Review by Chris Rennirt

“Don’t worry.  Everything is about to change.”

Something terrible is happening.  A dead body lies in a hallway, a black triangle is painted on a door, and a woman screams.  Running from the house, she is shot.  Doused with gasoline, while still alive, begging for her life, the woman is set afire.  The smugness of the man who dropped the cigarette on her suggests it was necessary.  Was there, perhaps, really something just, if not utterly evil, about it.  But what?  No one knows (and no one may ever know for sure), in The Void, a supernatural/sci-fi/space horror thriller from writer/director duo, Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, sure to become a cult classic, if it hasn’t already.

Yes!  The Void starts off running, rarely stopping a moment.  We never recover form what just happened, before something happens again.  Shock after shock follows images and events that keep us confused, making us want more.  The beginning is an honest, mysterious harbinger of the doom, death, and dread that follows relentlessly.  Rather than a void of nothingness (as it would be easy, if not banal, for critics to add in a review), here, there are limitless possibilities to discover and imagine.  Just my kind of movie!

Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) is the county sheriff and arguably the movie’s main character, albeit not by much.  The only relaxed moment in the film occurs with Daniel in his patrol car, on duty, making small talk with the headquarters dispatch worker.  Bursting from the woods comes a man (Evan Stern) who is anything but this weekend’s drunk to be arrested.  The sheriff takes him to the local hospital, and there, we meet Allison Frazer (Kathleen Munroe), Dr. Richard Powell (Kenneth Welsh), Kim (Ellen Wong), Mitchell (Art Hindle), Beverly (Stephanie Belding), Maggie (Grace Munro), Ben (James Millington), and Cliff (Matthew Kennedy).  The hapless seven includes hospital staff, a patient, a pregnant teenager with her grandfather, and additional law enforcement.

“You’d be surprised at the things you find, when you go looking.” ~ Dr. Powell

Arriving later is a vigilante father and son duo (Daniel Fathers and Mik Byskov, respectively).  They are never addressed with a name.  But, as they are, bursting in, ready to kill, no one cares about names.  Appropriately, they are only listed in the credits as “The Father” and “The Son.”  Is this really a coincidence?  Or, are they, perhaps, two of the three in a holy trinity horror, battling an onslaught of apocalyptic hell?  Could elevated metaphors be part of such gratuitous gore to come?  Only if you underestimate The Void, is what I say.

Next appearing are the white-robed figures, bearing, on their faces, black triangles?    Are they members of a cult?  Are they disciples of hell?  Or, are they something more sinister, not even human?  Who knows?  But, it certainly hypes the suspense and doom, just when things are already in overdrive, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse (or better, if you’re a fan of this sort of thing).  The mysteries here are endless, and this is just the beginning!  Death, mayhem, and undulating gore, with tentacled-transformations are, henceforth, abound as well.  Yes!  Lovecraft himself would buy a ticket to this one!

Speaking of mysteries, what is “The Void”?  Like everything else, no one really knows for sure.  Even your best guesses can only be guesses forever.  Just like the characters, we are uninformed, left to our own conclusions.  At the least, The Void is hell.  Images of isolation, desolation, and darkness, along with hellish inhabitants, are enough to make us think so.  At most, it is a cosmic void, within the universe, larger and worse than the biblical hell we know.  This brings to mind an important fact, if not an important film-to-physics connection.  Voids of a cosmic nature do exist in the universe–vast expanses of mysterious nothingness that defy explanation, that defy the ability to exist.  The Boötes Void (or The Great Nothing) is a most notable, real cosmic anomaly.  At nearly 330 million light-years in diameter, it is approximately 27% of the diameter of the observable Universe.  Is this, perhaps, the location of hell in The Void?  At 700 million light years away, we will never know.  Regardless, the film’s cosmic connections are intriguing!

Going further, what is the significance of the triangle?  The triangle is a symbol of many things to many different cultures, even connecting to religion. To the Greeks, the triangle is seen as the delta glyph and is symbolic of a doorway to higher wisdom.  Indeed, the triangle is a doorway to The Void.  In the Norwegian archaeological record, the triangle appears in connection with the cult of the dead, death, and the transition from life to death and back again.  In The Void, people need to die or kill others in order to transform (we see this happen consistently, as victims die or kill and then transform).  The Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God), represents the eye of God watching over man.  Indeed, there is a God in The Void, because there is something to worship, as provider of desires in an afterlife.  The most obvious connection is with the The Holy Trinity.  Yes!  Remember the father and son pair, known only as “Father” and “Son”?  Again, could they be analogies of Christian forces working to fight Satanic evil?  More than coincidentally, it seems, their actions (as well as their names) suggest exactly that!

