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Prison Of The Psychotic Damned
Directed By D.W. Kann
Released: 2006
Starring: Melantha Blackthorne, Susan Adriensen, Demona Bast, Jim Vaughn,
and Noel Francomano
Running Time: 90 minutes
A group of five individuals who have each experienced paranormal
phenomenon venture into a supposedly haunted train terminal/mental
institution armed with video cameras and the latest in ghost detection
gadgetry. Their leader, Rayna Bloom (played by Susan Adriensen), hopes
that their findings will be a big sell to television networks looking for
more “real” ghost stories. As night falls, the group finds that the
terminal is indeed haunted and the spirits within it are very, very angry.
Director D.W. Kann (Ancient
Evil 2: Guardian Of The Underworld) directs
Prison Of The Psychotic Damned,
an entertaining and inventive indie horror flick. The digital
cinematography is very sharp and easily catches the action as well as the
excellent location. The Buffalo Central Terminal is a fine setting for a
horror movie and the lighting/photography crew makes great use of it. The
plot of the story is very simple but the characters are written well
enough to pick up the slack. My only technical criticism is about the
editing. There are some jump cuts and distorted noises thrown in to keep
the viewers on their toes but they come off as distracting make the
production seem less confident. Gore and makeup effects are gooey, bloody,
and look very good considering the small budget.
I love this cast! No matter how off the wall their dialogue, everyone fits
into their characters nicely. Scream queen in training, Noel Francomano,
shoots over the moon with her spastic portrayal of the group’s odd duck,
Nessie. Jim Vaughn is great as Jason, the goofball self-deprecating
cameraman you can’t help but like. Through catty standoffs, sneers, and
bad attitudes, Melantha Blackthorne’s Kansas and Demona Bast’s Aurora
compete for the title of goth queen. Kansas’s disturbing introduction at
the beginning of the film betrays her strong survival instinct which
surfaces at the end of the film. And Aurora shows that even a tough chick
like her has something from her past she simply cannot face. Finally,
Susan Adriensen plays Rayna Bloom very cool until things began to go wrong
and her confidence shatters turning her into something as dangerous as the
spirits inhabiting the terminal.
Comparisons to the Blair Witch Project
are likely to happen but thankfully Prison
Of The Psychotic Damned only abandons its
third person perspective occasionally. Telling the story entirely through
handheld video cameras or never showing the spirits/monsters would have
been entirely disastrous. No, Kann and company do this one right by using
the video viewpoints sparingly and delivering on the horrific reveals.
Plus, there is plenty of room for some awfully strange humor absent in
many indie productions. As Rayna describes the horrifying events that have
given the terminal its infamous reputation, the scenes shift to
carnival-like and amusing reenactments performed by the ghosts themselves.
D.W. Kann’s film strikes an original chord from its opening frame and
manages to sustain a viewer’s interest throughout. A few unexpected chills
combined with satisfying twists kept me on my toes the entire time. Some
jarring editing with seemingly unrelated images flashing about didn’t work
for me but these moments are kept to a minimum. Loaded with uncanny
imagery, buxom goth babes, quirky humor, and some funky gore setpieces,
Prison Of The Psychotic Damned
is a riveting indie horror flick. I couldn’t take my eyes off this one and
I was actually left wanting more. Jeez, how often does that happen?
For more information, be sure to visit
Red Scream Films.
Or head on over to
Darkside Films.
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