User Reviews

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.

Well does anybody know where i can find the maker of this movie i want to ask him if he can give me the hour and a half of my life back that was wasted watching this complete and utter trash. So that you don't have to waste your precious time i will explain the story to you. Two dumb ass girls visit an old gold mine in a weird town full of dubious looking people while on a road trip. When they arrive at the mine they get chased by a killer (i say chased basically they are running he is slowly walking but always only seems 2 steps behind). They kill the first man by stabbing him in the leg with what looks like a snorkel, amazingly he is dead within 1 minute and that's the end of him. They then stand outside the mine entrance waiting for a ride from another stranger in this town they know no one. Shock horror the person who stops to help is only in on the killings and is the brother of the man they just snorkeled to death. After about an hour of running round in a circle the girls kill the second man and get away. They drive to the town where they were advised to visit the mine only to get captured by the towns ppl. These girls really are having a bad day and just don't seem to getting a break. In the end these 2 girls end up killing the whole town by themselves. To sum this film up i would say it has a rubbish plot line, horrendous acting and the maker should be banned from anything to do with the movie industry for the rest of his life. I would however recommend this film if you are deaf and blind and have a spare hour and a half to waste. I think that it took me longer to write this summary of the film that it did to make it.

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.

I got this one from Redbox the other nite cuz i'd seen pretty much everything else from there that I had any real interest in. I really should have saved my dollar. 

Two sisters take a road-trip to Arizona to see the world's biggest thermometer (?) because one of the sisters is moving to NY. They end up in some hick village and are stalked by the locals. Then what started as a sub-par 'deranged rednecks' film abruptly turned into a sub-par supernatural-horror film. I really have nothing else to say about the content of this mess...

Everything sucks about THE GRAVES. The storyline is stupid, the acting (while not the worst I've ever seen...) is pretty bad, and the FX (both the gore and 'supernatural' scenes) are atrocious. Bill Moseley does an OK job with the crap he's given, and Tony Todd is unmemorable in his role. Honestly, I can't think of anything I've ever seen Todd in since the original Candyman where his role stood out. A complete lack of nudity from the attractive female leads rounds out my overall disappointment with this dull, un-scary, poorly made garbage. The only thing I slightly enjoyed was the 10-seconds or so in the beginning that featured an over-dubbed 'live' performance from the band CALABRESE. I like them a lot so I'll give the film a pretty generous 2 points for their involvement, and for the passable performance by Moseley. If it weren't for the heavy narcotics that rendered me unable to take the disc out, I would've turned this off after the first 15 minutes...2/10

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.

I have sort of mixed feelings about this movie.

THE GOOD: Well for starters, it is nice to see a horror movies that is filmed in daylight. Not all horror movies have to be taking place at night. The idea of a demonic entity stalking the lands was alright. And of course two horror icons (Tony Todd and Bill Mosely) were in the movie, although neither had much to work with. I thought it was good that you never really saw a physical manifestation of the entity, I mean who is to say what a demon looks like or not. Better to be kept in the dark, and that part worked well for the movie.

THE MEDIOCRE: The special effects were not overly impressive, but not downright crappy either.

THE BAD: The supporting cast and extras seemed like they didn't really want to make this movie. Their acting was horrendous. And how does one die from having an iron pipe jabbed through the thigh and die within less than 2 minutes from that?

The overall impression of this movie is below average. It is really a shame that Bill Mosely and Tony Todd are not allowed to fully show off their skills here, which is a shame, because Mosely is carved out for roles like this. From the cover, the movie looks interesting, but I was not overly impressed with it. Despite being labeled as a horror, there are no thrills or scares in the movie. Sure you will be kept in some suspense, but the movie is not a roller-coaster of thrills and screams!

I will not be disturbing these graves again in the future.

Everyone knows what "After Dark Horrorfest" is. Every year, Lionsgate and After Dark films release eight films into select theaters for a limited time. While there have been some real winners from this line up-"The Gravedancers", "Reincarnation", "The Abandoned" and "Mullberry Street" for example-by the time the second Horrorfest came around, we started getting movies that one is amazed got any sort of theatrical release. For every winner in Horrorfest, there will be mediocre to disappointing movies like "Tooth & Nail" and "Dying Breed", to really awful fair like "Lake Dead" and "Slaughter." Well, you can add "The Graves to that third category, as it may be the worst Horrorfest movie yet.

The Graves sisters-Abby (Jillian Murphy) and Megan (Clare Grant)-are two comic book, punk rock (well, as the director sees punk) and horror loving girls aka. two girls you will never meet in the real world. Well, Megan is headed to ASU with a marketing degree, so as a last hurrah, they decide to go looking for a fun roadside attraction. They instead end up going to Skull City Mine, a Ghost Town. Of course, it's not really abandoned, and soon the sisters find themselves fighting for their lives against a psychopath named Caleb (Bill Moseley) and a religious cult lead by Reverend Abraham (Tony Todd.) Can they survive? What's with the supernatural evil living in the town? Why should we care? How on Earth would stabbing a man's thigh kill him?

"The Graves" is nothing more than a failure. Writer and Director Brian Pulido is a horror comic book veteran (he is the creator of "Lady Death"* and "Evil Ernie"), but for a guy with such a pedigree, his movie comes off as rather clueless as to what makes horror movies like this work. The whole thing feels too much like Pulido was thinking to himself "well, horror fans like this in horror movies", but that he had no idea as to what makes such movies work. In fact, the whole thing feels artificial, as if it comes from somebody who has no understanding of the genre, but wants a quick buck. That's last part obviously isn't what Pulido intended, but that is how it feels.

