Room 33 (2009) User Reviews

It's about what you're expecting.

[krachtm · 5/10 · 10 August 2011]

What you're promised: a group of roller derby girls and a few guys crash at a abandoned, haunted insane asylum. Oooh, creepy.

What you get: many shots of girls wearing very little clothing, a killer ghost, and quite a few scenes of people walking down hallways in an abandoned building. Also, a bit of digging around in old filing cabinets, scanning documents that say "CLASSIFIED".

Does it live up to the promises? Sure. Some of the girls even put on Rollerblades. There's a bit of hurried exposition that explains the mystery of the haunted asylum, but I wasn't paying enough attention, so I never really learned what was going on. It doesn't bother me. I can live without knowing the secret of this nameless asylum.

This was a pretty generic movie. The acting was pretty decent, even good at times, but the writing and directing never impressed me. It's not like it was especially bad or anything, but they never went anywhere more creative or interesting than your average haunted house movie. Along with the lack of atmosphere or tension, that makes for a bit of a lame horror movie. While exploitative in nature, this movie is curiously inhibited, with no real gratuitous nudity or gore, though there's a voyeuristic strip scene and a few quick shots of mutilated corpses. So, in the end, I'm left wondering to whom this movie was intended. It's not gratuitous enough for exploitation fans, and it's too tame for horror fans. The leads are obviously too old (mid-to-late 20s) to appeal to teenagers, and it doesn't seem to work very well as a mystery, either. Does that mean it's a bad movie? No, certainly not. But that does keep it from being very memorable. It can't hurt to watch this movie, if you find it on a streaming service, like Netflix, but I wouldn't actually waste the time otherwise.

Room 33 leaves me wondering.

[dbs630-697-952794 · 3/10 · 25 September 2011]

What exactly was this movie about? How is it that a lunatic can project a demonic father figure into reality to kill people by smudging their eyes out with goo? (I know it was supposed to be an effect of tearing eyes out but it really looked more like a smudging to me.) The "monster" in this movie was really rather annoying and came off like some sort of "euro-trash-thug-demon" more than a scary supernatural presence. How exactly a former government LSD scientist became this ghastly presence in the old hospital is beyond my comprehension, or perhaps it just wasn't clearly stated in the story? I liked the main cast being a roller derby team of smokin' chicks, the fact that none of them show any skin is a little weak. They couldn't even deliver the cheap thrills in this plot hole ridden flick. I just kept watching in the hopes that the story would eventually make some sense, but alas, no such luck.

DEATH TO THE DIAMOND DIVAS

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 8 May 2018]

The credits roll with an alternative music sound track (REM type music). The movie has that 70's slasher feel to it. A van full of roller derby babes and a few guys are traveling in the Pacific NW when they come across a wreaked car. They pick up the young couple (never old people) and head down the road only to find a gate/fence is crossing the highway. The group jumps the fence only to find the proverbial abandoned mental institution (where bad things used to happen) out in the middle of zero bars on my cell phone country. Sarah "Crash" smashes a window with her aluminum baseball bat because she decides they might as well spend the night there as they can't all sleep in the van which BTW is very low on gas. They quickly discover they are not alone, there is a psycho there named Roxy who tries to kill Crash, then cowers in fright. As the group tries to figure out what is going on, they foolishly separate etc. etc.

Some nice legs in shorts roller skate around. Movie drops the f-bomb, has brief simulated oral sex, and no nudity.

Not the worse horror movie out there. If you want to do a theme horror movie night of abandoned mental institutions, you might use this one as a warm up.

Better than expected

[stevehoyland · 5/10 · 24 November 2015]

Although clearly low-budget and with some poor camera work and a cast of young actors who could do with a few pointers to say the least, this film was surprisingly entertaining with a few good scares despite the limited and rather basic 'special effects', consisting almost exclusively of blood on and around the eyes In a pretty sad attempt to make It appear that the eyes have been removed. Nevertheless, the movie Is lively enough to keep the viewer Interested and although the story and It's events are rather Clichéd It has It's fair share of scares and some Interesting characters - the skating, amazonian-like young lady with her baseball bat and In-your-face attitude Is someone I wouldn't like to upset! The general premise Is that a bunch of guys,late teens to early 20s,find themselves spending the night In an apparently abandoned and empty Psychiatric hospital about 80 miles from the nearest town and soon discover a weirded-out young woman with little to say and who Is obviously mentally disturbed. Murders soon ensue, the deaths seemingly caused by, or at least Including, the removal of the eyes of the victims. Some think the disturbed girl Is somehow Involved In the grisly deaths..... I don't think I'd watch It a second time but,all things considered, this Movie Is worth a watch, particularly for fans of Horror and suspense.

