LAID TO REST
This week I decided to check out Laid to Rest from 2009, written and directed by Robert Hall.
The movie begins with a young girl waking up inside of a coffin. The girl who has a head injury and amnesia as a result forces her way out of the coffin. She emerges to find herself in a deserted funeral home at night. The girl who is never named finds a phone and calls 911. However, in a hysterical state accidentally pulls the phone out of the wall and at the same time learns she is not alone. The funeral director is still there and tries to help her out of the room she has locked herself into.
Unfortunately whomever put her in the coffin shows up at that moment!
A deranged killer stalks and kills beautiful young women. I imagine this brief plot synopsis sounds very unoriginal to anyone who has not seen this movie. It would be if not for the killer. Much like Jason or Michael he doesn’t speak but he is very human and physically vulnerable to injury.
His look is the special ingredient of the film combined with his M.O. The killer wears a shiny, silver mask that is in the shape of a skull and is held in place with some type of adhesive. He also wears a small video recorder on his shoulder that records all of his murders for him to keep as souvenirs. The motive for the killer’s crimes was not explained. Sometimes the lack of a motive makes the killer even more terrifying.
I love Chromeskull and the things that make him unique. I feel the mask alone gave him the makings of a horror icon. The majority of the movie was filmed at night in some pretty spooky settings including a funeral home, deserted back roads, and homes set in mist enshrouded secluded areas. I liked the cinematography which helped create the creepiness factor and suspense. There was not much in the way of sex and nudity (one pair of boobs) but there was no shortage of extreme violence, gore, and action. This movie had some quite creative kills.
There were two characters I was really rooting for and the killer did a great job of making me hate him. One notable member of the cast is Sean Whalen whom I enjoy in movies and you may remember from movies such as Hatchet III, Halloween II (2009), and People Under the Stairs.
Overall, I enjoyed this film although it had its problems. I felt some of the dialogue written for the characters was just plain hokey. The main character often said things that made no sense and perhaps she had a concussion as well as amnesia but if you can’t speak coherently after a head injury it doesn’t seem realistic that you can drive a car or run either. There were some plot holes that are small in comparison to those that are present in the sequel which picks up right this left off. I’ll say it again. I love Chromeskull and I believe he would have made a great horror icon but it may be too late now given the direction the sequel took among other things. Laid to Rest is worth a watch if you are a fan of slashers. It is available to stream on Hulu.
LITTLE MISS HORROR NERD’S RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5