Why do I think The Void is sure to be a cult classic?  It has all of the elements needed, beginning with one I value most–a huge mystery that never reveals its secrets.  The best mysteries are those we care about solving; they keep us thinking, debating, rewatching the movies again and again, looking for clues we may have missed, even though we aren’t likely to find them.  Yes!  Another all-important element of cult classics is the “rewatchability” factor.  (Yes!  I may have just coined my own cinema term.)  The Void ranks a ten in that factor for me.

“All these years, haven’t you ever wished to save someone beyond saving, no matter what the cost?” ~ Dr. Powell

Another cult-film requirement is added with old-school practical special effects.  Thanks to coordinator Stefano Beninati, we get an abundance of bloody, undulating gore and hellish, mutated creatures that are really there (not virtually, as CGI).  Ultra-gross-out effects ooze realism and tangible presence, unlike most bigger budget films today.  The Void reminds me of the best in 80s films I love the most–John Carpenter’s The Thing, Re-Animator, Evil Dead, and more.  Yes!  It’s all, as the transformed Dr. Powell says, “something truly remarkable.”

One of many interesting elements in The Void is that of altered realities.  Places in the hospital become places that don’t exist in the real world, or places that exist in the world elsewhere, perhaps.  Characters go down steps, ever deeper, to levels not part of the hospital.  The sheriff’s patrol car is farther away than he parked it, once they see it later.  Everything from overt to subtle changes in reality (or perceptions of reality) are significant and intentional, providing clues to process the mystery, at least a little more.  Are the boundaries of The Void and our world overlapping, with time, space, and reality distorted, in a dimension where people look inward, within, finding the hell one’s own making?

“This is uncharted territory, a chance to study my own transformation.” ~ Dr. Powell

Another interesting element of The Void is one possibly overlooked but well heard.  It is a biblical references, suggesting the larger, more world-effected nature of apocalypse.  The distinct sound of a shofar can be heard blowing, as the white-shrouded figures appear, bearing the triangle on their face.  This shofar is an ancient musical instrument referred to in the Hebrew bible.  There, the shofar is used to, among other things, announce the beginning of a war.  It is also the instrument that is said to have brought down the walls of Jericho.  The blast of a shofar emanating from a thick cloud on Mount Sinai is said to have made the Israelites tremble in awe.  Not only do shofars blow in The Void, but thick clouds also roll in eerie, almost supernatural formations; such images are shown often, as to be more than ominous.  A stretch of thinking?  Maybe.  But, it certainly fits the story most appropriately.  So, are the events in The Void happening only in Marsh County, in an unidentified state in the US?  Or, are they happening all over the world?  Are the shrouded figures assembling worldwide for an apocalypse of cosmic origin, or for one created by humans on Earth?  Are hellish creatures bursting from the dead everywhere?  Here, The Void is filled, utterly, with imagination!

How is the acting?  This is a movie in which most actors deliver a performance that efficiently achieves its purpose, with a script that doesn’t call for standouts.  Key requirements in a movie like The Void are realistic reactions to horrifying, otherworldly circumstances.  Do they react with enough fear, is the fear sustained beyond the moment, or does it pass too quickly…and most importantly, is their fear believable?  The answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes!  Ellen Wong (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Dark Matter), stands out as Lucy, although she has less on-screen time than many others.  In a standout scene, Lucy is pressured to perform an emergency c section. Wong transitions from nurse in training to nurse in panic, exploding the moment with dread and fear, utterly believable, helping THE VOID “become something truly remarkable.” Just as Wong added awesomeness to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as Knives Chau, she does the same with Lucy in The Void!

Art Hindle (from the 1979 horror hit The Brood), plays a state trooper sent to the hospital to check out what he calls “a shit show,” resulting from what he thinks is Sheriff Carter’s incompetence–that is until he witnesses the first truly “batshit” transformation of a hospital nurse.  Hindle, being the second-most veteran actor in the cast (second only to Kenneth Welsh), is underutilized in his role.  With an epic filmography (including lead roles in iconic films) and acting credits dating back to 1971, there is surely more value Hindle could have added with a larger part.  His short-lived character provides little time for his talent, but, while there, he makes the most of it.  In a scene after he witnesses the “real shit show” (one with a mutating, pissed off corpse), his awe-stricken look, along with his trooper hat now askew on his head, is priceless!  It takes true talent to do so much with so little, and Hindle does it…again!

