Annoyed by the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations, Ben (Moore) drags his buddy (Richmond) on a haunted swamp tour instead. Once in the bayou, it becomes clear that the guide (Shen) hasn't a clue what he's doing. Soon they're all stranded in what one tourist (Feldman) says is the prowling ground of the deformed, angry, dead and creepily named Victor Crowley (Hodder). And sure enough, the group soon finds itself under attack, one by one.

Excess is the name of the game here, and it's done in an extremely boyish, misogynistic way with gruesome dismemberments, a heavy metal soundtrack and more bare breasts than you can count. This would be rather insulting if the film wasn't so scruffy and amateurish. The budget clearly went mainly toward the grisly death makeup effects, because everything else looks cheap and nasty, from the backlit swamp mist to Victor's disfigured physique, which leaves him looking like a Play-Doh cross between John Hurt in The Elephant Man and Eric Stoltz in Mask.

Still, the presence of Hodder (aka Friday the 13th's Jason) and Englund (Elm Street's Freddy) lends the film a bit of horror-cred. And Green directs with a gleeful attention to random detail, keeping his cast covered in blood and screaming for much of the film. The two bimbos (Fioreavanti and McNab) and their sleazy-voyeur friend (Murray) are genuinely hilarious. As is the way Victor announces every entrance with a thunderous roar, giving everyone time to scream, run and realise they are about to be torn limb from limb.

Yes, as a comedy, this is pretty funny stuff. So it's a shame that Green tries so hard to play it straight. The humour is all around the edges, as he clearly thinks this is actually scary. But it isn't. This leaves the plot feeling pointless and, frankly, stupid. And audiences will only enjoy it for the mayhem and gore. Which is probably enough for the Saw fans at whom this is aimed. What next, Screwdriver? Tape Measure? I'm looking forward to Plunger.

themes, language, violence, gore

6.Jun.07