This is terrible.

[dld2012 · 1/10 · 4 December 2013]

I'm a big fan of low-budget horror, but this is unwatchable. Every minute of it is stupid and tedious. Made by people who have watched many horror films but never understood the hows and whys of them. Clichés taken out of context... which actually is interesting from a sociolinguistic standpoint. Unfortunately I don't think experimental deconstruction was the intended point of the film.

"When I was out there looking for Natasha, I saw something." "What did you see?" "I saw a guy in the road." "Well, why didn't you say something earlier?" "I JUST DIDN'T, ALRIGHT?!?"

Etc.

Etc.

Boring Movie

[jtfriday2000 · 1/10 · 16 September 2012]

If you're here looking for a review for this movie, you most likely saw it as a $5 movie pack at your local Mart. This movie lacks gore. It also lacks tension and suspense. It really is a boring movie. There are hot chicks to arouse attention. But since there isn't any nudity, viewer will lose interest quick. Many deaths are off-screen. The few on screen deaths feature the killer running toward people sticking jelly into the eyes of his victims. I am serious. It really does look as if the killer is sticking jelly into peoples' eyes.

Judging from a lot of the reviews, many people didn't learn what the secret of Room 33 was. I guess they were too bored or spent too much time fast forwarding to figure it out. And even if they did find out, would they care? No. This movie is unable to keep any viewer interested long enough to care.

Waste-of-time independent horror with a clichéd asylum setting

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 26 February 2017]

The only surprising thing about this laughable no-budget horror film is the praise it has received online. Having just finished watching it, I can report that ROOM 33 is a completely forgettable independent film in which yet another group of teenagers visit a supposedly haunted asylum in order to investigate it. Once there they discover a frightened girl and a mysterious killer with his sights set on them.

Everything about this film is cheap and predictable and it doesn't even utilise the popular found footage angle to provide an excuse for the cheapness of the filming style. The script is non-existent, the acting very bad, and the attempts at horror more laughable than frightening. ROOM 33 is just yet another asylum-themed waste of time horror film.

Room 33

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 2 August 2010]

Roller derby girls, their camera man and manager, along with a young couple they pick up, must spend the night at an abandoned mental institution when the group get lost on the way to a competition. Something evil lurks within(and on the outside)not to mention the gang come across a damaged, injured girl seemingly possessed and warning of a dangerous threat to them.

Chad and Allie's car breaks down, lucky to find Stuart(the camera guy and techie)driving the van of roller derby girls.

Chad admits to derby girl Barbie that Allie recently had a breakdown. Barbie has an obvious interest in Chad and doesn't exactly hide it, but he clearly feels awkward when she makes passes or uses insinuating statements.

Sarah is the derby girl with a rotten attitude who spends most of her screen time cursing folks and tossing insults, mainly towards Allie. To Sarah, Allie's a "know-it-all" college girl with all the answers, clearly the type she harbors a dislike for. Anyone who even attempts to be reasonable with Sarah gets chewed out..Sarah considers herself quite a tough chick, with a mouth that reiterates this aggressive personality.

Nelson is the token black guy of the group, and, as usual for a horror flick such as this, spends most of his time afraid, shivering and quivering in fear.

Stuart is your typical pervert with a camera, and voyeuristic impulses towards the girls..he doesn't exactly shield the fact that his camera "catches all the sweet spots".

Anyway, the killer of the film likes to gouge out the eyes of "his" victims, which we see in one case where the group find a camp with a slaughtered family..Roxie, the traumatized girl found by the group in the institution, has bloody hands which could implicate her as the human tool, a "host organism" so to speak, used by the evil spirit of a killer.

There are a lot of horror movies, slashers and the like, which have long stretches where characters walk through large buildings, with many rooms, flashlight and a weapon of some sort in hands, seeking(or looking to protect themselves against)whatever can potentially harm them. ROOM 33 is no different in that it has plenty of investigation with the characters moving through corridors, down halls, in the basement, etc.

