If you're a horror fan and have a myspace account, chances are you've heard a lot about "Barricade" over the course of the past year. Marketing their movie with a sharp page and a group of lack-luster trailers, I was skeptical at best, but still willing to give it a shot. After being bombarded by bulletins touting the movie and it's upcoming DVD release, I finally caved into the hype and popped the $15 to pre-order the disc direct from the distributor.
The DVD arrived as promised about a month out of it's so-called "official" release. I sat down to watch it with a group of friends, and within minutes of pressing "play", my worst fears were quickly revealed and the "film" became the subject of ridicule.
"Barricade" is simply a no-budget retread of a story we've all seen countless times in better incarnations. "Nina and Michael are American travelers who along with their German friend David decide to go on a camping trip and"...I'll stop there. You just know that something bad is going to happen in those woods, right? If you've seen Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, or recent fare such as Hostel and Turistas, then there is absolutely no reason to waste your time on "Barricade", as it brings nothing new to the slasher-cannibals-killing-tourists genre, and may have just helped lower the bar for such films even further.
There is literally nothing redeeming to be found in this "film." The acting is wooden, amateur, and the characters are paper-thin. The movie itself appears to have been shot on video, possibly minidv, and the camera-work gets so shaky at times, we almost forgot we were watching a DVD and thought we had stumbled into some kid's collection of youtube videos. Throw into the mix a random hip-hopish score done by director Timo Rose, a villain that looks like he shops at the Army/Navy Surplus, and the family of freaks that love to eat people, and you have the biggest waste of fifteen bucks of 2007.
The much-touted gore-factor does exist, but really means nothing without some form of movie to include with it.
1 out of 10 - Complete waste of time.
The DVD arrived as promised about a month out of it's so-called "official" release. I sat down to watch it with a group of friends, and within minutes of pressing "play", my worst fears were quickly revealed and the "film" became the subject of ridicule.
"Barricade" is simply a no-budget retread of a story we've all seen countless times in better incarnations. "Nina and Michael are American travelers who along with their German friend David decide to go on a camping trip and"...I'll stop there. You just know that something bad is going to happen in those woods, right? If you've seen Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, or recent fare such as Hostel and Turistas, then there is absolutely no reason to waste your time on "Barricade", as it brings nothing new to the slasher-cannibals-killing-tourists genre, and may have just helped lower the bar for such films even further.
There is literally nothing redeeming to be found in this "film." The acting is wooden, amateur, and the characters are paper-thin. The movie itself appears to have been shot on video, possibly minidv, and the camera-work gets so shaky at times, we almost forgot we were watching a DVD and thought we had stumbled into some kid's collection of youtube videos. Throw into the mix a random hip-hopish score done by director Timo Rose, a villain that looks like he shops at the Army/Navy Surplus, and the family of freaks that love to eat people, and you have the biggest waste of fifteen bucks of 2007.
The much-touted gore-factor does exist, but really means nothing without some form of movie to include with it.
1 out of 10 - Complete waste of time.