Hellborn (2003)

hyped garbage

Did you people see the same film I saw?

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Okay, here goes, I thought Matt Stasi was decent enough in the lead role as the terminally naive young doctor/psychologist guy who really would have been much better off just minding his own damn business! His performance was very weak, but not so awful that I didn't feel for the poor guy a little in the eerie final scene-the only one in the entire film in which he truly emotes! He was a cute one, I like that ratty look! I thought the monster of this picture, the Harvester, was a very cool-looking beast. I liked the effect with the eyes. The design of it wasn't exactly awesome or anything, but to me it still came off as more effective and threatening than some cgi creation in any given SyFy original. The thing didn't get up to that much, but what it did was a pretty terrible fate to be constantly looming throughout. ::: The setting was really good, I always love it in horror movies when the last lonely refuge of the criminally insane is corrupted or twisted in some way. I liked the weird visuals of the place. A lot of the lighting was strangely distorted and gave an almost surreal tone. Although I've seen it done a lot better, I think the setting is the best thing about this film, and is the main element that makes it a worthwhile and enjoyable watch for me. But alas, although the location had lots of potential for great scary atmospherics, they never made all that much use of it. And that's the big problem here, nothing's ever that strong-it's all so tame and slow-paced and it never quite takes off and overcomes its limitations. And the story never goes anywhere except exactly where you'd expect it to. And everyone seems to be saying the same things over and over:this place is evil, bad stuff going' down up in here, get out while you can! And that sameness does get a little grating after not so long. And the only thing that I did find genuinely dumb and that bugged me was when Bruce Payne's effectively villainous character speaks some vague nonsense of how the deaths of the sacrificial victims have to be timed so that they die just as the Harvester stomps up to brand them and claim their souls-which makes no sense at all, seeing as it's clearly the infernal act of the soul-stealing itself that kills them in the first place! And the doctor at the prologue at the beginning and presumably "James" weren't even evil! I just thought that stuff was plain sloppy and should have been left right out. ::: Everything sure looked very slapped together and choppy. The movie was low budget and it showed. But I actually like the film's cheapness, I think it lets you focus better on the its strongest point-a rather effective and subtle foreboding atmosphere of dread. And it does deliver quite well on the suspense. And it never drags and becomes such a total bore as to bore you to tears. It's merely an alright, fine kind of movie, I used to like to chill out to it late at night years ago when they had it on the Horror Channel. Ultimately the flick just isn't good enough, and that's probably a shame because it has its good points. It was entertaining enough and had a good creepy setup, even if they fail to do it justice. It falls flat, mainly because the pieces, while technically fitting together, just don't fit very well. Far indeed from the best, but nor would I say that "Hellborn" belongs with the very worst. Later!

In theory, films should be a form of entertainment. While this excludes documentaries and other experimental forms of film-making; most movies, specially genre films, must not only tell it's story or message, they must entertain their target audience in some way. All this just to say that in my opinion a bad movie is not a movie with low production values or low-budget, a bad movie is one that is boring."Hellborn" or "Asylum of the Damned" as is known in the U.S., is a bad movie simply because it is just not involving, and irremediably boring and tiresome. While it has a very good premise, it is just poorly developed and the mediocre acting doesn't make things better. On another hands the film probably could had been a fine or even classic B-movie, but here it is just a bad attempt at film-making.Director Philip J. Jones tells the tale of James Bishop (Matt Stasi), a young psychiatry resident, who just got his dream job at St. Andrew Mental Hospital; but the old asylum seems to hide a secret. After the mysterious death of some patients and the constant rumors of satanic practices, James decides to find out what is going on; only to find the incredulity of his boss, Dr. McCort (Bruce Payne), who believes that Bishop is going as insane as his patients.While the premise is quite interesting, the execution of the film leaves a lot to be desired. In an attempt of making a supernatural psychological thriller, Jones goes for the easy way out and makes a movie filled with every cliché of the genre. Of course, there are lots of great movies that are also filled with clichés; but in "Hellborn" every single one is wasted and turned into a cheap jump scare to keep things moving, resulting in a boring and predictable storyline.The acting is quite mediocre for the most part, with one big exception: Bruce Payne gives a top-notch performance that makes the movie look unworthy of such good acting. Matt Stasi is very weak as the lead character and the rest of the cast make forgettable performances.Despite all this flaws, one thing has to be written about "Hellborn"; it has a visual look very good for the budget and very similar to modern day big-budget Hollywod "horror" productions. Also, the make-up and prosthetics are done very nicely and the designs for the main antagonist are quite good. Sadly, the rest of the Special Effects are awful and outdated, making a huge contrast with the make-up & prosthetics."Hellborn" is a movie with a few good things outnumbered by its serious flaws with terrible results. Hardcore horror or b-movie fans may be interested by its premise but it is a boring and tiresome experience. 3/10

This is complete and absolute garbage, a fine example of what a BAD movie is like, this can't be appealing to anyone, not even b-movie fans. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT waste precious time of your life on this piece of trash. Bad acting, bad directing, horrible (but I mean really horrible) script, and complete lack of an idea as to what entertainment (of any form) is. I bought the DVD for 3 dollars, I swear I could almost pay someone to take it. Burning it would not be enough for what this movie did to me. I like b-movies, the killer toys, the weird lagoon monsters, but this is nowhere near. You know those movies that are so bad they are funny? Not even. Just plain old pathetic.

This movie has a good start but turns out to be a cheap production, probably low budget (especially the effects). The actors are certainly not the best and the "horror screnes" are truly not revolutionary. instead of scaring you, this movie makes you ask why this is labled as a "horror" movie. The ending is totally messed up, and if the devil sees what he looks like in this movie, he'd probably punish the creators. But all in all, and when you really love the genre, it's worth looking through it, when you're bored. As i said the beginning is quite good. 4/10