Sarah, in roller derby gear, skates down floors pounding lockers with a baseball bat, skulking and angry(she has issues, no doubt, always at odds with Allie). You know that this institution has a disturbing history which produced the sinister specter appearing, disappearing, and reappearing at will anywhere he wants, and Allie, a pre-med student, will learn a little about the place and him. Roxie knows what she must do to possibly halt the madness and Allie will do whatever is in her power to save the girl. And, inevitably, poor Allie might just be the specter's next chosen vessel to inhabit.

Better than expected...

[sean-thedon-corcoran · 5/10 · 28 February 2012]

When getting a movie by way of 4 pack usually holds minimal promise for good flicks. The feature of the bundle was curtains an 80's slasher film, which is good, but that's another review....This has a decent story with borderline good acting and hot bodies in little clothing. It's only downfall is the ghost, not at all scary or intimidating. It's like having your mail man as a villain.... Aside from that the film features roller derby chicks lost, with a dead car, and no cell service. They find themselves in an abandoned asylum, and they aren't alone. The end left some to be desired, but I enjoyed this movie, it's worth a try.

Room 33- (7.5/10) " Dull title, slow building tension but good climax".

[bhattrell · 19 January 2018]

Room 33 film review - (7.5/10) "Slowly building to good tension using expressions and the camera".

Room 33 has an excellent upbeat opening with nature and sets the scene for a real adventure. You might ask what could possibly wrong and you end up thinking, what couldn't. As turmoil begins, the film rumbles on and doesn't really have many tension building effects. It is the acting that makes it well worth a watch in the end.

The characters are played very well and actors formulate their personalities individually , to help you get to know the characters. This is vital in any horror so that you feel a sense of loss without them. The plot has enough mystery to keep you engaged. It isn't just a case of a psycho on the loose. Far from it in fact. The tale has history and needs the full film duration to truly understand what is going on.

The film consistently does camera angle well. The camera homes in on precisely where facial expressions or events are happening. The setting is nice and confined, keeping tension reasonable throughout. Not your typical horror film and a nice surprise. Definitely an adventure horror if such a thing exists.

I have to say it is worth a watch and you won't be disappointed. It does enough to build tension, and has a good storyline. For a good horror film I don't think anything else is necessary. A good film with a dull title.

A good try is lost among silly script ideas

[loomis78-815-989034 · 3/10 · 5 April 2013]

Some Roller Derby girls on their way to a match with their managers come across a broken down car and its occupants Allie (Highsmith) and Chad (Collins). When the van won't start the girls and the rag tag team of people discovers the only thing close by is an abandoned hospital that once was an insane asylum. They search the place and come across what seems to be a remaining patient named Roxy (Olivia Leigh) who seems crazy. When one of the members of the group turns up dead, Sarah (Hauser) thinks it is Roxy, but Allie doesn't and sticks up for her. The group is being stalked by a mysterious man in black with supernatural powers. This one is really all over the place when it didn't really have to be. Obviously low budget, the movie is full of weird characters and silly circumstances. Did they really need to be Roller Derby chicks? And did we really need to see no less than three of them try to escape the asylum on roller skates? This silly stuff is mixed in with a pretty straight forward approach by the film makers to at least try to make it scary. Some of the acting is really quite good but it is unfocused because of the weird wrappings of things like chicks wearing skates talking tough. This one tries hard but can't seem to get out of its own way and bring some real scares.

Genuinely not a good movie

[romanofrankie · 8/10 · 11 April 2021]

I can't honestly say that I like this movie, but there is something undeniably fascinating about it. This film features more roller skating than one would reasonably expect, unlikeable characters, poor writing (both in terms of advancing the plot and in sounding like how a person, any person, would ever speak), and sparks a general malaise in the audience bordering on schadenfreude at witnessing the truly dreadful denim pant options of the early-mid 2000s.

So, I really can't say that I like it. I can say that in the past decade I have watched it at least four times and was at one point so obsessed with finding it without remembering the title that I spent four hours googling random descriptions and finally securing a copy on eBay. I take no pleasure in recommending anyone watch this movie, but I do recommend it.

Not bad....

