Review of Laid to Rest (2009) by Jeff L — 08 Jun 2017

This movie was a huge surprise to me. I rarely watch more modern horror movies because my expectations are so low for them, but I was pulled into watching this just to see the effects on display.

And I got far more than just some nice effects work.

The movie started off how I expected, I expected it to be loud and gruesome with annoying characters, I didn't expect much. But very quickly past the first ten minutes, I realized this movie was actually not going in the direction that was the easiest.

The characters for me are what made this movie and set is apart from many I've seen with this much gore. The characters feel like people in the best sense. They care about each other and react like people. The extreme gore feels correct to me because the killer uses it almost like his own traps, causing characters to panic and make mistakes like someone seeing these things would do. Almost using the gore as a way to constantly have an upper hand.

Whenever I felt the movie would steer on an easy path, it didn't. When it introduces "douche-bag bro" characters they quickly get their shit together and act like people once they realize that something very dangerous is happening. The reactions feel genuine and pull you in.

The effects I must say were also quite nice. They're at a forefront but they're very good and it was refreshing to see practical work. I really was amazed at the quality put into this movie and I wish more people would at least give it a chance if they don't mind gore. Horror movies are my favorite thing to watch, but there are very few actually worth spending time on, so my recommendation for this isn't just coming out of nowhere. It was an incredible treat to find this movie.