1865: A sadistic Union army commander forces several Confederate soldiers to walk across a minefield, brutally slaughtering the whole luckless lot of 'em in the process. 1985: A small group of raw Army recruits go into the same backwoods territory where the massacre occurred for basic maneuvers. The motley assortment of scruffy grunts discover the hard way that the eerie land is crawling with vicious, inhospitable, creepily cadaverous skull-faced zombies who don't take kindly to any trespassers on their sacred terrain. The zoms are still alive because a little psychic boy who witnessed the massacre in 1865 refuses to let the poor buggers die. The kid's beautiful, still alive mother (the strikingly comely Margaret Shendal) falls for nice guy GI Ray (hunky Maxwell Caulfield of "Grease 2" and "The Boys Next Door" fame) while the other less lucky squad members get stiffed by the shambling undead Civil War ghouls.
Although the seemingly can't miss premise -- a genuinely inspired fright film amalgam of "2000 Maniacs," "Southern Comfort" and "Night of the Living Dead" -- promises a good, spooky "high concept" horror movie outing, "The Supernaturals" alas qualifies as a humongous letdown due largely to a terribly dry and rudimentary execution. Director Armand Mastroianni, the same guy responsible for the awfully boring slasher turkey "He Knows You're Alone," crucially fails to build any necessary tension or momentum, thus allowing this dud to tediously slog towards a rather drawn-out, less-than-harrowing conclusion. Caulfield, Nichelle Nichols ("Star Trek" 's Lt. Uhura), Levar Burton, Bobby Di Cicco, Talia Balsam, and "Bad Ronald" 's Scott Jacoby all contribute excellent, creditable performances, but not even their considerable acting skills can inject any much-needed vitality into this lifeless, lethargic loser. The nifty, scarcely seen zombie make-up by Mark Shostrom, a typically nice, moody score by the great, grossly under-appreciated B-movie composer Robert O. ("Mansion of the Doomed," "Grizzly") Ragland, and Peter Collister's stately, proficient cinematography are all up to snuff, but sound technical credits can't compensate for this snoozer's unbearably dormant, extremely slow and soporific pacing, conspicuously meager two-cent production values, and a hopelessly muddled, confusing story that isn't unraveled in a clear, compelling manner. Co-written and co-produced by longtime hack horror filmmaker Joel Soisson, this stupendously lackluster Sandy Howard production proves to be as successful at evoking chills and involving the viewer as General Custer was at besting the Indians at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Although the seemingly can't miss premise -- a genuinely inspired fright film amalgam of "2000 Maniacs," "Southern Comfort" and "Night of the Living Dead" -- promises a good, spooky "high concept" horror movie outing, "The Supernaturals" alas qualifies as a humongous letdown due largely to a terribly dry and rudimentary execution. Director Armand Mastroianni, the same guy responsible for the awfully boring slasher turkey "He Knows You're Alone," crucially fails to build any necessary tension or momentum, thus allowing this dud to tediously slog towards a rather drawn-out, less-than-harrowing conclusion. Caulfield, Nichelle Nichols ("Star Trek" 's Lt. Uhura), Levar Burton, Bobby Di Cicco, Talia Balsam, and "Bad Ronald" 's Scott Jacoby all contribute excellent, creditable performances, but not even their considerable acting skills can inject any much-needed vitality into this lifeless, lethargic loser. The nifty, scarcely seen zombie make-up by Mark Shostrom, a typically nice, moody score by the great, grossly under-appreciated B-movie composer Robert O. ("Mansion of the Doomed," "Grizzly") Ragland, and Peter Collister's stately, proficient cinematography are all up to snuff, but sound technical credits can't compensate for this snoozer's unbearably dormant, extremely slow and soporific pacing, conspicuously meager two-cent production values, and a hopelessly muddled, confusing story that isn't unraveled in a clear, compelling manner. Co-written and co-produced by longtime hack horror filmmaker Joel Soisson, this stupendously lackluster Sandy Howard production proves to be as successful at evoking chills and involving the viewer as General Custer was at besting the Indians at the Battle of Little Big Horn.