I wanted to see Chillers for two reasons. One is that I'm a Troma fan and the other is that it's the only film shot in my home state of West Virginia. I had heard mixed reviews on it, but I still wanted to see it, based on the fact that I plan on going into filmmaking and Daniel Boyd, the director of Chillers, is one of the few filmmakers to come from WV (interesting note: Surf Nazis Must Die producer Robert Tinnell is also from WV).
Chillers is about a group of five strangers who get stranded at a bus stop and begin discussing their nightmares, providing a wraparound to what the movie really is: a horror anthology, consisting of five segments. The first, is a mediocre tale of a swimmer who comes in contact with the ghost of a dead diver. The second, is about a small boy camping for Boy Scouts(or something like that) whose scoutmaster goes insane. Third, is about a woman who's love call to a newscaster leads into a romantic encounter with him. However, he turns out to be a vampire. Fourth, is a young man who discovers the ability to bring the dead back to life. Fifth, is about a college professor releasing the chant to arise an Aztec spirit from an indian mound.
The segments themselves aren't that bad and echo the campy horror films of the 60s. However, just like those campy horror films, most of them have their flaws. In my opinion, the best are the last two, as they are much more interesting than the others, especially, the last segment. The worst, would probably have to be the first. It really wasn't that necessary to include so many shots of guys in speedos.
The photography is great, especially in the second segment, when the boy is running through the blue tinted forest. It was edited on video and it becomes extremely apparent during any fades or dissolves. The acting is mediocre at best, but then again, not many of the classic independent horror films have had very good acting. The special effects are good, but they rarely get the screentime they deserve.
But all in all, the film is actually quite good. Especially if you enjoy cheesy horror films from the 60s and 70s. It's worth a look if you can find it for rental. However, I'm not sure if it's a film for everyone. I will say, however, if you live in West Virginia, you should probably try to pick it up, just for curiousity's sake. If you buy it and enjoy it, you will realize as I did, that it definately has a good amount of replay value. I've watched it 3 times in the two weeks I've owned it.
I will mention something about the ending, so stop reading if you don't want it spoiled. The wraparound segment ends with one of those evil "It was all a dream!" endings. I was quite angry about this ending so that probably kept me from giving this movie a solid 4 rating.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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