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Vanessa Horneff avoids bats and zombies in the uneven The Roost.
Alright, I’m a sucker for low-budget B-movie horror films from the 80’s. You know, the ones with minimal storylines and even less character development. The flicks with all-out gore and scares: those are the kinds of horror flicks I enjoy. And I really thought I would like Ti West’s The Roost because of it.
But honestly, I could really go either way.
The story centers around four friends driving to a mutual friend’s wedding on Halloween night. The driver of this motley crew, Trevor (Karl Jacob), has the bright idea of taking a shortcut through the backwoods of Anytown, USA… and from there, the terror begins.
Lost and irritated, the car drives into a ditch as they swerve out of the way of a random vicious bat. Yep, you read that correctly… they swerved off the tiny country road… just before a one-lane covered bridge… in the middle of the night… to avoid a tiny little creature that ordinarily would have become windshield shrapnel!
Stranded on the side of the deserted road, with no chance of moving their vehicle, the foursome sets out to find some semblance of humanity. After a short hike, they come across a farmhouse and decide to barge in on the residents to use their phone. Only problem is, the elderly couple that lives there was viciously attacked by unseen assailants at the beginning of the film. These assailants turnout to be scores of ferocious bats, hell-bent on ripping and tearing at anyone or anything’s flesh.
Inevitable, the group splits up: two go out in search of another house while the others stay behind at the farmhouse and take a look around. Obvious jump-scares and bat-attack antics ensue as another obscure storyline makes itself known. What could it possibly be, you ask? Zombies. Yes, zombies. Apparently, once killed by one of these bats, you awaken as one of the blood-thirsty undead. How do the bats cause this strange reaction? Well, this is a low-budget flick, and I guess finding the cause of the outbreak was never really in the budget!
The Roost is a B-movie through and through… there’s no mistaking that fact. And judging it based off of that fact, this is by no means a terrible film. By the same token, it is definitely not the best film ever either. Unfortunately, the actors are quite annoying for the most part, and we never really get to know them all that well. However, they do play their roles well (then again, so could I) and are fairly believable as a group of stranded youngsters.
The story is the weakest link of this bad boy… and we all know what we say to the weakest link (assuming you are a middle-aged British woman decked out in leather). I think if just a tiny bit more effort was put into this part of the film, it would have made a world of difference. Bats and zombies in one movie, while fairly original, still makes zero sense… even in B-movie world. There is just no connection that is made between the two, and that detracts the most from the film.
Then again… maybe bats and zombies haven’t been put together in the same film for a reason…
Also, Ti West tried to pay homage to the old late-night TV horror movie hosts with both a prologue and epilogue featuring Tom Noonan as “The Horror Host” of Frightmare Theater. While an interesting idea, it just didn’t fly for me. Maybe bring in Elvira for the sequel!
Not everything was sub-par in The Roost, however. The best thing going for this film by far is the cinematography. Writer/Director/Editor Ti West did an amazing job at creating tension and dread with many of the shots in the film. Some were downright creepy thanks to the film’s grainy appearance — much like its 1980’s ancestors. If this film was presented in crystal clear state-of-the-art video, it would lose most of its effect. Think the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
While not the best movie on the DVD shelf, The Roost is a decent time-killer for all of its 81 minutes of running time. Perhaps the best feature of the DVD is not the film itself, but one of Ti West’s student films. Prey, a 10-minute short film contained more tension and excitement than all of the entire feature presentation! If you happen to rent or buy this flick, be sure to check this special feature out… it is definitely worth your time.
Flick Figures: 7 dead bodies; 1 dead, mangled deer; Chiroptopobic hit-and-runs; lots of guano; gratuitous squeaky barn door; gratuitous Jack O’ Lantern; multiple gunshot wounds; vomiting; neck-biting; arm-biting; barn-stalking; Shaun of the Dead-esque shovel-fu; pitchfork-fu; Frightmare Theater-fu; nonexistent nudity.
Up Next: The Horror Guru’s triumphant return features loads of new films for October! The coming week will feature The Curse of El Charro, the DVD releaase of Stay Alive, as well as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning — the prequel to the remake.
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