Search - The Shunned on DVD

Jason Voorhees Takes On The Wild Wild West

J. B. Hoyos | Chesapeake, VA | 05/25/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Dad likes Westerns and I like horror. Therefore, I'm always excited to discover a hybrid of the two genres. I bought a used copy of "The Shunned" with the intention of giving it to Dad for Father's Day. Thank goodness I had the hindsight to watch "The Shunned" before mailing it to him.

Produced by Drippingdead Films, an independent film group, "The Shunned" has an extremely interesting concept. In a small, nearly deserted town in the Old West, residents are being axed to death. Marshall Prewitt (Adam Gaitan) has been summoned to assist Sheriff Davis (Kurt Hanover) with the grisly investigation. The killer is a hideously deformed man who wears a burlap sack over his head much like Jason Voorhees in "Friday the 13th Part II." Driven insane by the torment he suffered as a child, he kills anyone who crosses his path, much like the caretaker Crospy in "The Burning." This film has a high body count, creative death sequences and a gruesome ending much like that found in "Happy Birthday to Me" and "Stage Fright." Also, there is quite a bit of splatter and gore to satisfy fans of such movies as "Hostel" and "Saw."

Unfortunately, the grainy, faded print and vertical green lines made it nearly impossible to watch. The costumes and sets were not authentic, the script was poorly written, and the acting was subpar. From the credits, we learn that most of the cast and crew were related. Interesting enough, it was filmed on location at Western Frontier Adventures in Easton, Kansas. On a plus side, the film is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio that appears to be 2.35:1, and it does have a decent musical score.

Most shocking was the DVD package released by Anchor Bay Entertainment. There are no extras and no closed captions for the hearing impaired. The menu consists of Play Movie and Scene Selections (four scenes). In numerous reviews, I have always praised Anchor Bay for their outstanding releases. This is definitely not of them.

"The Shunned" is suitable for late night viewing. It is recommended for diehard fans of slasher flicks, especially of ones reminiscent of those released during the eighties. Fans of Western horror my want to watch "Dead Birds" or "The Burrowers." Either rent "The Shunned" or find it on cable television."

Little Gore, Much Bore

ZombieLuv | NY | 05/10/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Whoa, the reviews on this DVD had me thinking I was going to have some serious western style horror action, WRONG! This movie was one of the most DRY and boring pieces of dung I have ever seen! There was barely ANY action, zero gore factor, and acting........hahahahha, yeah! This movie isn't worth $1.00."

A spaghetti western splatter fest

Madelyn Pryor | Mesa, AZ United States | 06/26/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Shunned is one of those movies that you either love or hate. Certain things about it are really good, and certain parts are really bad. I'll detail what I think those are in a moment. The movie starts with the horrific slice and dice killing of an entire family, which sets up the `killing every three minutes' pace of the film. Basically, the deformed killer was rejected by the small old west town and is now exacting his revenge. For a good idea of the plot and how this movie looks, think "Friday the 13th set meets High Plains Drifter".

THE GOOD: I love certain aspects of this movie. I relish that it was made in an earlier style of splatter movie. There is no CGI just rubber masks and corn syrup blood. It has a rough charm that too many direct to DVD horror movies lack. It feels like it was made in the late 70's splatterfest tradition, and I love that.

THE BAD: Oh, there are so many bad parts. The acting is terrible, the dialogue is wooden, and the plot is predictable, to name just a few problems.

THE UGLY: I think to give it a `vintage' look the filmmakers muted the colors and scratched the film. I'm sure it was an attempt to be artistic, but it makes the movie hard to watch.

Overall, for those like me who miss the early 80's small budget horror, this would be a good one to rent, but I would definitely recommend watching it before committing to a purchase. There are too many rough spots for me to recommend the movie outright.

Recommended for those who miss early 70's rough splatterfests.
"

Old West Horror!

Myla Tosatto | Kansas City, MO | 03/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie rocks! It has blood, humor, and plenty of cinematic violence."