After an X-Files-style supernatural prologue in which a man meets a bizarre and violent death, we’re introduced to the main characters. University student Ben (Michael Dorman) unexpectedly inherits a mysterious, boxed mechanical device – made in the 18th century and known as “Le Vaudou Mort” – from his father, who died two years ago. Neither Ben nor his friends can figure out what the device does, but when it goes missing from Ben’s room after a party, a series of strange deaths begins to occur on campus. Ben comes to suspect that the two events are somehow connected.
Ludicrous and nonsensical, Needle is a weird and weirdly likeable genre horror from Australia. Its charm comes from a sense of humour, earnest but not po-faced performances, cool and clear photography, and pleasingly traditional spooky synth music (again, I thought of The X-Files).
The set-piece deaths are reminiscent of similar scenes in the Final Destination series. They’re enjoyably grisly because they border on the cartoonish, with old-school special effects balancing out the CGI – there’s lots of fake blood and prosthetic limbs. The scenes are brief, kinetic and almost comically extreme; the film is further from the excruciating ‘torture porn’ genre than you might expect.
By the halfway mark, the film has taken its premise as far as it can go, and begins to unwind into a predictable but entertaining enough series of horror conventions. At a slender 86 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, and overall makes for a fun, blood-spattered supernatural thriller.
Overall Verdict: A gently spooky, old-school splatter horror.
Special Features:
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Reviewer: Tom René