The Club (1994)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Fresh and Exciting

Fantastic!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A group of teenagers find themselves trapped in an enormous castle on prom night. The teens discover that there is no way out and try to figure out exactly why they are stuck in the place. Director Brenton Spencer relates the fascinatingly quirky premise at a hypnotically gradual pace, does a masterful job of creating a supremely creepy and surreal anything-can-happen nightmarish atmosphere, makes excellent use of the opulent location, and maintains an intriguing aura of mystery throughout. Robert C. Cooper's offbeat and inventive script keeps the viewer guessing for the most part about what's really going on and comes complete with a strong central moral message. Joel Wyner brings an inspired and energetic element of lip-smacking warped lunacy as sarcastic smartaleck demonic minion John Rutman. Kim Coates likewise hits it out of the ballpark with his extremely intense and scary portrayal of mean and menacing high school guidance counselor Mr. Carver. Moreover, there are solid contributions from Andrea Roth as the sweet and vulnerable Amy, Rino Romano as nice guy Evan, Zack Ward as impotent brute Kyle, Kelli Taylor as Kyle's fed-up girlfriend Laura, and Paul Popwich as the nerdy Greg. The brooding score by Paul Zaza and Peter Breiner further enhances the ominous and enigmatic mood. Curtis Petersen's slick cinematography makes nifty occasional use of stylized slow motion and offers a wealth of startling grotesque images. Recommended viewing for fans of bizarre fright fare.

I guess it must be me again as I can't understand why people do not like this film. Granted the budget is not very big but the premise is good and the acting is okay and the story is alright and I love the Goth location and even some of the camera work. So why don't people like it, not enough actors, not gory enough? not 'big' enough? I found 'John' to be a great demon, goading people and putting doubts into their mind. Feeding them on feelings of inadequacy. I loved his style a mix of Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice and a touch of Christian Slater. Making his comedic demon both attractive and grotesque in the same breath. It's a pity that the 'geek' didn't get a chance be brave and overcome his desire to suicide, as I think that would have been a nice touch. Some may have been a little confused about the lack of continuity but that was part of the time out of time idea. And even though this was set in 1993 I feel that it does stand the test of time. It may not be everyones taste in horror viewing and so you may not agree. You can probably pick it up as a weekly now and so watch it. You can always throw the popcorn and boo at me instead. Cheers Furdion

This is one of those low-budget, where did it come from, movies that you find on the back shelf of the video store. While it is not a "gorefest" horror movie (I like those too) it is a "trippy" little movie about a group of high school kids that must learn to face their fears. The acting is uneven at times but most of the cast does a fair job. Joel Wyner (as John) does a good job of being menacing though I'm not sure why he morphs into a jester during the middle of the film. I think his character would have played better "playing it straight". Kim Coates (as Carver) plays creepy very well (as always) and I just liked the whole idea that the demons don't actually do any of the killing they just manipulate their victims into murder or suicide. Great it ain't, but I think its a fun little horror movie that's worth the popcorn.WELCOME TO THE CLUB

This movie is pretty good, even though it has a Backstreet Boy look alike in it. A bunch of kids go to an old house, and meet this freaky kid with greasy hair who yells a lot (but is funny). The special effects aren't good, but watching the people die will make you pee your pants (I DID!)