Left for Dead (2007) Review

Written by: the5thdroog   

Ah the 80's slasher films. Remember when you always knew what you were getting into when you put that VHS tape into your VCR. You could always count on your gratuitous nudity, your killers being referred to as some sort of "ultimate evil", and then that attempt at a surprise ending, which wasn't that much of a surprise because the movie you'd just removed from the VCR had also thought of the same shocking finale. If you miss and are wanting to relive that time briefly, you should give Left for Dead a try.

I would say "stop me if you've heard this one", but then this would be one of my shortest reviews ever, so if you'll at least act like your amazed by this story it will make it a little better for both of us. The movie starts out with a bunch of guys in Halloween masks, because it is Devils Night, chasing this other guy through the woods. They catch him and get a little rough with him. A strong shove sends the hunted down to the ground where his head is sharply struck by a rock. He stops moving, so one of the guys, Tommy, takes off his mask to check on him. There is some bickering amongst the hooded pursuers and they decide they'd rather just leave him behind and not deal with any consequences of it being accidental or not. Flash forward a year later, and we're with the same group of guys who are throwing a party for Devils Night. Tommy is asked by his girlfriend Nancy, played by Danielle Harris, if he'd like to step outside. He agrees and she begins to tell him of the local story of Michael Lymburner who was known famously for his wonderful sausages. People kept trying to figure out what his secret ingredient was until one day they stumbled across it. You guessed it. He was feeding his pigs the fleshy remains of his victims. After Nancy tells Tommy the story she decides to go back in for a restroom break. While Tommy is left alone he spots someone wearing his mask of a year ago in the window, and he appears to be strangling one of his friends. He rushes up the stairs to see what is going on, but he can't find anyone. More friends begin to go missing. So then the "mystery" increases because you find out that Lymburner is on the loose and you're supposed to be wondering if it was him or the guy they left in those woods a year ago.

The acting was nothing to be impressed with for the most part and fell short of that in other spots. Danielle Harris was a nice addition to a young, attractive cast, but she wasn't really in the movie too much. At least nobody seemed to be trying to overact in the movie. Most of them really didn't have to do too much during their death scenes because it was another situation where moth of the murders take place off camera.

This is Christopher Harrison's first writing and directing gig and it wasn't and overall failure. I guess the biggest problem I have with this movie is it really didn't seem to by trying to make it's own mark in the genre. There were way too many scenes that were right out of those early slasher films. It is one thing to pay homage, but another to just completely come out and to the exact same thing.

It isn't a bad movie and probably a step up from what I would've been watching on the Sci-Fi channel thanks to the nudity and language, but it became overly clichéd.  Even some of the music was very familiar to another October holiday film.  I was really leaning towards a 4 for this movie, but it has Danielle Harris in it and, well she is worth and extra point for me. If it is any conciliation I'd much rather watch this movie again over her last movie.