The Void (2016) - Saved by its special effects

It's fair to say that I'm a sucker for what's known in the film industry as 'practical effects' when it comes to my horror films.  Give me some stretched latex with pints of red liquid squirting out of a hole in some poor unfortunate's face over a digitally-rendered alien landscape filled with armies of marauding monster-soldiers.  In other words... I consider 'The Void' to be 'old school' in terms of its approach to horror.

An injured man is escorted to a hospital by the local police department one lonely night.  From there everything goes to hell (in more ways than one!) and what follows is a kind of inter-dimensional siege movie where the hospital's occupants fight for survival against various other-worldly foes.

I certainly enjoyed it and it's worth a second watch.  However, I'm certainly not saying that it's perfect.  In face, there are times when it's a complete mess.  I say I'd re-watch it and that's totally down to the 'weirdness factor' about it.  The film-makers really do throw everything they have into the film and do their best, plus, along with the great monster effects, it's certainly a cut above your average horror B-movie.

'The Void's' main problem is that it tries to do too many things at once and therefore comes across as a little 'unfocused.' The humans caught up in this awful nightmare of a situation don't just find themselves up against one enemy (or TYPE of enemy) - they have at least three different threats working to chop them up for lunch.  All three antagonists could have been the one and only villain, but trying to squeeze in reason and backstory behind them all really does crowd the proceedings.

Plus it is one of those sorts of films that relies a bit on your own interpretation as to what's happening and the conclusions you take away.  Don't expect to have everything spoon-fed to you and everything ultimately wrapped-up in a nice, neat little bow when the credits roll.  Maybe the producers were hoping for a sequel?  I don't know.

As far as the performances go, they're okay.  Most characters are there to be devoured horribly, so you're hardly going to get to know many of them.  The primary character is the local sheriff and a guy who looks like internet 'news' frontman, Alex Jones!  They get the most screen time and Kenneth Welsh (who I haven't seen since season 2 of 'Twin Peaks' is pretty reasonable as the crazy surgeon.  Otherwise, you won't be remembering many of the names attached to this project.

Ultimately, 'The Void' is very much a horror film.  If you like your scares rubbery and nicely non-CGI then you could do worse than watching this.  There are some genuinely creepy moments, but the story just needed a bit more direction to make it into the true 'cult classic' it should have been.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that