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Overall Rating : 8/10
Directed By : Dante Tomaselli
Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp)
Edwin Neal (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre '74)
Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead)
Ron Millkie (Friday The 13th)
Supplied By : Anchor Bay Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Aug. 22, 2006
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| PLOT SATAN'S PLAYGROUND is a supernatural shocker chronicling a family's spine-tingling odyssey in New Jersey's legendary Pine Barrens region. En route to a wilderness camping retreat, their car inexplicably breaks down. As darkness falls, panic sets in. Then the marooned family stumbles upon an ancient and seemingly abandoned house. And it is here that they meet the bizarre Mrs. Leeds who lives there with her equally unhinged children. Offering no assistance, she warns of a violent, unseen force lurking in the forbidding countryside. Soon, the family will encounter a supernatural evil older than the woods themselves. SATAN'S PLAYGROUND...a place where deadly myth becomes gruesome reality. |
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| THE REVIEW In SATAN'S PLAYGROUND, The Bruno family, on their way to a camping trip in the woods, suddenly get stuck and break down, with no one around to offer aid to them they search for help and stumble upon an old house. At the house they meet Mrs. Leeds who is apparently a "palm reader" She asked if they are hear for a reading but that is just her why of luring people into coming in the old house. There in the house along with Leeds lives her two mentally challenged children whom have an unexplained thirst for blood.... and to make things much worse, Mrs. Leeds' "13th Child" the "Jersey Devil" as they call him via legend stalks pray from the wilderness surrounding the house.... You know what frustrates me the most? It is when before I see a film, I hear many bad things about it....only to later see it for myself, and absolutely love it - such is the case with Writer/Director Dante Tomaselli's SATAN'S PLAYGROUND. I must admit that I have never seen Tomaselli's two previous features and honestly I expected myself to somehow hate this movie, but just coming out of it....I cannot find one thing to complain about really. When bringing up Tomaselli's work to friends, they are always quick to tell me that Dante has this unique "style" that somehow or another, sets him apart and more times than not they don't dig it. Well all I can say to that is, thank god Dante has his style....at least it's not like the countless amount of other "flavor of the month" filmmaking hacks I am forced to sit through most of the time. SATAN'S PLAYGROUND does not look like a movie of the present, but rather boasting a retro feel and you know what? that feeling is a great one. The film's gore, score and even sound effects are that of the 70's decade of Horror as well. I can already tell you that many a causal contemporary film watcher will say "what the hell is this?" because every element is not as polished as they are used to seeing.....but remember kids this is "how it used to be".... films like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE had this and now that the remake is a favorite of all the young kids this type of film is likely to be thrown by the wayside so to speak - but luckily SATAN'S PLAYGROUND shows you it does still exist, and yes it can be effective. The "lost in the woods, stumble upon a house" scenario is tired and worn to pieces i'll admit, but there is just something that attracted me to this film, It could be the woods that ultimately became evil with in itself, or the creepy house or just the acting itself, in which I truly found fantastic, but nonetheless, everything adds up to what it takes to warrant a film a "cult classic. As mentioned the acting is truly intriguing....I was mainly taken in by the beloved Felissa Rose. Here as Donna Bruno, Felissa shows us the same charm that grabbed us in 1983's SLEEPAWAY CAMP.... and as a matter of fact i'd have to say that this is Felissa Rose's BEST performance since SLEEPAWAY in my unbiased and honest opinion.... Her talent is one that should be seen more often.....she is what a scream queen should be. Danny Lopes is also great as the autistic son of Donna, Sean. At times if you did not know any better you'd think that Lopes was authentically autistic, just by the dedication he give his portrayal, I applaud him very much so. And now on to the "crazies", Irma St. Paule is just downright off her rocker a bit as the undeniable owner of the house Mrs. Leeds. As she talks endlessly about all of her 13 children.... all of which, by her account "turned out bad" you just get that presence that irks you like a senile old lady in a nursing home that you desperately try and stray from. Her children Judy and Boy played by Christie Sanford and the uber cool Edwin Neal (from '74's TEXAS CHAINSAW) are no different. Even though not mentioning the entire cast it is safe to say there are no bad apples.... people have criticized SATAN'S PLAYGROUND'S acting already..... do these people watch more than just 2 Horror films a month? Along with an almost forgotten approach, slick edits and progressive directing, SATAN'S PLAYGROUND is a fast journey into a world of hysteria that I absolutely loved.... |
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 The gore isn't too out there and over they top, but it was almost like horror of the good old days, quirky sound effects and all! |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 6/10 The score is a great mix and makes the movie that much more fun. We have lots of screeching tracks as well as many playful, child-like ones. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM If you want me to be honest, SATAN'S PLAYGROUND is a film I could watch over and over again, and probably will. It would be a lie if I told you I expected to like this film as much as I did, I didn't expect to but what Tomaselli has here is a Horror gem. I highly recommend this, no doubt about it! This title will be released on August 22, 2006 |
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