Death House (2017)

   

Written & Directed by: B. Harrison Smith

Story by: Gunnar Hansen

Starring:

.... Jae Novak
Cortney Palm .... Toria Boon
Dee Wallace .... Dr. Eileen Fletcher
Kane Hodder .... Sieg
.... Dr. Karen Redmane
.... Elise
Vincent M. Ward .... Thile
.... Victor Galan
.... Balthoria
.... Officer Dante

Special Appearances:

.... Giger
.... Nela
.... Icicle Killer
.... Crau
.... Farmer Asa
Lloyd Kaufman .... Dr. Chalice
.... Doctor Roos
.... Doctor Peter
Brinke Stevens .... Doctor Banks
Gabrielle Stone .... Linz Haddon
.... Satan's Creator
Sean Whalen .... Satan
.... Antichrist
.... Prison Badass Leader
Debbie Rochon .... Leatherlace
.... Murderer
.... Virtual Narrator (Voice)
Gunnar Hansen .... Albert Kenny


Release Date:
Central Florida Film Festival: September 2, 2017

 

Rating:

 

During an exclusive tour, a power breakdown inside a secret prison known as the Death House sends two agents fighting through a labyrinth of horrors while being pursued by a ruthless army of roaming inmates. As they fight to escape, the agents push toward the lowest depths of the facility where they learn a supernatural group of evil beings is their only chance for survival.

 

I have to admit while watching this flick I had a hard time understanding as to what all was going on since things were quite confusing and at times a bit of a drag so I will do my best to review this piece as simple as possible.
There's a strange beginning with some woman in a farm area being pinned down by Farmer Asa as well as to doing something torturous towards her which looked a bit gruesome as well which I didn't fully understand this situation or why this was happening.
With the head killer Sieg it looked quite impressive though as to what he is doing and acting ruthless as well as cold towards others getting revenge as to what looks like that he will be serving time and getting his death sentense as the surroundings through all of this looked darkly lit and a nice mysterious moment to the horror story.
Odd fun touches showing footage of horror events including some sort of a female look to TCM which the character is named Leatherlace acting wild and crazy as this seems fitting since the original Leatherface had a hand in writing this flick and it was an attention grabber for sure.
Then both Jae Novak and Toria Boon seem to be playing some sort of a game to resolve some of the incidents on maniacs that are sentenced including a situation with the Icicle Killer getting aggressive and having two topless horny teens tied up and then getting slayed as this moment looked bizarre since the setting was some sort of a picnic campout area. A weird scene indeed and suits something for the game these two were playing.
After they play this game they both have a separate shower and having a serious discussion on what's going in which looked strongly done as the setting looked dark and still as well as dramatic too.
Then they continue to play the game as there's a bizarre situation with Sieg in an electric chair and Toria coming up to kiss him which I wonder as to what that was all about.
Also there's a moment with inmates stnading and drugged while some of the scientists are explaining as to what they do to them as this also looked crazy to watch and I have to admit the moments here looked quite stale and unentertaining to watch. At the same time weird and mysterious.
But then they are introduced to three other inmates chained up to a chair as they claim that they are Satan as this moment looked a little bit better and reminded me on the discussions like you'd hear in The Exorcist and films like that.
However, the excitement really gets going as it makes up for half of the tiresome plot in which there's a power outage in the asylum and all hell breaks loose with the inmates as the situations look intense and violent as well as Sieg commanding others and going on a rage which looked powerful to watch this outcome including him meeting face to face with the prison bad ass leader and what he does to him making this powerful dude in control. These moments looked incredibly well done and draws you in to want more of this.
Some canniballisitc moments with some inmates not looking human due to what we see doing something and calling out on what looks like an old fashioned radio mic done in a good fashion for horror gorehounds but not for anyone who has somewhat a strong stomach. I got a kick out of seeing this since it's out of the ordinary in a twisted horror tale.
Sieg leads his other inmates in a dark dingy hallway which looks convingingly well done in a Saw type of fashion as well as good distant shots on objects scooting across this hallway as this looked spooky to watch.
Then a real powerful situation with Jae Toria as well as the inmates encountering Giger along with an object of a corpse on a crucifix as well as his people discussing about God and an afterlife as this looked good and still with great lighting effects on him discussing all of this. It for sure was well concentrated by what goes on here.
Afterwards we spot some cheesy CGI effects happening to Sieg as this looked exciting to watch at the same time by what goes on here.
Bottom line is when I watched the first half of the story I was going to bomb it but boy was I in for a big surprise for the second half as it was horror entertaining in a very good way so I got a kick out of watching this fun flick. Had some good horror violence. It wasn't always scary for the most part but still well done and I give this one two thumbs up for what the makers did to this one.

