The Film

Let’s be honest, the whole serial killer wearing a mask gag is getting a little old.  We’ve had Michael Myers, We have Jason, hell, we even have Leatherface!  Done right, the faceless killer can be another nail in the coffin of what scares us.  So it was with some foot dragging that I sat down to watch “Laid to Rest”.  A killer running around with a chrome plated mask and twin Rambo knives didn’t quite grab me as original.  Even the Killer with camera has been played out as far as I was concerned.  I’m also getting tired of the whole August Underground /Murder Set Pieces, violence against women type of film.

So imagine my surprise when I find a genuinely, creepy, well crafted horror film that had me literally squirming in my seat.  I know!  Who would have thought!

Laid to Rest has a very simple plotline which actually plays to its advantage.  A young woman wakes up in a coffin, doesn’t remember who she is, where she is, and how she got there.  As she tries to find her way out of the locked mortuary, a gleaming face from Hell materializes out of the darkness and the killing begins.  It seems that our chrome dome killer likes to record his kills, and has a camera mounted on his shoulder, documenting every moment of his killing spree.  The chase begins as our amnesiac heroine tries to escape and God help anyone who tries to lend her aid.

Extras

·        Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Robert Hall and Actor/Producer Bobbi Sue Luther.

·        Postmortem:  The making of Laid to Rest.

·        Torture:  the SFX of Laid to Rest.

·        Deleted Scenes.

·        Bloopers.

·        Trailer.

Final Thoughts

            I’ve watched this film a couple of times now, and really enjoyed it.  It has some very realistic and inventive kills, and props goes out to the Art Director for crafting the scariest looking home for our killer since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  An interesting side note, this was taken from the press release:   “Laid to Rest was photographed with the revolutionary Panasonic HPX-3000 high-definition 1080p camera in the AVC Intra Mode - the first ever feature film completed with this technology.  This advance in filmmaking technology parallels ChromeSkull’s penchant for gadgetry, making this unforgettable excursion into technological terror nothing less than the first true digital horror film”.  So grab some popcorn, your favorite guy or girl, and settle in and see why “Laid to Rest” is going to keep you from getting any rest this evening.

I give this movie, four out of five corpses.