It also doesn't help that our protagonists are completely bland and obnoxious. The film wants you to like the Graves sisters, but they are so dull, unrealistic and annoying that you keep hoping for the whole movie to come to a merciful end. Even worse amazingly, are the performances from Moseley and Todd. Here, Bill just plays another variation on the psychopathic killer he's played in far superior films, only really bad. It makes you wish he would have played someone else. Todd meanwhile, is so over the top and overacts so much that it becomes laughable. The fact that these two beloved genre veterans are even in dreck like this is depressing as hell, especially with the underwhelming performances they give.

I wish I could say "The Graves" is worth watching, but it's not. Instead, it's a cheap, superficial imitator that clearly wants to be loved, but lacks any of the elements that makes horror like this fun. Instead it's a headache to watch, more appropriate for Hot Topic shopping kids than genre fans. Avoid.

*At one point, the Graves sisters start going on about their love of Chaos Comics, one in which pretty much plugging "Lady Death" in a groan inducing bit of shameless self promotion. What the hell Brian?

Brian Pulido is best known in the comic book world as the creator of "Lady Death" and "Evil Ernie," two series which feature lots of gore and lots of cleavage. So it probably would not a surprise to anyone familiar with his four color work that when Pulido made the jump to filmmaker, his directorial debut would also feature lots of ... gore and cleavage. And it's a good thing too, because without the impressive, shall we say, "assets" of Claire Evans as one of the film's leads, "The Graves" would've been a complete bore.

"The Graves" takes its title from the last name of its two heroines, Megan and Abby Graves, a pair of Goth dressin', horror punk rockin', comic book lovin' sisters. Megan's the older, tougher one and Abby is the sidekick. The two embark on a roadtrip through the Southwest together as one last sisterly hurrah before Megan heads off to New York to start a new job. It should be noted here that the film opens with the Graves Sisters hangin' out in a comic book store, proclaiming their "picks of the week" for their hand held video camera, and one of them just happens to recommend... Pulido's "Lady Death" title. Subtle, huh? By the way, I spent a lot of time in a lot of comic book stores as a teenage geek and I never -- repeat, NEVER -- saw any girls who looked anywhere near as hot as these two in any of them. Hell, I can't recall seeing any girls in comic book stores at all. Have times changed that much since I got out of the hobby? Anyway, when the Graves Sisters get lost looking for a roadside attraction in Arizona, they are directed to the local Skull City Mine by a friendly diner waitress who promises that the tour is worth the trip. What Friendly Waitress neglects to mention is that the mine, and in fact the entire town, is run by murderous religious nuts who kill any outsiders who venture into their little town to appease some kind of unnamed beast/god thing that lives in the abandoned mineshaft. Seems like a pretty simple plot, right? And it should be, but the movie quickly gets tangled up in its own storyline. When the sisters arrive at the Skull City Mine and witness a hulking dude in a blacksmith's apron brutally murdering a fellow tourist, they realize they're next on the menu if they don't find a way back to civilization, and the chase is on. This first portion of the movie is actually kinda fun, even if it is totally derivative of such redneck-killer flicks as "Wrong Turn," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or Rob Zombie's first two films. In fact, Bill Mosely of Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" shows up at about the one quarter mark and briefly, provides the highlight performance of the film as he chases the girls around the mine camp with a plastic pig nose on his face, carrying a big ole sickle and snorting "Soooo-EEEEE!" Abby and Megan get separated and Megan is captured by Moseley's character, fortunately Abby is able to find her inner psycho and save her sister from the pig-nosed menace.

The film completely falls apart in the last third, as the girls go screaming back to town looking for help, only to discover that everyone there is "in on it" and soon they're tied up back at the mine camp, witnessing a bizarre religious ceremony led by Tony "Candyman" Todd and about to be sacrificed to the mysterious powerful thingie that lives in the mine shaft and apparently smells really bad. I say "apparently" because we never see the actual beast/spirit (presumably because they didn't have a big enough budget to create one), nor is it ever accurately described or explained, . The sudden shift in the film's tone from derivative but somewhat enjoyable Redneck Slasher Flick to something more akin to "Children of the Corn" is jarring, and never truly comes together. Of course, the ending leaves things open for a sequel, which I shall be sure to ignore entirely if it ever surfaces.

"The Graves" shows that Pulido has potential as a director, as some of the scenes are nicely staged and it has a nice "look" all around. I just wish he'd written a less convoluted script to work from. If you're simply a gorehound who likes to see the red stuff, you're likely to get a kick out of this one, but those who are a little more picky will be left wishing for something with a little more substance.

The whole movie had no sense on anything. Here are a few examples of millions non-sense: 1) A walking murderer had the same speed as two running girls, and just right behind them. 2) One of the sister just stood there waiting for her sister being stabbed, but not doing anything to help her. 3) Even the sisters were running in the same speed and only 1 foot away each other, in a sec, they lost each other. 4) An unshaped tool could stab someone's leg, and the guy just died from leg wound after 10 secs. and so on...

The director has no sense of making movie... Not talking about he needs sense to make a movie, but he also needs to learn some common sense in life. It just like a movie from a 10 years old boy.

I couldn't bear all the non-senses, and had to turn off my TV. This crab maybe only exciting to the director himself.