[Perkins 14]
Plot:Follows a man named Robert Perkins, who builds an army of 14 people brainwashed through cult-like methods to protect him from his parents' killers. When Perkins is imprisoned, the police unwittingly unleash his followers on a small town and they've only got one thing on their mind...To Kill for Mr. Perkins".

Cast:Katherine Pawlak, Josh Davidson, Trey Farley, Heather Tocquigny.

My Thoughts:Interesting picture.

Review:"Perkins 14" is After Dark Films first attempt at an original picture. The movie was part of their After Dark Horrorfest 3 slate, and follows a small town sheriff who is going about his nightly shift as usual. That is until he is saddled with a prisoner named Harold Perkins. A strange man who seems to know alot about the sheriff. The sheriff gets orders from up top to let Perkins go, but he doesn't, suspecting that Perkins is responsible for kidnapping his son many years ago when his son was just a little boy.

Upon further investigation, the sheriff's suspicions turn out to be correct, and his worst nightmares come to fruition. After killing Perkins in a rage of anger after he discovers the truth, the town is soon spiraled into chaos as a bloody slaughter befalls the town and it's people. But why is this happening? Who is responsible? And what connection do the killers have to Mr. Perkins? "Perkins 14" is a blend of science fiction mixed with horror, and sheer twisted brutality.

The film does some interesting new things with the typical mad scientist flick, and there are also shades of "House Of 1000 Corpses" strolled about the movie in regards to the killers. The basic gist of the film is the killings, which begin once Perkins is killed, share a connection to Perkins himself. And the sheriff is caught between a rock and a hard place because he has a job to do by protecting the citizens of the town, yet at the same time...his son, who's now a teenager, is also mixed up with the group of young killers.

And so the sheriff has to get to the bottom of this whole thing, and find out the who, what, when, where, and why...without getting himself killed, and also protect the towns citizenry...which include his young, rebellious, teenage daughter. Definitely alot of drama and responsibility is piled onto the films main character, and the viewer is left to watch and see if he can survive this ordeal. I must say, for an After Dark Films original, this movie was a pleasure to watch for the most part.

Considering how many bad films After Dark chooses each year for their horrorfest event, I was extremely concerned with how bad an original film of theirs would be. But to my surprise, this film was pretty good. The movie also has some familiar faces, including Richard Brake (Doom, Halloween 2), who plays Mr. Harold Perkins. Brake plays the character really well, and his scenes were really gripping considering the weirdness and oddness of his character.

You can tell he's a bad guy, and that he's up to something, but the fact that he's many steps ahead of the films protagonist is also concerning to the viewer considering Perkins has shades of Hannibal Lecter within his persona. A quite, soft-spoken...yet sadistic man. Yet at the same time, he seems harmless, and only concerned about his "children", which is the main excuse he gives the sheriff in hopes that he'll allow him to leave the jail.

This film has a significant amount of blood and gore, but alot of it takes place during nighttime scenes, and is shadowed in dark moments. So you won't get the full brunt of most of it. Although the way the movie is shot and filmed gives you a blatant idea of what's happening. The directing here is pretty good as well. Craig Singer does an excellent job of making the films chase scenes very edgy, and suspenseful by shrouding them in flashing lights, and hints of darkness and gloom.

The acting is decent enough for this sort of movie, but the films big moment is it's finale...which gets some of the other characters beyond the sheriff involved, and also is filled with action, suspense, and excitement. Which includes a huge twist which many people won't see coming, and which gave me reason to smile because it doesn't fit into the typical horror film ending box. Which I really tire of. It's nice to see an ending which doesn't go as it should, or as one would expect it to go. "Perkins 14" in my opinion, is worth spending 90 minutes of your life watching. It's probably not a film you'll love, but it's enjoyable enough to make the grade.

Positives:Good story, decent performances, a suspense-filled final act, and a big twist ending.

Negatives:The teenage daughter gets annoying at times.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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