Well Furnace turns out to be the first film that I have watched in 2008. I was going to watch something else with the wife but she went to bed on me early tonight and since horror films are NOT her thing I figured I would go ahead and watch it without her.
I have known about Furnace for a while since a while back I interviewed the director and co-writer William Butler. It seemed like it was taking forever for this film to come out but it was worth the wait.
Right off the bat I knew there was going to be 2 things that I liked about it and 2 things that I wouldn't. Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo were the two good things and Ja Rule and Paul Wall were the two bad. Since the film Heat is one of my top 3 favorite films of all time, it was especially valuable to me that this marks another film that Sizemore and Trejo were on screen together. I am against putting rappers into films just to cash in on their names or really for any reason which no doubt was the reason behind casting Paul Wall since he had done no previous films before this one. Ja Rule actually was not that bad but still would rather have seen someone else.
Tom Sizemore is without a doubt the strongest actor in the film and no I am not saying that because he is my favorite actor of all time. Michael Pare is the actual lead in the movie but to me Sizemore carries it. Pare seemed a little dry and emotionless for the character but his character was suppose to be dealing with emotional issues being that his family was murdered because of him. This made it hard for me grasp what was the character and what was Pare. I also am just not that familiar with his work to know what type of acting he normally brings to the table.
The plot starts off with some suicides that keep happening to inmates at an old maximum security prison. Detective Michael Turner (Pare) starts to investigate the suicides finding them very suspicious and even going as far as to think that they might be murders. The killings started mysteriously after a wing of the prison which has been sealed off for many years was reopened due to expansion needs.
The Good: The cast is great. You have several known faces including Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Paul Wall, Ja Rule, Jenny McShane, Michael Pare and Kelly Stables. This film reeks of a fan boy writer. The writer which I know for a fact is a horror nut has his signature all over it. It has a very creepy vibe to it and for the budget (which I'm sure was low)....the effects and ghostly images look real and scary enough to make you turn on a couple of lights just to walk to your bathroom after you watch it! The filming location was wisely chosen as I have never seen a creepier looking prison.
The Really Good: Possible homage to the film Aliens (another film in my top 3 favorites) when an actor sees movement and hears a noise up above and sticks his head in an attic. Using a flashlight (just like Hicks) he pans around the dark space to see a rat first and then to get killed. Cool scene! The Bad: I have poor vision anyway's and some of the interior prison shots are filmed very dark which made it hard for me to see. I know part of this is done on purpose but it made it a bit hard to make certain scenes out. Also there is a sex scene in the film which could have shown some t*ts and ass. The last thing is not just for this film but a constant problem with DVDS these days ESPECIALLY horror DVDS is that they are advertising them as unrated....and the unrated DVDS never have anything in them that you as an audience member think makes the film deserve that unrated rating.
Overall I liked the film well enough to give it 4 stars which is rare for me with a horror film because I judge them very harshly. Butler has done some great things for the horror industry and I think that this just shows more of his craft and talent. I am looking forward to the next one if I could pick I would have Bill try his hand out in the zombie genre!
I have known about Furnace for a while since a while back I interviewed the director and co-writer William Butler. It seemed like it was taking forever for this film to come out but it was worth the wait.
Right off the bat I knew there was going to be 2 things that I liked about it and 2 things that I wouldn't. Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo were the two good things and Ja Rule and Paul Wall were the two bad. Since the film Heat is one of my top 3 favorite films of all time, it was especially valuable to me that this marks another film that Sizemore and Trejo were on screen together. I am against putting rappers into films just to cash in on their names or really for any reason which no doubt was the reason behind casting Paul Wall since he had done no previous films before this one. Ja Rule actually was not that bad but still would rather have seen someone else.
Tom Sizemore is without a doubt the strongest actor in the film and no I am not saying that because he is my favorite actor of all time. Michael Pare is the actual lead in the movie but to me Sizemore carries it. Pare seemed a little dry and emotionless for the character but his character was suppose to be dealing with emotional issues being that his family was murdered because of him. This made it hard for me grasp what was the character and what was Pare. I also am just not that familiar with his work to know what type of acting he normally brings to the table.
The plot starts off with some suicides that keep happening to inmates at an old maximum security prison. Detective Michael Turner (Pare) starts to investigate the suicides finding them very suspicious and even going as far as to think that they might be murders. The killings started mysteriously after a wing of the prison which has been sealed off for many years was reopened due to expansion needs.
The Good: The cast is great. You have several known faces including Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Paul Wall, Ja Rule, Jenny McShane, Michael Pare and Kelly Stables. This film reeks of a fan boy writer. The writer which I know for a fact is a horror nut has his signature all over it. It has a very creepy vibe to it and for the budget (which I'm sure was low)....the effects and ghostly images look real and scary enough to make you turn on a couple of lights just to walk to your bathroom after you watch it! The filming location was wisely chosen as I have never seen a creepier looking prison.
The Really Good: Possible homage to the film Aliens (another film in my top 3 favorites) when an actor sees movement and hears a noise up above and sticks his head in an attic. Using a flashlight (just like Hicks) he pans around the dark space to see a rat first and then to get killed. Cool scene! The Bad: I have poor vision anyway's and some of the interior prison shots are filmed very dark which made it hard for me to see. I know part of this is done on purpose but it made it a bit hard to make certain scenes out. Also there is a sex scene in the film which could have shown some t*ts and ass. The last thing is not just for this film but a constant problem with DVDS these days ESPECIALLY horror DVDS is that they are advertising them as unrated....and the unrated DVDS never have anything in them that you as an audience member think makes the film deserve that unrated rating.
Overall I liked the film well enough to give it 4 stars which is rare for me with a horror film because I judge them very harshly. Butler has done some great things for the horror industry and I think that this just shows more of his craft and talent. I am looking forward to the next one if I could pick I would have Bill try his hand out in the zombie genre!