The Void (2016)

Movie Info

So…the people from the other dimension are member of the Klan?

A slaughter at a farmhouse leads leaves Deputy Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) with a mystery.  With his only suspect in the hospital where his estranged wife Alison (Kathleen Munroe) works, Carter finds more questions when a nurse at the hospital kills a patient and a strange cult traps everyone in the hospital.  Something is happening in the hospital and monsters begin appearing that defy all description.  A horror has been unleashed and Carter must find the cause before it is too late.

Written and directed by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie, The Void is a horror creature feature.  The movie premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2016 and a small release in 2017.  It was generally well received by critics.

The Void feels like a throwback.  The hospital setting sparks memories of Halloween II and the Lovecraftian creatures remind me of something out of ’80s films like From Beyond (also based on Lovecraft).  Not always logical and often brutal, The Void is a decent horror film.

I just want to eat you…don’t hate me

The story is a bit too convoluted for its own good.  You have the drug dealers, the cultist, the deputy, the pregnant woman, and the staff of the hospital.  There is a lot to package in a short amount of time.  I felt the movie didn’t really feel cohesive until you get deeper into the doctor and his experiments.  I feel it could have been a bit more streamlined, but that also feeds into the ’80s feel.

The cast is so-so.  No one is particularly bad, but I didn’t get a real feel for the actors because most of the story is non-stop once it gets going.  The primary story revolves around Aaron Poole and his broken relationship with Kathleen Munroe.  The son/father relationship between Mik Byskov and Daniel Fathers seems secondary.  Kenneth Welsh gets to ham it up as the insane doctor opening a portal to another dimension.

I’ll tear your soul apart…wait, wrong movie

Visually, the movie also is Lovecraftian.  The movie involves lots of slimy creature that have poured out of the “void” and now are trying to take over the world.  There is a pyramid theme throughout the movie which culminates in the end sequence and the entry into the netherworld.  It feels bigger than a lot of low budget films.

The Void has a bit of a Phantasm feel.  You get the basic plot, but you are often not sure what is exactly going on.  You get a lot of generic stock characters thrown into a plot with generic elements but put together in an interesting way.  The movie is one of those movies that will divide some viewers that will want a more streamlined horror-monster film and those viewers who will eat up the nature of the movie…either way, it is worthwhile to enter The Void.