The Hazing (2004)

An Exercise In Nonsense

Admirable film.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Nothing to see here people. Just another movie in which a bunch of teenagers are getting killed, inside a haunted house. No, the movie already isn't very original to begin with but it also does little good on its own. It has not good horror or gore in it, no good acting, not a good story at all and also totally fails to entertain as a comedy.Really, I don't get why someone would enjoy watching a movie like this. It's just one more of those cheap sort of productions, that lack in every department and are basically all alike.It's really a movie that allows lots of random stuff to happen. Most of the horror related stuff happening in this movie doesn't really even make sense in the context of the story. It's just put in for the sake of it and to make this a horror, in which a bunch of annoying teenagers can get to die in.You would think that the comedy would add to the entertainment value of this movie but in fact it really doesn't, simply because the movie never becomes fun or funny enough. Some more creativity wouldn't had harmed this movie.No, also horror fans will mostly likely not enjoy this. It doesn't has scares in it really and only features some stuff we all have seen before already and we have seen all done way better as well. So don't expect a movie with scares or any tension in it, or even some decent gore for that matter.The characters really aren't likable enough to ever care for and it of course does not help much that they are being played by some awful actors. Seriously, it's no coincidence most of the careers. of the actors from this movie, have dried up already. Sure, it still has Brad Dourif in it but you could tell he probably was on the set for about 7 days, collected his paycheck and got out as fast as he could. He is hardly in the movie at all really, even though he plays the main villain of the movie. It's a character that however spends most of the time off screen. That was also a complaint I had about this movie; it didn't really had a good and clearly visible, threat/main villain in it.No, it's really not the worst modern genre attempt but it still is a pretty bad movie to watch.4/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Wow, I just watched this movie last night for the first time and I must say it's not at all what I had expected. My girlfriend wanted a "scary movie" (Tremors scared her badly) so i figured i'd get a real scary movie and she'd get scared and be real close. About 30 minutes into the movie, She's laughing so hard she couldn't quit. I was rather disappointed in myself because I am known for getting horrific movies to watch, not the scary comedy. Now I have to take it back and try again. Shes terrified of werewolves so i'm aiming towards The Silver Bullet by Stephen Sing, i don't know yet. It most certainly will not be another walk by pick. Mabey I'll get a new one, saw, or one of them other scary movies.

I found "The Hazing" to be an enjoyable film, and I really appreciated the director's subtle references to the Evil Dead series- an arrow being shot at a Bruce Campbell poster, for example. The director really seemed to have a sense of humor about the whole thing, and it just wouldn't be an A- film without the inclusion of Jeff Fahey, Brad Douriff or Malcolm McDowell. Douriff did a good enough job, as the psychotic professor. It also reminded me of "Demon Knight" in some parts- where the demon talks people into their own deaths. Really enjoyable, but I don't know how "scary" it really was. The leads were good and I really liked the "blonde bimbo" change. Very cool!

"The Hazing" is one of the better neo-slashers around.**SPOILERS**In order to get accepted into a new fraternity, a group of pledges, Delia Rodgers, (Nectar Rose) Marsha Glazer, (Tiffany Shepis) Tim Fields, (Parry Shen) Doug Leary, (Philip Andrew) and Roy Moore, (Jeremy Maxwell) go around town on a scavenger hunt and manage to become successful at it. During the hunt, Marsha and Doug accidentally kill the psychotic Professor Kapps, (Brad Dourif) and leave him to die, but by taking a sacred book of his, his spirit escapes and follows them back to a haunted mansion. When they begin to die, they band together to stay alive.The Good News: This is one of the better slasher films out nowadays. It has a nice gimmick of mixing in the supernatural as well, giving it a series of different groups to appeal to. The killer is a supernatural persona, a supernatural tome is quite frequently used in here, and possession is a common theme. The slasher elements are in play, and give us some impressive sequences. The death by street sign decapitation is one of the best, and is gets the award as the creepiest death, although there is plenty to give it a shot. Even though there is more than enough creepy deaths, what really makes them work is the high amount of gore involved. There is an ax to the head, needles in the eyes, and a dart thrown into the head, among other things. This is a seriously bloody movie, and should please gore-hounds to no end. I was also surprised at the extremely high amount of jumps in here. Many of them are the standard "something-pops-into-view-unexpectedly" kind of jumps, but most of them actually work. I was surprised at the number as well, I didn't expect that many too. Even a few non-traditional jumps work in here as well, so this is a pretty scary movie when it can be. The house is pretty creepy as well, and looks like a typical haunted house. It alone has the potential to give some great scares, and coupled with the other jumps, this is a really great, creepy film. There is a lot more to like about this one, but I don't to give away too much here.The Bad News: There really isn't a lot of bad things I can say about this one. Perhaps the only thing is that I want to see a film involving a sorority/fraternity not doing a standard "night-in-a-haunted-house" type of story. It's been done to death, although this is one of the more creative offerings. Have a little more creativity here.The Final Verdict: This is one of the better slasher films made recently, and features a lot of great stuff for fans of these films. This is well worth the time to find and seek out for just about any kind of horror fan.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Full Nudity and a strong sex scene