself multiple times. It is puffed up into something unwieldy and is
rather cumbersome to behold due to incompetent writing and direction.
Perhaps if the characters were given more to do and less time was spent trying
to make the story into more of a puzzle, I'd have found it enjoyable. As
it stands, this film is a mess.
The quality of the image is decent, and is presented in 16 x 9 enhanced
widescreen with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. It seems the production was shot
on digital video, and then filtered in order to emulate the muted colors of the
Saw films. While a bit muddy, it is good enough for home video.
Sound is in Dolby 5.1 surround, though it remains underwhelming. The
soundtrack is uninspired, and the dialogue is poorly recorded, though still
listenable.
For extra content, we have a trailer, along with feature length audio
commentary with director Pearry Teo, and one of the performers, Chad
Grimes. Both also contributed a video interview with extra behind the scenes
information and more talk of how the project came about.
This is definitely one I would say to skip, though I hope that the director's
output sees improvement. If he can refine what he is trying to say, he
may be a horror filmmaker to keep an eye on in the future.
- David Milchick
