SCARE ZONE
Directed by: Jon Binkowski
Starring: Arian Ash, Chris Burns, Neil Brown Jr, Michelle Simms, Simon Needham
Scare Zone is OLIVER's pride and joy. Sure, it's just another strip-mall Halloween Horror House, but as always, he's put his heart and soul into it. The attraction is open for three nights only, and Oliver has brought back some of his old staff as well as some newcomers to make Scare Zone work for its three day opening. However someone is trying to ruin the fun and turn things deadly…
Scare Zone may lack proper scares or originality, but it makes up for this by delivering a very fun horror ride for the viewer.
The film is something of a love-letter to the horror-house experience, both as a paying customer and to those who staff them. A lot of time is spent early on, briefly meeting the characters and the roles they are going to play, as well as showing off the layout. The film-makers were able make use of an actual scare attraction on the Universal soundstage.
The film's focus initially is on Oliver, the creator of Scare Zone, as he takes everyone through their paces. Its clear that this is both a labour of love for Oliver and a cash-cow, and he isn't above cutting corners to keep his profit margins up. For instance, a real chainsaw with a safety catch is much cheaper than a realistic working prop…
Things go well the first night, but when a disgruntled Summer and her fiance arrive to open up the next night, they soon meet grizzly end thanks to a masked killer. In fact, in a nice moment of irony, Summer's death happens in front of the waiting crowd outside, who think the whole thing was an elaborate "gag" to keep them entertained before getting inside.
The film's real focus is on Claire, the goth girl who works the giftshop, and Daryl, one of the actors who she takes a liking to. We learn a lot about Claire's troubled past and her current situation, and Arian Ash does a great job of making her the film's emotional core. The way she slowly opens up to Daryl is rather sweet.
The film's script does a good job of keeping you on your toes as to the identity of the killer, although their motive for killing is revealed a bit earlier. It’s a very good set-up and the person playing the killer does an excellent job of portraying this obsessive person who can go from weak and pathetic one moment to psychopathic and murderous the next.
While there are no genuine scares to be had, there are some good set-pieces. At one point, three dudes who'd been thrown out earlier break in and start vandalising the place, and for a short period, we're actually on board with the killer! The effects work is done well, practical work mixed with some deft editing and timing.
THE VERDICT
SCARE ZONE is unfortunately a scare-free zone for the viewer, although there is a lot of fun to be had here. It's entertaining to see the customers having a good time getting scared as they move through the exhibits and there is some good chemistry between the characters who get some decent dialogue to work with. Arian Ash is the emotional heart of the film but props also to Simon Needham as Oliver.