The actors are a huge selection of horror celebrities from big time flicks to small indie one's even if most of them only have special appearances but a real treat to watch them strut their stuff here as alot of it was a solid performance.
(Jae Novak) shows off his great seriousness as well as his rough looks. He for sure knew on how to act serious to what he was talking about as well as coming across well with his no nonsense type of behavior too. Shows some good enthusiasm within all that he did here.
Cortney Palm
(Toria Boon) does a nice job with her courageous and serious behavior as well as doing well with her aggressiveness whenever she needed to act this way. She was a strong force of nature and can pull of some nice characteristics.
Dee Wallace (Dr. Eileen Fletcher
) really brought out her role especially when she means business on a situation with her seriousness explaining stuff bringing it to life a great deal. She always does a great job within everything that she does. Also does well speaking weakly during the end of her performance. She stood out well in her role.
Kane Hodder (Sieg) stole the show with his performance in which he lived to play a one mean mutha of a bad ass. He for sure came across well with his don't mess with me type of attitude. He for sure had a great brawling presence along doing great with his emotionless and cold speaking aggressive attitude. Does well acting violent as well. He proved to be a worthy character actor.
(Dr. Karen Redmane) was quite sharp in her part of the story and really bringing on the hype within what she did in each scene. Brought alot of powerful ability to what she was talking about and you could tell she studied her role a great deal.

Now for the special appearances that are worth mentioning:
(Giger) really nailed it terrifically playing someone whom is calm and mellow with his words in which he was soft spoken and serious since he often plays larger than life type of roles. He certainly proves that he is a versatile character actor in this one. He presents himself very differently in this one big time.
(Icicle Killer) was terrific as someone whom acts crazy, aggressive and obnoxious really going to the extreme as his cameo was well remembered to anyone who saw his role in this one and deserves good credit for what he did in this one.
(Farmer Asa) was another worthy one who seemed different compared to his other work in which he was great acting like a wild evil hillbilly and does this with decent style. He for sure springs into action terrifically.
Every time I spot Troma Team president Lloyd Kaufman (Dr. Chalice) he is often too goofy and over the top but this time he seems to nail is well as a paramedic which is a shocker as he is convicing in his part since this is a serious horror so kudos to him for doing a nice job here.

Topless women is revealed tied up at some sort of a picnic
Two people are showering with their butts revealed as well as a breast shot
A uniform is ripped off from an inmate and her breasts revealed

You want it gruesome you got it!!!
Insides are torn out
Bloody gunshots
Bloodied dead bodies
Insides are revealed while some surgery is performed
Sharp objects are bloodily stabbed in the back of two horny teenagers necks on a picnic blanket
Police discovers some guts
Jaw from an inmate is ripped off by another inmate
Torn off flesh is revelaed with many other inamtes eating other flesh too
Intestines are splattered on a floor
Slaughtered body parts are revealed on a crucifix
A bloody headshot is revelaed on someone's forehead
Lots of violent bloodsheds

At first John Avarese seemed not too great as he has modern music sounding for what sounds like airy type of techno music as it didn't tickle my fancy but that changed later on in the story in which there's good low deep sounds as well as some laser sounds for surprising situations like an object skidding past someone which works in mervellously. Then there's classical violin playing which sounded okay but enjoyed the composing before that.