An underated gem of a movie, The Gravedancers was released in 2006 as one of Lionsgate’s “After Dark Horrofest”. There were “8 films to die for” to be exact. And The Gravedancers was deemed as one of the more original horror movies in recent times.
The Gravedancers was about a group of three college friends, Harris (Dominic Purcell), Kira (Josie Maran), and Sid (Marcus Thomas) who were reunited at the funeral of a mutual friend and school mate. That night, they went to their dead friend’s graveyard to reminisce on old times. Submitting to alcohol, the trio ended up dancing on the nearby graves after reading a note they thought to be a forgotten sympathy card. Unbeknownst to them, the note was an incantation for releasing vengeful spirits. From there, each one began noticing frightful occurences.
After consulting with supernatural experts, they discovered that each one of them was being stalked by a different spirit as a result of their “grave dancing”. Sid was being stalked by a child pyromaniac. Harris and his wife Allison (Clare Kramer) were stalked by the ghost of a woman axe murderer. And Kira was stalked by a sadistic rapist murderer.
The Gravedancers started out great. It built up enough thrilling suspense in the beginning that was like those superb non-slasher ghost stories of old. We’re talking along the lines of, but not quite on par with, The Shining and Rosemary’s Baby. There were enough scenes that kept viewers on edge as the trio were discovering their predicament.
Too bad the movie lost track towards the end. The final confrontation with the ghosts seemed rush and uninspired. By this time, you get a sense of the B-movie production. The special effects and makeup for the ghosts were second rate. Some scenes were laughable, especially at the very end when Purcell was chased by a large skeletal ghost head. Run. It’s ghost-zilla! They probably could have done a much better job by not fully showing the ghosts and instead just cloaking them in mystery.
Another glaring drawback was the acting. It was so-so at best. There were familiar faces, namely, Dominic Purcell (Blade: Trinity) and Tchéky Karyo (The Patriot). Tchéky was great as one of the paranormal experts. But he’s always been a consistently good actor. The others, however, were simply lacking in their portrayal of haunted victims, including Purcell. They just didn’t look scared enough.
All in all, the movie was worth a rental and should not be overlooked. For a low budget movie, The Gravedancers was a great ghost story grounded onspooky and jumpy moments without hack and slash gore fest.
Ghosts and Halloween mix to become one evening of monster fun. So don’t forget to try the Invisible Man costume or a Hellraiser Pinhead costume. It will scare the hell out of you.
Access expert suggestions for heirloom organic seeds – this is your individual guide.
This day in history...
Powered By WPHistory