In the desolate remains of Skull City Mine, located in some godforsaken place in Arizona, two sisters find themselves in a whole heap of trouble. It was just supposed to be a tourist stop, a diner waitress informing them of the mine, how it was reputed to be haunted by spirits. What the girls do find is a psycho blacksmith with a giant hammer he uses to bludgeon the skulls of those who visit the mine. Yep, they spend the whole movie just trying to stay alive. Megan and Abby were simply on one last trip together before separating. Megan, on her way to New York City with dreams of success and a bright future. Abby, anguished at the fact that sis is heading off to the big city, leaving her behind. While Abby has always depended on big sister for strength and guidance, Megan will need her to grow up as they face insurmountable challenges.
You see something evil lives within the area of the local town of Unity at the old mine and it feeds on souls with the deranged priest and his flock obeying it's command to bring it tourists as sustenance. This demon or whatever carries within a stench that causes those who breathe it to assault each other like foul beasts. The demon has one desire and that's to feast on the souls of those at the point of death.
Tony Todd is the crazed priest who believes the demon is Jesus and his followers are mindless sheep answering to his will to lead souls to be eaten. Bill Moseley is, you guessed it, a lunatic after the girls and having fun during the hunt, wearing a pig snout and grinning from ear to ear, taking his time as Megan attempts to keep Abby safe from harm(Abby falls into a hole knocking herself unconscious).
Most of "The Graves" consists of Abby and Megan trying to evade one psycho after another. I have a feeling Moseley will never have any problems finding work as long as there's a demand for madmen. The additional plot of flies, stench, nutty townsfolk, and an evil that eats as souls cry out in terror upon the moment of death, was a bit too much for me personally to take seriously, but maybe others will feel differently. Even Todd, who can normally create menace with the most lackluster of parts, is hard to watch as a priest constantly howling to the heavens for his savior.
The movie's title is actually the last name of the heroines, who are in peril at several points throughout the movie, tied up or in dire straits, but the screenplay finds amusing ways to rescue them when there seems to be no hope. The leads are cute and they match each other which I found adorable, their tight jeans and black muscle shirts..good casting as they resemble each other(I certainly would consider them sisters if I saw them out and about).
For some reason, "The Graves" simply lacked real, palpable menace, and I never really felt that the girls would bite the bullet, mainly because the film kept finding ways to release them from certain doom. Maybe it was the sunny Arizona setting that was unable to evoke a sense of dread. Or, the performances were uninspired and the cast was going through the motions..when Moseley's routine even fails to deliver, the jury's out and the verdict may be quite unkind.
Many might recognize Claire Grant, who portrays Megan, as the gorgeous creature from Mick Garris' second Masters of Horror entry "Valerie in the Stairs" also starring Tony Todd. Jillian Murray is Abby, with Amanda Wyss(80's regular in movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Better Off Dead)as a diner waitress who suffers a grisly fate. A great deal of the violence happens off screen or just out of frame, with most of the carnage established in our mind as blood squirts and splatters to recognize victims' gruesome demises.
You see something evil lives within the area of the local town of Unity at the old mine and it feeds on souls with the deranged priest and his flock obeying it's command to bring it tourists as sustenance. This demon or whatever carries within a stench that causes those who breathe it to assault each other like foul beasts. The demon has one desire and that's to feast on the souls of those at the point of death.
Tony Todd is the crazed priest who believes the demon is Jesus and his followers are mindless sheep answering to his will to lead souls to be eaten. Bill Moseley is, you guessed it, a lunatic after the girls and having fun during the hunt, wearing a pig snout and grinning from ear to ear, taking his time as Megan attempts to keep Abby safe from harm(Abby falls into a hole knocking herself unconscious).
Most of "The Graves" consists of Abby and Megan trying to evade one psycho after another. I have a feeling Moseley will never have any problems finding work as long as there's a demand for madmen. The additional plot of flies, stench, nutty townsfolk, and an evil that eats as souls cry out in terror upon the moment of death, was a bit too much for me personally to take seriously, but maybe others will feel differently. Even Todd, who can normally create menace with the most lackluster of parts, is hard to watch as a priest constantly howling to the heavens for his savior.
The movie's title is actually the last name of the heroines, who are in peril at several points throughout the movie, tied up or in dire straits, but the screenplay finds amusing ways to rescue them when there seems to be no hope. The leads are cute and they match each other which I found adorable, their tight jeans and black muscle shirts..good casting as they resemble each other(I certainly would consider them sisters if I saw them out and about).
For some reason, "The Graves" simply lacked real, palpable menace, and I never really felt that the girls would bite the bullet, mainly because the film kept finding ways to release them from certain doom. Maybe it was the sunny Arizona setting that was unable to evoke a sense of dread. Or, the performances were uninspired and the cast was going through the motions..when Moseley's routine even fails to deliver, the jury's out and the verdict may be quite unkind.
Many might recognize Claire Grant, who portrays Megan, as the gorgeous creature from Mick Garris' second Masters of Horror entry "Valerie in the Stairs" also starring Tony Todd. Jillian Murray is Abby, with Amanda Wyss(80's regular in movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Better Off Dead)as a diner waitress who suffers a grisly fate. A great deal of the violence happens off screen or just out of frame, with most of the carnage established in our mind as blood squirts and splatters to recognize victims' gruesome demises.