Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

tzaeru I feel that there is a general atmosphere of misunderstandance(sic) surrounding this beautiful film. And indeed - is it so tempting to merely write it off as a yet another substandard, mindless gore-fest, but we'd be turning a blind eye to the inner core of what forms and holds this movie at line and above the rest. What this piece of art truly is, is a complex and nuanced critique of whole modern Hollywood storytelling.Allow me to elaborate: While on one hand we've this fairly standard -- although well made -- merry-splatter-go-a-round, brilliance can be found from every crack and seam of the non-consistent takes; Brilliance oozes from every plot inconsistency and unexplained twist and poorly chosen phrasing for dialogue, for it allows the viewer to really focus on what is important. That importance is in characters and character interaction.Instead of being treated the fairly standard "actor did an emotion, lets now explain why that emotion is important and what led to it!" and "this character is like this, now lets explain why he did something that does not 100% fit the off-movie stereotype!", we're given a rather witty collection of complex, inter-character dynamics. We see a character give a promise; It gets us to wonder, given the personality of this character, if his off-beat honor will disallow him from breaking it, or if his more.. evil.. side gets the best of him. Whichever way the answer is, I can guarantee that it showcases not only the brutality of the real world, but the ultimate emptiness and meaninglessness of human action. At the same time, the movie shows how human personalities and human ideals indeed have more sides to them than what is made apparent by modern easy-to-swallow -- and very shallow -- storytelling.We see stereotypes that go all the way into caricatures, but at the same time there are surprises and depth molded into their stories. The stereotype is there merely to create the contrast. There are touches of true human life that we can all relate to. This movie is not self-explanatory. It does not make comprehension easy on you. But at the same time, it and its characters feel natural and true. Not artificial and plastic. For that -- and its experimentation and braveness -- I give it 9/10.Still not recommended if you diss gore/splatter/horror and/or love Hollywood/lack a sense of humor.

Steve Carney Let me start off by saying this film is SO underrated. Sure, Ittenbach is directing, but that doesn't mean it was a piece of you-know-what like everyone seems to think about Uwe Boll's films. (Both directors make the same style of movies, and if their movies are taken on their own, for what they are, which is action movies, they should not be subject to so much negativity) It starts off a bit out of sequence, but after the first 10-15 minutes, you get the idea of what's going on. I won't spoil it, but this movie is FULL of blood, guns, action scenes, more blood, a possessed old English speaking devil-like cult in a church in the middle of the woods, and more blood. Oh, and there's more blood, much more than Evil Dead 1 & 2 (Combined) or Haunted Forest. This is the type of movie where you're filled with giddy joy that the criminals are such badasses so they MIGHT have a chance to kill off all the possessed cult members, kind of like that awesome Russian film, Trackman. You're also filled with that feeling while watching something like the Matrix, especially if you're a guy. That adrenaline filled, kill-everything-never-ask-questions feeling, if you know what I mean. Go see this film, I think they had it at Blockbuster a few years ago, they definitely have it on Netflix's disc-based plan, maybe on streaming. The reason I mentioned Blockbuster is because I bought it for $5 at a used bookstore, and it was in a Blockbuster case. In short, just go see this film if you are a guy and love lots of guns, blood, action, with a great story and mix of horror. (*Review updated December 28th, 2013)

Catharina_Sweden This was the worst movie I have ever seen! I would not have watched it to the end, if it was not for the fact that I wanted to write this review. And it does not feel fair to do that, if one has not really watched the whole movie.I do not know where to start, really... The plot is confusing, muddled, and _utterly_ unrealistic and stupid. The attempt at Old English is just _so_ ridiculous...Also, I do not like it when things are not explained properly. For instance: was the young "Old English" peasant girl the Doctor's mother in her previous life - or what..? But the worst thing was all the gore and meaningless violence. It made me feel sick - I mean _for real_, not just like a saying. I _hate_ violent films, because I think they are unhealthy.You can react "badly" to them in two ways I think: either by becoming more violent yourself, because you get some kind of approval of your aggressive impulses on the screen.Or - like me - you can become more frightened of being assaulted. Always when I have watched something like this, I get into a state of fear of people in the streets... I watch out, and if I think they look dangerous I somehow prepare myself for the blow... and it always takes days or even weeks before I can forget about it again.It is so unnecessary I think, to produce something that makes people feel bad - what is the point of that..?The only thing that was good in this movie, was the actor playing the Doctor. I felt almost sorry for him - it must be awful to have to waste such a talent on something so stupid!

Coventry Olaf Ittenbach is a fairly gifted special effects wizard; there are quite a few movies to confirm this statement. But at the same time he's an absolutely terrible director and, unfortunately, there are several movies to confirm that statement as well. Somebody really ought to tell him - tactfully - that he isn't cut out to sit in the director's chair and that he should exclusively focus the rest of his career on make-up effects. The gory bits and nauseating effects form the only highlights in "House of Blood", as the rest of the film is one major pitiable effort, complete with poor plotting, total lacking of coherence & suspense and probably the worst acting performances you've ever seen in your life. The basic premise is already rather stupid, and then still the script has the pretension to appear intelligently structured and even poetic! The official title (although "House of Blood" is a much more suitable one) refers to the unlikely chain of reactions caused by a small event. A dead bird falls from a tree and causes a rock to roll down a hill and into the windshield of a car. This subsequently results in a collision with a prison bus and all hell breaks loose. Four heavyweight criminals escape, take a doctor hostage and end up in a farmhouse where time seemingly stood still. The people there, wearing medieval outfits and talking with a strange accent, turn out to be bloodthirsty demons and repulsively kill the unwelcome visitors. The doctor escapes, but naturally the investigating police detective (Jürgen Prochnow, of all people, he must have been desperate for work) doesn't believe his story and arrests him. Next thing he knows, the doctor is sitting in a prison transport bus and the whole nightmare starts over. What, is this supposed to be some kind of surrealistic fairy-tale or something? All the characters, whether good or evil, are insufferable and you'll secretly wish they will all die an excruciatingly painful death. Who knows, maybe your wish is granted. My best advice is to try and totally neglect the ridiculous plot and just fully enjoy the grotesque gore! We're treated – in great detail – to faces getting smashed to pus with rocks or shot to slush with shotguns, wild axe-decapitations, ripped off testicles, torn open throats and much more. Utter garbage, but exhilarating & inspiring grossness… At least it's something.