“I lost my daughter to the abyss, but tonight, I’m calling her back.” ~ Dr. Powell

I absolutely love the voice of the transformed Dr. Powell, which I believe is also the voice of actor Kenneth Welsh who plays Dr. Powell.  Powell’s deep, rich, ominous tone,  along with his memorable lines of terror and erratic rhythm, create yet another case for cult-film status.  The lines are so masterfully written and delivered by Powell as to be on par with all of those spoken by Pinhead from Hellraiser.  (Yes!  They are really that good, and I have quoted many of them here!)  Kudos to writers Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski for such fresh and delicious lines of quotable hell!

Speaking of similarities to Hellraiser, there is one scene that is a direct, and likely intended homage.  As a demonic creature chases “The Son” through a corridor that narrows behind them, any Hellraiser fan will remember the wall crawler chasing Kirstie through a passageway, closing as she runs back to her hospital room.  If it did not, indeed, seem to be so intentional, as fan service, the scene would be cause for criticism…and perhaps a loss of a rocket on the SJR meter.  But, never fear!

“I had no idea that it would feel like this.  The years I’ve spent operating on people…opening them up and stitching them back together again.” ~ Dr. Powell

And of shortcomings, is there anything I’d like to see done differently?  Is there anything causing a cinematic void of the unwanted kind?  Just one thing, actually.  I’d like to see more of the monsters.  Even though less is often more in horror, in The Void, there is, I think, a little too much unseen.  In watching the behind-the-scenes featurette (currently available on Youtube), after watching the movie, I was surprised to see the great work and detail special effects artists had put into creature effects.  Many of the movie’s monster scenes occur in dark places, with only fleeting glimpses to be seen.  It is ashamed that so much work was put into effects seen so little.  Besides, in a movie like The Void, gross-out guts and gore and cult status are the goal.  Could a little more monster be too much monster?  I doubt it.

“I refuse to let death be the end.  I defy God.  There are things much older…older than time…and they’ve blessed me.” ~ Dr. Powell

As it is obvious by now, The Void is a movie with its story told through the perspective of its characters.  So, we only know what they know.  And, in this movie, they don’t know anything.  So, if you’re looking for a film that neatly gives you all the answers, never expecting you to analyze and think for yourself, avoid the void.  As the title implies, there is nothing there for you.  If, however, you are like me and you enjoy such mysteries to ponder, you enjoy thinking outside the box (or perhaps, outside the triangle), The Void will certainly satisfy.  For me, it’s a movie I could write about endlessly, pondering and analyzing it, easily enough, ever-increasing my theories about its meaning.  It is the first movie review I’ve written that I must force myself to stop writing.  Yes!  This review, although now published, is still a work in progress.  If you check back later, more could be added and things could be changed.  After all, the best art, in my opinion, is an unfinished work.

And the ending…of the movie, that is!  Again, for those who like everything as a present, neatly wrapped and tied with a bow, look elsewhere.  The ending is abrupt, consistent with what preceded, offering no closure.  What’s worse (or perhaps better) is that the writer/producer team say they have no plans to ever make a sequel, a prequel, or anything else.  What we have here, is all we’ll ever get.  But, again, I’m okay with that.  For me, The Void will always be a movie filled with mystery and wonder–never one to be ruined later.  (Yes! Alien Covenant is the disaster coming to mind!)  I will watch The Void again many times.  Never knowing the answers, always knowing possibilities, I will think of it and wonder, many times again.  With that, it will achieve what the best of movies can.  Unlike those in the abyss of forgotten films, The Void will be remembered.

“I’ve spent my life resisting death, but now, I understand.  I must embrace it.” ~ Dr. Powell

The Void is cosmic horror and sci-fi gore at its finest!  Fans hungry for nostalgia get a feast of 80s entrails and otherworldly creatures, as a throwback to the good old days, when Carpenter was The Thing and Barker raised Hell.  All of this is served up with something equally rare in horror these days (or any days)–intellect, depth, and room to think beyond the box, to places not part of our world, born of fears and desires from places unknown.  Yes!  The Void is a place yet to be filled with the “astral workings” of your own mind.  As Dr. Powell says, “You’d be surprised at the things you find, when you go looking.”  And in finding them, “You will become something truly remarkable.”

Chris Rennirt (the author of this review) is a movie critic and writer in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as editor in chief at Space Jockey Reviews.  He has been a judge at many film festivals, including Macabre Faire Film Festival and Crimson Screen Film Fest, and he attends horror and sci-fi conventions often.  Chris’ movie reviews, articles, and interviews are published regularly on Space Jockey Reviews and in Effective Magazine.  His mission statement (describing his goals as a movie critic and philosophy for review writing) can be found on the “Mission” page, here at SJR.  For more information about Chris Rennirt (including contact details, publicity photos, and more), click here.

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