Cradle of Fear (2001) (V)

Director:

Alex Chandon

Writer:

Alex Chandon (writer)

Release Date:

4 July 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It's Not If They Die... It's How

Plot:

A gruesome homage to the cult Amicus anthology Asylum, Cradle of Fear unfolds four screamplays all linked...

Plot Keywords:

House | Killing | Old Man | Internet | Detective

Cast

Dani Filth	...	The Man
David McEwen	...	Kemper
Edmund Dehn	...	Detective Neilson
Emily Booth	...	Melissa (as Emily Bouffante)
Eileen Daly	...	Natalie
Rebecca Eden	...	Sophie
Melissa Forti	...	Nikki
Louie Brownsell	...	Nick
Emma Rice	...	Emma
Stuart Laing	...	Richard Neilson
Barry Lee-Thomas	...	Chief Inspector Roper
Angela Kay	...	Nurse McAllister
Mark Rathbone	...	Pringle
Al Stokes	...	The Old Man
Willie Evans	...	The Short Man

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Germany:18 | Iceland:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Pragmatic Pictures Ltd.

Trivia:

The doctor that Nick visits is Dr. H. West, a probable reference to H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West-Reanimator." H.P. Lovecraft was also responsible for writing other Gothic works such as Call of Cthulhu which were inspirations to Cradle of Filth.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the film, when the photographer is taking pictures of Melissa and Nikki's corpses, Melissa's eyes are open. But, in the scene where Melissa stabs herself, she dies with her eyes closed.

Movie Connections:

References Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Soundtrack:

Lord Abortion

An over rated but enjoyable horror

Empire called it "the best British gore film since Hellraiser". Allan Bryce said "i have seen the future of horror and his name is Alex Chandon". With praise like that it was bound to disappoint some. Cradle of fear is a low-budget horror anthology. Whether you will enjoy the film will depend on whether you can get past the low-budget video look, several bad performances and the at times laughable effects. However overall the most surprising thing about this film is how good it is. Alex Chgandon brings a level of directing style not usually associated with this budget, in particular in the excellent opening sequence. The gore is excellent and some off the effects are very good though at times the over the top nature off the violence is at odds with the tone off the film. In general the acting is good with Stuart Laing in the films high point the sick room segment being of special mention. Dani Filth is alright in a role that requires him to do little but kill and act cool. The actor who played Kemper was suitably deranged. Though the high point is the sick room segment , there are great moments throughout in particular the finale. Is it good as Hellraiser? No, but then not a lot of horror films are. It does however show that with a bigger budget and more time Alex Chandon could make one off THE horror films off the decade, and therefore really does introduce a new voice previously known only in underground circles. This however is not his masterpiece.