Just because a film recycles horror tropes with abandon doesn’t mean it can’t be a spooky good time.
“Plague Town,” which hit DVD last year, trots out some well-worn ideas but gives them an unsettling new spin.
The film survives some less than stellar acting and fuzzy exposition to deliver on the genre’s raison d’etre. It’s downright creepy and will have you jumping at shadows long after it’s over.
“Plague Town” follows a fractured family on vacation in Ireland. The father (David Lombard) wants his teen daughters Molly (Josslyn DeCrosta) and Jessica (Erica Rhodes) to get to know his new girlfriend, Annette (Lindsey Goranson).
Brash brit Robin (James Warke, who looks like a young John Updike) is along for the ride as Annette’s boyfriend. He starts regretting his decision to join them even before the horror elements come into play.
This family needs a team of Dr. Phils.
The quintet manage to get lost in the countryside, and before long they’ve stumbled onto a hidden community with a damaged gene pool.
We’ve seen the “mutant families run amok” theme before, from the low-budget “Wrong Turn” trilogy to the various “Hills Have Eyes” incarnations.
But there’s no political or sociological subtext here save avoid family reunions at all costs.
The opening sequence, which helps explain the dawn of the town in question, could out-rival Iowa for corn production. The story settles in nicely once the family runs into the first sign of trouble.
The collective acting is uneven, but never distracting enough to diminish the chills.
And chills are aplenty in this “Town,” what with the scarred residents and the ways they go about greeting guests.
Gore junkies will howl over one of the “kills,” while those who feast on ’70s style horror will enjoy the retro feel.
For all its flaws, “Plague Town” will leave you unsure what will happen next, which is precisely what a horror excursion should provide.
NOTE: DVD extras include “A Visit to Plague Town” featurette, “The Sounds of Plague Town” featurette, and audio commentary from director David Gregory and producer Derek Curl.
(Photo: “Rosemary” is one of the denizens of “Plague Town,” a new horror film that delivers a creepy aura.)
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