The Damned

A tepid horror movie that runs out of ideas long before it runs out of victims.

[A] crummy shocker.

Director Victor Garcia and screenwriter Richard D'Ovidio really just want to get down to business, so they don't waste much effort on plot.

It's all well acted and expertly crafted - quick edits that play mind and visual games with the viewer, music that heightens tension, some cool special effects - but most of the victims are people you want to slap even before their secrets are spilled.

The movie starts just fine, but as it progresses it slowly turns into an involuntary comedy. [Full review in Spanish]

A "horror" film that has few scares, brings nothing new to the genre and you'll forget as soon as you leave the theatre. [Full review in Spanish]

The Damned could find a niche as part of a Halloween possess-a-thon, but on its own there's just not much to it.

The film looks good, and overall production quality is certainly serviceable, but at the end of the day, The Damned is just another of countless horror films.

From its first draw of blood onward, it bolts down a foreseeable slasher-movie trajectory, laying on thick the dramatic irony while constantly inventing new reasons to punish its characters for old iniquities.

There's little to dig into once formula takes over, leaving the effort predictable. Shrieking and bloody, but predictable.

The Damned does all it can to make witches scary once again, but flashes of inept acting and tonal fumbles spoil what could have been a horrifying feast of riches.