The Roost
Starring: Tom Noonan, Karl Jacob, Venessa Horneff
Writer: Ti West
Director: Ti West
****Spoilers throughout****
Halloween night: four friends --Trevor, Allison, Brian and Elliot-- traveling to a wedding down a seemingly endless road that contains no turn offs, no other cars, no nothin'. With little to talk about, they listen to the crackling sounds of a horror show radio broadcast. Driving along, a bat swoops up to the windshield, causing Trevor (Karl Jacob) to veer off the road and making the car immobile. The four set out on foot to try and find help, which ultimately leads them to a farmhouse full of bats that have a bite, which causes the curse of the undead.
I remember liking this more last year, and the year before. Fusing zombie and animal horror is pretty intriguing, indeed. And The Roost plays with it well when it manages to dig itself out and stand above the boredom it's mostly buried in. I am a real a big fan of movies that slow burn, building up to something great. I enjoy this movie, but think it takes a bit too long to get where it's going. It honestly could have been more effective with an hour runtime, at the longest. Also, while the film takes place on Halloween night with four friends on their way to a themed wedding, the only other indication that it really is October 31st are a couple of Jack-O-Lanterns on the front porch of a house they stop off at. A thicker Halloween atmosphere could have given a greater style to the slower areas of the film, at least giving some cool eye candy to feed on. Though, this isn't without nice visuals. Ti West and his camera crew are bosses at creating that 80's atmosphere, using a dark and grainy look throughout. Love the peering up shots of the moon, too, especially one that shows it turning blood red in a clockwise effect.
Also, I love the old creature feature horror host shows I grew up with as a kid. And when I couldn't have that, I loved USA Saturday Nightmares. So, one would think that since The Roost is shown in said manner that I would eat that shit up. Sadly, no. Don't get me wrong, the Frightmare Theater element is really genuine; Shot in Black & White with moody horror type music, camera panning over a painting of a hillside graveyard and then onto a dreary gothic castle... it's all cool. And Tom Noonan as an expressionless horror host is fucking excellent. Ti West nails the feel he is aiming at, and that's commendable. But overall it just feels tagged on to reach an 80 minute runtime. Sure, more than halfway through the movie, the horror show cuts back in to dissect out a heartfelt moment of the film, and when it goes back to the actual movie, the emotional stuff is all but gone. I just feel like West could have left out the consoling scenes on his own and been done with it. Now, if he ever wants to make a movie centered on Tom Noonan, Frightmare Theater and the horror that comes at the end of it, rest assured I'll be the first in line.
Acting is pretty bland, to be honest, but the cast doesn't have a whole lot to work with, in their defense. There's very little talking; a lot of the time, character interaction is mumbling of a few words here and there and sometimes it's a strain to hear what they're even saying --especially during the beginning sequences in the car. More dialogue is something else that could have helped the crawling pace scenes. There is one standout performance, and leave it to me to like the asshole character of the bunch above everyone else. Sean Reid as Brian, the least “friend” of the foursome, is awesome. He seems to be the only one that truly channels in to what his character is all about.
Special effects are above par, as far as I'm concerned. Lots of good ripped and torn skin tissue from bat attacks. Bat attacks lead to zombification in this world, which of course leads to zombie biting, later on. So, you can also expect some ripped open necks, arm biting, stuff like that. That bats are CGI; I know, I know... boooooo. Actually, it looks really damn good in The Roost, due to West using the dark lighting and grainy approach that I mentioned previously. It's a good mix that lets you see just enough of the night creatures to make them look fairly convincing. There's also a CGI death that depicts someone falling out of a top level barn door. It's an obvious animation, but I gotta give props. Nothing irritates me more than a movie that cuts away from a falling sequence right before the person hits the ground. I need that kind of stuff in my life, And The Roost gives it.
Like mentioned earlier, this film does tend to move slower than it should, but Ti West sure as shit knows how to wake you up with Jeff Grace's musical arrangements. It's a death metal paced score, with multiple screeching violins fighting against each other to get to the next note. Loud, brash and insane.
So, The Roost isn't horrible, but it's not excellent, either. I do keep going back to it for some reason, though.
