Graves, The (2009)

The Graves (2009)

A pair of sisters wind up in Skull City (subtle, right?) when they get lost on a road trip. They find out that there are both human and inhuman threats. So through some confusing series of events, they run, hack, and hide their way through an array of unexplained circumstances (circumstances which remain unexplained, even to the viewer). So that explains one of the many weak points of The Graves, the lack of any sensible plot. There appears to be a story, but it is left just out of the viewer’s reach.

The Graves co-stars Bill Moseley and Tony Todd. Unfortunately, neither of them can save this trainwreck of a film. The leading roles (Clare Grant and Jillian Murray) are unsympathetic and insincere. Worse than that is the script and dialogue, which just meanders with no set path. So we are left with a blotchy story line overlaid with inconsistent, and poorly acted, dialogue.

There is plenty of blood, but it is almost all cartoon-looking CGI gore. Some of the other effects seem to belong on a made-for-TV family movie, not in a horror film. Nearly all of the effects are poorly done CGI and take a lot away from the already weak backbone of the film.

The main characters attend a ‘last concert’ together, with horror punk band Calabrese. So I will give this film props for including Calabrese, and that is one of the only redeeming factors (the second is Tony Todd’s cheesy performance). Other than those couple elements, there is really nothing to enjoy about The Graves. Don’t waste your time with this one.