Plot: Daniel (Aaron Poole) is a police officer in a small, quiet town, working the night shift and hoping for a peaceful evening. But those hopes are shattered when James (Even Stern) stumbles into Daniel’s path, as he is in full panic mode and covered in blood. Not the way Daniel expected this shift to turn out. Daniel takes him to the hospital, while it becomes clear that James has had a horrific experience, though figuring out exactly what happened isn’t a simple task. At the hospital, Daniel runs into his estranged wife Allison (Kathleen Munroe), a nurse who is already dealing with a full patient load, now stuck with James’ strange condition. While drama flares up between those inside, the real problem lurks outside of the hospital walls. Strange hooded figures are out in the dark, not to mention the two men who arrive, warning the others of odd, dangerous things outside. Is this just small paranoia and drama, or does some dark presence loom over those inside the hospital?

Entertainment Value: I was quite curious about The Void, if nothing else to see how some of the Astron 6 talent would approach a more serious movie. This is still a love letter to the genre, just a little less over the top and absurd in execution. The story is familiar, with obvious influences like John Carpenter and H.P. Lovecraft, but doesn’t feel like a retread. A slow burn, tense approach is taken and it works, as there is an effective sense of dread throughout. That dread is broken up by sudden jolts of unexpected turns, only to ramp up over the course of the movie. The Void rarely eases up the tension, but a few scenes do feel like filler, but these instances are rare. The pace is good, but does slow a little at times, but not enough to break up the tension. I loved the creature effects, which have a gross, detailed design and really stand out. But don’t expect a wealth of screen time for these creations, especially in the first hour or so. Things ramp up in the final third of the movie, however. My only real issue with this movie is the cast, who aren’t terrible, but leave no impression whatsoever. I found most of the cast to be middle of the road and forgettable, which is a shame. But even with a bland cast, The Void is a movie any horror or sci/fi fan should check out.

No nakedness. A good amount of blood though, as well some as very cool creature designs to spice things up. The gore isn’t over the top, but it does pack a punch and looks quite good. We have all kinds of cool stuff like eye gouging, head bashing, slash wounds, skull splattering, and more. In addition to the gore, the movie has some gross creature designs that add to the madness. These creations look like bosses from a survival horror game, but more detailed and realistic. I just loved the designs on the various creatures, this is one place The Void really shines. On the dialogue side, the tone is serious and the lines never get wacky or outlandish. Just standard dialogue that does what it needs to, but isn’t memorable. On the insanity side, the movie has a dark, offbeat vibe, but that’s expected when you’re dealing with Lovecraft inspired material. So it is by no means a sane movie, but it doesn’t veer too much outside the conventions of the genre. That’s not a downside at all, but it explains the low insanity score.

Nudity: 0/10

Blood: 7/10

Dialogue: 1/10

Overall Insanity: 2/10

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