Plague Town

Plague Town (2008)

Dir: David Gregory

Writ: David Gregory and John Cregan

Genuinely creepy. If I hear that cat meowing outside my window tonight, I will be severely freaked out. Good luck being out in the countryside after dark, too. It is offbeat funny in the right moments, but the humour is underplayed perfectly, and only makes appropriate appearances as the plot veers into scary-ville. There are some edge-of-the-seat action moments, and some well-placed gore, which left me cringing at the right time... the images are resounding for their creepiness, originality and unity of aesthetic, and the mystery is played for long enough that the spooky dark and hints of what is to come are given their due. There are a few points where they are overdone (tea set), but not enough to detract from the consistent creepiness.

A family (plus obnoxious guest) visit a remote spot in Ireland to connect with their roots and re-unite with each other. Very soon, they are lost and terrified. As the film progresses we learn more about the simple premise, which is one of the strengths of the film, in that the premise allows the action to play out, and we are fed enough new developments to keep us engaged, without detracting from the sufficiently spooky situation. Bill Gibron over at filmcritic.com (http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/2008/plague-town/) would have more exposition, backstory, blah blah blah. I say none of it. It's enough to arrive right in the midst, without having to be molly-coddled with an explanation of every contributing factor. Over at IMDB the film has a mere 4.6 out of 10 stars (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1118687/). Again I say phooey. I do understand the desire for more flesh (so to speak) and less atmosphere, but I found it creepy, haunting, and indeed pretty scary. After just having sat through the 2009 Friday the 13th, Scarecrow and the first six Nightmare On Elm Streets without feeling the least bit creeped out, this film came across as original and refreshing, with its Black Sabbath farm houses and the love child between Ring's Sadako and Pan's Labyrinth's eyeball creature. Will be recommending.