jfgibson73 There really isn't any reason for this movie to have been made. I don't really expect the average horror film to actually be scary, well made, or very original, but it should find some way to entertain. The Graves was just SO clichéd and uneventful, that not only would I recommend against watching it, but I really don't want to watch anything else by the writer or director ever.Two girls stop in a deserted town and pay to take a tour of the historic remains. Crazy religious locals torture and kill anyone who stops there, so the girls are pursued. A few other innocent victims die, but the girls kill their captors and escape at the end. There was something about demon possession and the taking of souls, too, but I lost interest by then. I still liked the two actresses in the lead roles, but I would rather see them in something halfway memorable. I will think of this movie any time I consider how most horror movies have nothing scary or tense about them. Total suckfest.

Scarecrow-88 In the desolate remains of Skull City Mine, located in some godforsaken place in Arizona, two sisters find themselves in a whole heap of trouble. It was just supposed to be a tourist stop, a diner waitress informing them of the mine, how it was reputed to be haunted by spirits. What the girls do find is a psycho blacksmith with a giant hammer he uses to bludgeon the skulls of those who visit the mine. Yep, they spend the whole movie just trying to stay alive. Megan and Abby were simply on one last trip together before separating. Megan, on her way to New York City with dreams of success and a bright future. Abby, anguished at the fact that sis is heading off to the big city, leaving her behind. While Abby has always depended on big sister for strength and guidance, Megan will need her to grow up as they face insurmountable challenges. You see something evil lives within the area of the local town of Unity at the old mine and it feeds on souls with the deranged priest and his flock obeying it's command to bring it tourists as sustenance. This demon or whatever carries within a stench that causes those who breathe it to assault each other like foul beasts. The demon has one desire and that's to feast on the souls of those at the point of death.Tony Todd is the crazed priest who believes the demon is Jesus and his followers are mindless sheep answering to his will to lead souls to be eaten. Bill Moseley is, you guessed it, a lunatic after the girls and having fun during the hunt, wearing a pig snout and grinning from ear to ear, taking his time as Megan attempts to keep Abby safe from harm(Abby falls into a hole knocking herself unconscious). Most of "The Graves" consists of Abby and Megan trying to evade one psycho after another. I have a feeling Moseley will never have any problems finding work as long as there's a demand for madmen. The additional plot of flies, stench, nutty townsfolk, and an evil that eats as souls cry out in terror upon the moment of death, was a bit too much for me personally to take seriously, but maybe others will feel differently. Even Todd, who can normally create menace with the most lackluster of parts, is hard to watch as a priest constantly howling to the heavens for his savior. The movie's title is actually the last name of the heroines, who are in peril at several points throughout the movie, tied up or in dire straits, but the screenplay finds amusing ways to rescue them when there seems to be no hope. The leads are cute and they match each other which I found adorable, their tight jeans and black muscle shirts..good casting as they resemble each other(I certainly would consider them sisters if I saw them out and about).For some reason, "The Graves" simply lacked real, palpable menace, and I never really felt that the girls would bite the bullet, mainly because the film kept finding ways to release them from certain doom. Maybe it was the sunny Arizona setting that was unable to evoke a sense of dread. Or, the performances were uninspired and the cast was going through the motions..when Moseley's routine even fails to deliver, the jury's out and the verdict may be quite unkind.Many might recognize Claire Grant, who portrays Megan, as the gorgeous creature from Mick Garris' second Masters of Horror entry "Valerie in the Stairs" also starring Tony Todd. Jillian Murray is Abby, with Amanda Wyss(80's regular in movies such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Better Off Dead)as a diner waitress who suffers a grisly fate. A great deal of the violence happens off screen or just out of frame, with most of the carnage established in our mind as blood squirts and splatters to recognize victims' gruesome demises.

The gore hound Wow……and to think that all of the movies in the After Dark Horror-fest would be somewhat, oh I don't know…enjoyable? Because of what I had to deal with this first film, The Graves,……well, it wasn't pretty.The Graves, a miserable little turd fest of a film, is about two girls, Meghan and Abby, going on a last trip together before Meghan leaves for New York. They go to comic book stores (which, I'm sorry, these girls look like they've never set foot in a comic shop in their lives) and talk about how Lady Death is the most awesome comic book ever…….really? (And don't worry, this is only one of the many faults of this movie.) They then stop in a diner (which is so far out of the way that the first girl to die in the original Nightmare on Elm Street is stuck waiting there), and they're lead to Skull Mine, which is said to be a ghost town after some brutal murders took place there. And then, guess what? Everything goes to hell……what a shock….My first point is Brian Pulido. I should just stop there, but I'll guess I'll keep going. If you don't know who he is, he is one of the WORST comic book writers from the 1990s and the 2000s. He's responsible for writing such terrible comic books such as Lady Death (which I referred to before) and Evil Ernie. So when I heard he wrote, directed, and produced this piece of utter crap, I already knew it was going to be terrible. He doesn't have a clue what he's doing and he should stop thinking he can do anything creative.And some of the acting in here is atrocious. You have your two female protagonists who can't act their way out of a wet paper bag. I mean, they have scenes where they are just SO melodramatic in scenes where they're in total danger! Also, you have Tony Todd……..really? Tony, why did you chose this? Did your wife need a new car? Did your daughter need more money to get into the collage she wanted? I mean, you were the candy man! Your cartoon-styled acting in this is so bad, that I almost broke down and cried.Now, if there is anything redeemable about this film, it's that Bill Mosely (yep, Devils Rejects Bill Mosely) plays a guy called the "Pig Man", who is just a guy who puts on a fake pig nose and likes to kill people. I have to say that whenever he was on screen, a shimmer of light helped me get through this film.But, all in all, there is almost (almost!) nothing to like about this film. It's not scary, it's not funny, it's not dramatic, It's not anything! And if it weren't for Bill Mosely, I would give this film a flat out zero.

SunnyLyn_80 Part of the After Dark Horrorfest 4 list of movies, The Graves... As the credits begin, you notice Bill Mosley and Tony Todd are in this movie... don't get your hopes up. With my experience, the After Dark Horrorfest films are either a hit or miss... there is no in between. The Graves would be in the category of "miss", as in "miss this movie". The beginning starts out OK, with two sisters going on the road in AZ for a little last minute adventure before the older sister leaves for NYC. They are in search of the world's largest thermometer (???... I have no idea); however, they come across a small town that features a deserted ghost town, complete with a self-guided tour. After that, the movie goes completely downhill (if that's even possible), with an even more stupid ending. There are scenes that don't make any sense (a man dying in a minute with a simple stab in the leg; however, the older sister gets stabbed in the chest right by the heart and somehow manages to live). I couldn't even follow the ending.Bottom line... don't even bother with this one. I gave it a "pity" 3/10 for signing Bill Mosley and Tony Todd.