(2009) ***Another After Dark Horrorfest film. Adapted from a short story by Clive Barker, Dread deals with the slow disintegration of a man's sanity. Quaid saw his parents brutally murdered by an axe wielding brute. He never dealt with his issues, just kept them stuffed deep inside. Now away at college he begins to have nightmares about the killer. Nightmares turn into delusion and hallucinations. Friends begin to notice changes in Quaid's behavior. He descent spirals out of control and those unfortunate enough to get caught in his web suffer the consequences.
I am partial to these decent into madness type films. When done well, everything about them is pure entertainment. Watching the actor go from normal to completely insane. The disbelieving companions getting sucked into the game. The tension coursing through me as I yell to the unaware victim, “Turn around you idiot!” Dread is in the zone for me, just not a bulls eye. At times the film got a little confusing with too much going on.
I seriously cringed several times while watching this. Once involved an incident with green maggot coated meat (barf) and another when a girl tries to scrub her birthmark off with steel wool. Seriously fucked up! Overall I dug this film but I'm partial to Clive Barker's twisted tales. I would imagine that it's not to everyone's liking.
