La casa dei massacri

Nell and Steven move into a run-down Hollywood apartment in the middle of being renovated. They soon realize that the landlord, maintenance man, and other tenants are a strange bunch. Nell finds herself delving into a mystery of the building when one of her neighbors goes missing. This is an excellent and unique slasher. Considering the last movie I saw by Hooper was about a CGI crocodile, I think it is fair to say he is back in the game. Unfortunately, there are plot holes galore that should have been worked out, the pacing is somewhat uneven, and the ending is a big let-down. But the murder scenes are nasty, the atmosphere is creepy, the set is awesome, and the jump scares are worthy. The "city of broken dreams" theme is effective even though most of the film takes place within the claustrophobia of the apartment building. The performance by Angela Bettis ("May") really anchors the movie. This lady brings a sense of dignity and classiness to the horror genre and I think she could become a real genre pioneer. All horror fans should check-out this movie.

My Rating: 7/10.