Don’t let the demonically possessed looking woman on the poster art confuse you. Hotel of the Damned is not about any sort of exorcist or supernatural event. What it is, however, is a family driven story that cleverly mixes Wrong Turn 3 with The Godfather. Yes, you get equal parts cannibalistic horror and strong, violent family values in Hotel of the Damned! Maria (Manuela Harabor) runs away with her boyfriend Bogdan (Bogdan Marhodin), but they are apprehended by her father Nicky (Louis Mandylor of “Grace Under Fire” and My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and his associate Jimmy (Peter Dobson). On the way to taking the young couple back home, they’re in a terrible car accident that results in all four of them being ejected from the vehicle. Lost, injured and without cell phone reception, they take shelter in an abandoned hotel in the middle of the woods, hoping that it’ll provide them with enough shelter and safety until the morning. Unfortunately, the hotel already has devilish inhabitants of its own and they’re not too thrilled to see uninvited guests… though they are hungry.
Hotel of the Damned is directed by Bobby Barbacioru based on the screenplay by Luca Bercovici (Ghoulies, The Granny) and Paul Petcu. As I mentioned above, these three guys came up with a film that’s really interesting and clever. There are so many opposing elements at work here that you have no choice but to be enthralled and entertained from beginning to end. The film starts with a pretty killer opening sequence before diving into the hardships this family has faced in the past. Though the small group is made up of family members and those who are like family, everyone is hiding something and is guilty of wrongdoings in the past that have severely altered their relationships in the present. And that’s what makes this movie great. When the shit hits the fan, they band together in a strong way to fight the cannibals and that’s what the audience wants to see, too. Characters they can route for and a positive outcome to some extent. I still say viewers want a strong story and a happy ending over jump scares and excessive nudity and Hotel of the Damned definitely falls into the first group.
What else do you have to look forward to in Hotel of the Damned? Well, I really dug the cinematography and camera work. It was dulled and grey and gave off that sense of hopelessness. The script, believe it or not, has the slightest bit of comedy in it; so you even get a chuckle or two or three out of this title. Mostly, of course, I think the viewer is going to watch this movie because it’s a horror-thriller with multiple killers. It’s not just a game of cat and mouse, and it’s a game of lions vs. cheetahs. There’s plenty of punches thrown, plenty of gunshots to the chest, hacking and slashing with a machete, stabbing, cursing and it even has a fire! I can tell a lot of effort was put into making Hotel of the Damned more than just your standard cannibal attack flick. The opening sequence and the final fight scene were very reminiscent to the Friday the 13th movies. The whole thing feels slightly 80’s to me now that I think about it. My only complaint in regards to the entire movie is I didn’t think one of the character’s death was believable. There’s no way he would have ever scarified himself for the others.
Hotel of the Damned is one of the few independent horror titles that I truly believe is good enough for movie theaters. It’s a perfect production, if you ask me, and a home run for distributor Uncork’d Entertainment. The four main characters have real chemistry and that made their performances so believable. Hotel of the Damned is jam packed with suspense and gore and still managers to not take itself too seriously. It’s a smooth story filled with angst, violence and family values. I’d highly recommend it to people who enjoy the Wrong Turn franchise. Final Score: 8.5 out of 10.
