Credo (2008) Reviews

• Typical

  anelith2008-10-21

  So, we have an abandoned house, where some people have killed themselves before. And of course, we have a group of people, who want to spend not just one, but two nights in that house. Are there any horror films made these days that does not have the concept of a haunted house with a few murders committed in it? Continuing with the clichés: the protagonist, a female, is a hard-working student, who has not got much time to spend with her friends. Then there is the man in love with her, but who does not dare to tell her that. He is of course a little bit awkward and shy. And finally, there is the party-all-night-long college boy, whose main aim in life is to... well, to party and get laid. However, these characters really come to life and make you sympathize with them: the actors are very-well chosen and can actually act, contrary to many modern-day horror films. Their fear is real and their actions as well, although there are many lines delivered that just make you wonder. To all gore fans: there isn't much for you, only a little blood is seen. This movie is more about the deep subconscious of people and how that makes them act.

• Low budget indie puts others in the shade

  scantix2008-11-24

  I have seen a lot of comments and reviews about this film online and people seem to either love Credo or hate it. From what I can tell, if you're looking for slasher gore then you're not going to like Credo. There's quite a bit of blood, but it's not the in your face kind of blood. But if you like eerie suspense with a great twist, then this film hits the spot. The whole film is one long slow release of tension and, what's more, it doesn't rely on unnecessary jump moments or pointless sex scenes to stimulate. The thing I like the most about this film, is the film makers' bravery in keeping the beast/monster/ghost off screen. This does mean that you don't get big action sequences, but that's a refreshing change in my book. Most of the film takes place in a nightmarish darkness with only the eerie glow of torchlight to relieve the tension. The sound design is fantastic and reminds me of the scares I got in Blair Witch. I'd like to applaud the film makers for having the guts to make a film that doesn't spoon feed the audience. It's nice to actually be asked to use my own brain for once! For a low budget indie, this film puts most of the others in the shade.

• Classic filming with a nice twist.

  tibart-12008-12-21

  In short, the first 30 minutes were boring and everything but promising. Then... this film kinda amazed me. First i was blinded by the just out of school way of filming. And then it got me and i was sucked into a film that made me sit on the edge of my couch. The music, camera positioning and suspense reminded me of a Hitchcock classic. The plot almost was like an all American horror movie but in the last 10 minutes the plot twisted and got really amazing. So sit trough the first 30 minutes and let yourself glide through a nice and nerve breaking movie. I am looking forward to more work from the hands of Toni Harman and Alex Wakeford.

• The Devil's Curse

  Scarecrow-882010-05-22

  College students, needing a place to stay after being kicked out of their loft, find a temporary substitute which so happens to have an ominous history..it seems a demon was summoned there once as it served as quarters for Catholic students, with four forming a pentagram, later found dead, each one determined a victim of suicide(if only that were the case!). Called Eden, the building was later abandoned, considered a relic whose reputation built it an urban legend. What these students will later realize is that it's history has merit and they all will face the consequences of staying within Eden, which is no longer a den of God, but of pure evil. Alice(MyAnna Buring; The Descent & Doomsday) is the more mature among the students, trying to study for an exam as the others form a pentagram with a Ouija board(these kids never learn, do they?!)attempting, albeit as a form of tomfoolery, to discover what happened to those found dead many moons ago. Scotty(Mark Joseph) is a geek who sets up cameras in girl's bedrooms to spy on them as they take off their clothes, the creep. Jock(Clayton Watson) is the goofy partier who stages the shindig which gets the cast kicked out of their loft and is responsible for finding Eden through a friend. Jock is also the one who came up with the not-so-bright idea of playing with the Ouija board. You just know he'll be one of the first to meet his maker, the kind of character playing with fire, his hands hovering over the rising flame. Timmy(Nathalie Pownall) is harboring lesbian feelings for Alice, frightened of Eden, and quite on edge after participating in the pentagram ritual. Jock ribs Scotty about a bet between the two over who could bed Alice. Jazz(Rhea Bailey) is the token black girl frightened and wanting to leave after the group make a horrifying discovery the next morning. The house is pretty impressive in that there's an endless staircase which seems to go for miles. There are limitless doors, windows, rooms of all sizes, it seems. Walls with holes and chipped paint. Pipes that make noise. The demon summoned preys on their worst fears, causing hallucinations which toy with their emotions and conscience. After one among them is found hung from a rope, those that remain attempt to flee the premises, finding the entrance/exit chained and locked from the inside. Trying a different way, a raggedy, bearded hobo Jock encountered(this bum warned Jock of the evil which would come to get them at night)shuts a door trapping them on the bottom floor. Personally, speaking for myself, besides the cool building where the breadth of the film takes place, I found the plot and execution rather dull. Alice is decently developed as the final girl, but characters like Jock(the obnoxious jerk that annoys everybody with his juvenile behavior)and Jazz(exists, it seems, so that the film would have a minority, given only a reasonably interesting fear of claustrophobia which contributes to how the demonic force uses it to terrorize/trick her)add very little to the film except as stereotypes to be dispatched. And, the deaths are rather uninspired and happen off-screen. For a great deal of running time, characters have little to do, except fear for their lives and seek an exit strategy when it seems few ways out exist for them. The plot uses a character named Seth(who decided to leave the circle performing the pentagram ritual) to service the film as an exposition piece. But, the ending regarding Alice's fate, and how it relates to everything we've seen, is a major humbug that really left me more than a bit miffed. THE DEVIL'S CURSE is an instantly forgettable waste of time if you ask me. I mean, the final reel pretty much establishes that what we have sat through for 90 minutes was futile and pointless.

• Too by the numbers to be much fun

  dbborroughs2008-12-27

  College kids tossed out of their apartment for having a party go to an abandoned church to stay, and against anyones better judgment crack out the Ouiji board and contact the spirits lurking with in. the problem was that the last person to stay there wanted to contact a demon, which he did...and you can guess the rest. By the numbers and not really scary because odds are you'll have been down the road before. The young cast is actually quite good, which is a shame since they really could have enlivened a film that didn't seem to be going down the same old road yet again. To be fair there are a couple of moments that work, but they are only moments and not enough to sustain interest in the film.