[Dark Floors]
Plot:Concerned for his autistic daughter's health, the father sees a removal from the hospital by force as the only option. An elevator break-down prevents a smooth exit and renders them trapped with others.

Yet the incident is only the beginning of a descent into nightmare. As the doors open the hospital appears mysteriously deserted. When mutilated bodies are found, creatures from a dark world start a frightening attack. It soon becomes clear that the survival of the group may rest solely on the little girl.

Cast:Skye Bennett, William Hope, Noah Huntley, Ronald Pickup, Philip Bretherton, Leon Herbert, Dominique McElligot.

My Thoughts:Good "horror" film, but questions, questions, questions!

Review:"Dark Floors" is the horror film written by members of the Finnish rock band Lordi. I know, I've never heard of them either. Anyways, the film follows a father who is seeking help from a clinic for his autistic daughter. He soon becomes fed up with the clinic after the latest methods to help his daughter fail. So he decides to sneak her out of the clinic to find her more professional aid. But as he tries to leave the hospital, him and a few other people become trapped in the elevator. After a few moments of trying to put the device back on track, it finally cooperates and takes them back to the floor they were on moments ago, except now.....the floor is empty. No patients, no staff, nothing.

Soon, the building begins to go dark to make matters worse, and demonic growls and noises come from downstairs. Whatever has taken the others in the building, is now setting it's sights on the man, his daughter, and the others with them. "Dark Floors" is a few words, is a throwback horror film. Reminiscent of the old 80's films where an evil spirit or spectre terrorizes a particular group of people inside a place and while doing so, affects the buildings look, tone, and overall appearance. It's as simple as that with this movie, and it's obvious that while writing the film, the Lordi guys are fans of the genre and know how to write a real horror film. Not the fluffy crap we get from Hollywood these days.

This film isn't chill-you-to-the-bone scary, but it's set pieces are certainly creepy and unsettling. There are alot of dark scenes, and scenes where the building rumbles, creaks, or loud noises catch the viewer off guard. This normally wouldn't work very well for a horror film set inside a school setting for example. But with "Dark Floors", which is set inside a darkened, and somewhat rusty looking clinic, it works perfectly to create and hold an ominous tone throughout the duration of the picture. The characters themselves are also not made bigger than the film, which puts the antagonist at the forefront of things. We're shown that these people in this terrifying situation are just regular folks.

A female staff member, a young wheelchair bound girl, her father, a security guard, a guy who just happens to be stuck with the group out of a vicious twist of fate, and a creepy old guy who may or may not be a part of what's going on. None of these characters are thrust to the forefront in any major scenes like a Jamie Lee Curtis in "Halloween" would be. Instead, the film uses it's monster and the scares as the stars of the show. One of the few horror films which take this route. While most others center everything around a teenage girl and give her most of the scenes and dialogue to run with.

If there is a star of this film, it's the little girl in the wheelchair who's ominous drawings, and puzzling chatter and whimpers add an element of mystery to the movie. Make no mistake though, "Dark Floors" is a monster movie, but is also streamlined into the realm of the supernatural as well. It features various creatures including a banshee-like creature, and a few large beast-like creatures who can rip people apart with ease. It does this depending on what type of pursuit it's in with a potential victim, and to add to it's repertoire, it can also shroud any sqaure foot area in total darkness.

There are a few weaknesses with "Dark Floors" however, such as a few plotholes where the little girl is suggested more than once to be the main target of the creatures, yet she is alone many times and they really never seizes the opportunity to snatch her. Then there's the ending, which can be interpreted in many different ways, but at the same time really doesn't have a clear answer. Although some of the ideas you might think up as to what has happened could be right on the money. Lastly, alot of the death sequences aren't shot very well, and it's hard to see exactly what's happening moment for moment. I call these scenes CSS scenes, as in "can't see ****!".

This also makes it difficult to get a clear look at the creature in all it's glory, although you do get one or two brief glimpses at what it fully looks like. But you'll have to constantly be on guard for that shot. "Dark Floors" is a good horror film, in that sense that it provides a unique premise and situation, as well as a unique monster. That's pretty much all you can ask for in these days of remakes, straight to dvd disasters, and hapless sequels.

Positives:Unique situation, intriguing and unique premise, decent performances, good looking monsters.

Negatives:Very ambiguous ending.

Overall:2 and a half stars out of 4.





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