DVD
Review | The Hazing
Written by: Kage
Alan
Hmm… When a young sorority girl appears on the
cover of a horror film I’ve never heard of before with a chainsaw and
scared look on her face, chances are that it’s going to peak my
interest. What helps up the ante here are cast members Brad Dourif (a
genre favorite) and Parry Shen (“Better Luck Tomorrow”)…and, okay, I
was curious about the actress named Nectar Rose. Admittedly it sounds
a bit more like an adult movie pseudonym, but she’s honestly not bad
at all. Not bad in what you ask? Let me tell you.
The latest fraternity and sorority pledges are put
to the test during the most notorious night in the world for evil;
Halloween. Our less-than-thrilled looking gang is given a list of
objects to procure within four hours, each with its own point value. In
order to get as many points as possible, they split up into two teams.
So far, so good. It’s logical. It also just so happens that one of the
two teams knows where to find a very rare and very valuable book, an
evil book at that. After a run in with the owner of said book,
everybody reunites at a local house purported to be haunted. Well, that
little aforementioned run in is going to cost them dearly because said
owner (Dourif) knows how to unleash a little hell of his own.
What’s a little thing like death to stop an evil
spirit from trying to rip the flesh off of some nubile young college
students? For starters, these kids don’t mind fighting back and
actually prefer to do so. It’s a good thing that the evil spirit is
playful, too, because it makes the more graphic sequences seem a bit
less mean spirited and a bit more tongue in cheek…or tongue through
cheek. Our annoying boys and girls must figure out where the gate to
hell is that’s been opened, where the book is to shut it and how to wrap
it all up in a night’s work before they’re turned into monster mush.
“The Hazing” tries its best to mimic a number of
other horror films, most noticeably “The Evil Dead,” yet it does manage
to find some uniqueness of its own. It might not be the freshest or
most original film to come out in a while, but it definitely does the
trick of being entertaining for 90 minutes. The acting is pretty hammy
with the exception of Dourif and Shen, the effects a bit over-the-top
and the ending a bit of a groaner, so “The Hazing” will definitely be a
hit with the MTV Generation of weekend film renters.
MTI Video has released “The Hazing” in its original
Widescreen ratio. Picture quality is fairly decent, even for low budget
fare, and audio matches. Just keep saying “this is a genre film” to
yourself and you won’t be disappointed. Extras on the disc start off
with a pair of audio commentaries; the first features Director Rolfe
Kanefsky and Producer Tom Seidman and the second several of the cast
members. Stick with the first one because the actors are so absolutely
juvenile that I turned it off after 20 minutes. Beyond that, we’re
given 7 “Deleted/Extended Scenes,” “Bloopers” (11 min), “The Faces
Behind The Screams” (7 ¾ min), “Behind the Scenes With Tiffany” (10 ¾
min) and seven trailers.
The director has a new film coming out that stars
Jeff Fahey and it looks to be another horror flick. With a name like
“Corpses,” would you expect anything less? If Kanefsky keeps up his
current pace, he might just get a shot at a regular “B” horror film that
manages a theatrical release. I can think of several Hollywood features
far less deserving than this one, so enjoy spending your Halloween with
“The Hazing”…while you still can.
Film Rating:
B-
DVD Special Features: B
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