Portal. Our world is not the only place where the essences live, there are other thousands of them, now and then doors open and the unfortunate wander among the living, trying to grab their breath of fresh air, temples are erected on the place of their clusters, which over the years acquire the form of decent dwellings. But there are those who know, there will always be those who know, and there will always be occasional travelers, with a crack in fate and fatigue in their legs, they seek peace and oblivion, but do not seek peace under the arches of old buildings. In an attempt to loosen the grip of personal demons, you are sure to find new ones. Brett is an ordinary man, his fate has fallen a lot of trials, but nothing so does not knock out the ground from under his feet as a living memory of tragedy, Brett drowns longing in strong coffee for days, and in the evenings again and again falls into the world of nightmares. Does that mean a change of scenery will heal the wound? Anything is possible, Brett packs his suitcase and sets out on the road.
What I've loved about horror movies since I was a kid is intrigue. For as long as I can remember, old-school horror films have always delayed the voluptuous moment of the appearance of the main evil. It was drawn back, and the climax gave birth to an explosion of delight, a concept of mysterious intrigue and a score finale, it's a good concept. But the old school needs to be able to shoot and serve. And there is also suspense, it is not given to everyone. That is, it can come out well, and maybe a solid passer. Fortunately, I do not tire of repeating this, the view of European and American creators of the horror industry is fundamentally different. Europeans know how to serve and delicately mix proportions, while their American colleagues, if everything goes badly, go liters of fake blood and nonsense. I was most impressed by the spirit of storytelling. We felt the influence of such masters of genre, literature, not cinema, like Howard Phillips Lovecraft, rather Lovecraft. Houses with ghosts or entities are never attacked sharply, they envelop the victim with rings like a snake.
I liked the experiences of the main character, an experienced cop with skepticism looking at any secrets, the track record as if obliges not to believe in all the darkness, but relies on seniority and handle the colt. But the ghosts have somatic power over him, and Brett himself like an unsettled soul rushes around among the forest camping, surprisingly not suffering from the alcohol insanity inherent in American cops in retirement. And so the trails of his wanderings lead to the threshold of a gloomy mansion in the center of Bulgaria, the birthplace of cheap rental equipment and premises. I must say, I smiled seeing my native Russian on taxi caps and signs, and meanwhile, the film has a suitable entourage, corners of the streets, a cozy cafe with a pretty saleswoman, all whispers about the prospects of a new life, with nightmares buried deeper. But there's a catch, the basement of any Victorian castle, it's not a hoohry-muhry, there's just got to be something. What may be hiding in the hallways of the house, the caretaker of which Brett became in the hope of fighting the somatic syndromes that torment him all night long. Our Brett has a long track record, and he is not frightened by the strange decoration of the underground gates, and the omissions of employers, but the fact of the presence of “something” takes place. It means that you can not do without the help of a proven bison of the industry, Robert Englund.
The most beautiful film, it is simple in concept and does not run abstruse logic, evil just exists and before this fact put immediately, perhaps its concept is blurred, but there are written rules and the main character should adhere to them. And then there are hallucinations, well-rehearsed outbursts of insanity, and they don't make you bored. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by Inglund, I was afraid that his role here would be close to a cameo - appear for five minutes and disappear leaving a pleasant plume of nostalgia along Elm Street. But, no, it's the opposite. Robert has a full-fledged character, moderately Gothic consultant on paranormal phenomena, in an old-fashioned hat, and necessarily with a cane, in which, by all concepts, well, just must hide a silver dagger. And the remarkable fact is that the character of Inglund is not grotesque, but very, very realistic, not overplaying, not crooked, but fully and well-played. Gothic old man, with a cunning squint, whose blind eyes can tell a lot. Or, to be more precise, to warn. A perfect counterweight to a seasoned cop who doesn't believe in the supernatural, even though it's under his nose. More attention is paid, of course, to the detective, mystical component, rather than the demonstrations of horror, but all the juice in the heated atmosphere, and watching the behavior of Brett’s character. Jason London, by the way, plays very convincingly and fittingly, he is not pathetic, does not overplay, but staunchly holds the brand, a cop with all his might banishing a black stripe from his life. But the further along the hallways of the building, the more we become convinced that Brett’s somatic dreams acquire a living flesh, and the hero himself no longer controls his own destiny. And apparently, we are waiting for a sequel, at least I hope so, a very entertaining story came out.