Hazelwoc I met Simon Hunter at Raindance when I was learning film making and we talked a bit about this film. The money shots were expensive and took up a lot of the budget, this should have been a cheaper film. Simon has a friend called Jake West, who made the cult classic Razor blade smile on a budget of £20K, incidentally using the same actor as the baddie, If you are interesting in the art of film making then check it out. True lighthouse does have higher production values, but is not as much fun. I liked Simon, he is a competent film-maker, but I think that given his budget he could have done better. The story about a crashed prison ship on a remote lighthouse Island could have been a good thriller, but as a premise for a slasher movie its a bit of a waste. Think Key Largo as a great example of that genre. A story of a prison van breaking down in remote Scotland with the action set in and around the odd bothy would have have been cheaper, more convenient and could have allowed for a more relaxed shooting schedule, higher shooting ratio, and a better edited end film. As it is it is neither a good thriller or slasher movie. Pity.

loomis78-815-989034 A ruthless killer named Leo Rook (Adamson) is being transferred by ship to an island prison. Also on board is the profiling Dr. McCloud (Shelley) who knows Rook's entire story and a handful of guards and other prisoners who are unaware of traveling with the notorious Rook. With the help of a staff member, Rook escapes his cell and quickly snaps the neck of the woman who helped him. He gets off the ship and makes his way to a Lighthouse in the distance, all without anyone on board knowing. He slaughters the staff at the lighthouse in grisly fashion and then shuts off the beam causing the ship to crash and sink. Some of the guards and prisoners and Dr. McCloud make it to the island when the doctor informs them about Rook's presence on the ship. To their horror, the survivors realize the only place to take cover is the creepy lighthouse and Rook beings to stalk them. Originally titled "Lighthouse" (a far superior title) this British film is a great example of a slasher film being done correctly. First time Director/Writer/Producer Simon Hunter quickly shows you this isn't going to be filled with clichéd slasher ideas such as dumb teenagers going off to have sex and getting killed. The characters are will written and act intelligently, exactly how they would if this was real. Hunter keeps his killer in silhouette and shadows and darkly lit. He is silent, swift and brutal, all things you want in a creepy slasher. Leo Rook is one twisted character and the death sequences are bloody and graphic with the attacks still being very scary. Rook, in ritualistic fashion cuts off the heads of his victims and is setting up a shrine on a lifeboat with their heads! Hunter mixes great suspense in with the gore which is a great combination for a slasher film. Just watch the sequence where a prisoner is hiding out in a bathroom stall or when another is hiding in the bottom of the lifeboat and Rook is placing the head of his friend on the shrine! This is great stuff that includes solid atmosphere and some startling jumps. Stylish and slick, Simon Hunter has crafted a serious well made slasher film that is fun, thrilling and scary!

Backlash007 ~Spoiler~The slasher film is alive and well...and living in England. Weird, I know. I really enjoyed this late entry into the slasher sub-genre. Dead of Night follows a prison ship transporting notorious serial killer, Leo Rook, which never arrives at its destination. It sinks and the survivors are forced to swim to an "abandoned" lighthouse while Rook is somewhere on the island. Dead of Night is a low-budget flick with quite a few surprises. The main surprise is the bathroom scene. One of our cannon fodder characters is hiding inside a bathroom stall while the killer is also in the room. He knocks a can of air freshener over and it slowly falls to the ground only to land on a towel. It's as tense as anything I've seen; A real sweating bullets moment. It reminds me quite a bit of the heart attack-inducing game Clock Tower. Equally edgy is a scene involving another character hiding in a dingy and one in which the heroine is literally hanging by her hair. Ouch. James Purefoy (Resident Evil) is good in the lead and Christopher Adamson is very sinister as the baddie. Watch out for the sequel, Dead of Night II: Rook Takes Queen. Or maybe not. Either way, Dead of Night is a gory bit of fun.

HairyMart1 This is the sort of film that gives horror films a bad name, not as a result of graphic violence or for exploitation of women. BUT simply becuase its such a rubbish film. Please Simon (Writer & Director - so you have to take responsibility) think really long and hard before attempting another film. Why is the most dangerous killer in the UK being taken to an island prison on a rust bucket ship with just ten others. Why has thew ship only apparently got a crew of 1 ! Why don't they just fly him to this prison - we see a helicopter later in the film !How come the killer manages to slip past people in the lighthouse - there's one stairs yet he manages to appear on different floors, by-passing those above or below.Even though people are killed by having there throats cuts there's never any blood stains on the floor - just on light bulbs or toilet bowlsWhy is everyone so stupid ... I'll run away for ten seconds then not be able to find my way back, even though I have a torch and a radio. And the island is illuminated by the lighthouse light. Instead I'll stumble on to the boat that the killer has hidden.