[C_LooLoo · 6/10 · 30 March 2019]

I did enjoy it to some degree. Started off with promise and somewhat interesting premise and characters but started going south there. The big reveal was a bit disappointing and there were too many gaping plot holes. For example, I initially enjoyed Nelson's character the most because he was entertaining and I thought his skittishness would keep him safe, but in one very uncharactistic act of bravado he confronts the demon ghost dad and gets killed. That was lazy plot work and a let down. We never get an explanation about why the boyfriend near the end was shot dead by the hillbilly guy. Or why Roxy's uncle was lurking around the asylum ruins alone in the middle of the night searching for her. And why did demon ghost want to kill his own brother (or if it was Roxy controlling him, why did she want her uncle killed)? And if Roxy was psychocitc and murdered her dad in the first place, why was her dad going around and murdering other people on her behalf, or was he just a projection from her mind as she herself said, and it was actually her murdering people? Certain things just did not make any sense. A few tweaks in the plot and story line could have produced a really good flick.

Interesting movie

[dy38493 · 3/10 · 14 April 2021]

Good movie to watch for especially the horror scenes and mystery in the movie the movie is not as bad as it expected the movie has some good direction.

Room 33

[a_baron · 8/10 · 13 February 2015]

If you are a horror or suspense buff, this is a film you will surely recognise. A group of teens/teens-plus find themselves stranded miles from anywhere, but conveniently there is a deserted building just over the hill. This one is not a haunted house but a haunted something. There is one human denizen, a girl who is likewise haunted, not to mention terrified. She seems also to have a strange psychic connection with the villain of the piece, a black clad wraith who may not look quite like the Grim Reaper, but certainly acts like him.

The only real question is how many of them will he dispatch before the riddle is solved? Actually, if you don't mind a proper resolution, this is not a bad film, certainly it is vastly superior to the common or garden slasher flick.

Worth watching

[duckman_079 · 6/10 · 18 March 2020]

Seemingly non-existent budget, lowest level movie. But. It looks professionally made, believable acting, not a bad script, usual plot though. I agree with another rater saying that it should be a 5.5.

Nifty little chiller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 13 October 2011]

A group of road trippers that includes two survivors of an automobile accident and an all-female roller derby team are forced to seek shelter at a dilapidated abandoned mental institution located deep in the woods. The group discover the frightened and enigmatic Roxy (a sturdy and sympathetic performance by Olivia Leigh) living on the premises. Moreover, a mysterious Man in Black (a genuinely creepy portrayal by Taras Los) starts picking folks off left and right. Director Edward Barbini, who also co-wrote the compelling script with Donnie Dale, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, evokes a strong sense of decay, isolation, and vulnerability from the rundown remote setting, effectively creates and sustains a nicely spooky atmosphere that becomes more increasingly eerie and unsettling as the narrative unfolds, and provides a few cool bits of mild gore (the killer removes his victims' eyes). The sound acting from an attractive and capable cast helps a lot, with especially stand-out work by Nina Hauser as the snippy and angry Sarah, Austin Highsmith as the sweet Allie, Adam Key as resourceful and libidinous hipster Stewart, Kim Manning as the sassy Barbie San Juan, Nicole Dionne as the foxy Natasha, Chad Michael Collins as nice guy Chad, and Ace Gibson as antsy coach Nelson. Terence Pratt's crisp cinematography gives this picture an impressive polished look. Blair Anderson's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. The final explanation for what's going on is pretty sad and tragic. Worth a watch.

not Session Nine

[gpeltz · 7/10 · 4 September 2015]

Room 33 (2009) is Directed by Edward Barbini , who also wrote it with Donnie Dale. Spoiler alert as I will be discussing plot points.

First impression, Watchable but unintelligible. The longer it goes on the less sense it makes. The obvious set up, A group of mixed young people stranded overnight at a haunted, long abandoned Asylum. There they are terrorized by a stalking killer, and an abandoned young girl who haunts the vacant building. What makes this a bit different, and gives it it's twist? Unlike most teen victim films, here the girls in the group are tough as nails, roller derby brawlers. They are accompanied by their roadies and tech crew. Allie and Chad, played by Austin Highsmith and Chad Collins, are two unfortunates, stranded in the middle of nowhere, are happy to be picked up by the roller blade team, Sarah the leader of the pack is played by Nina Hausser. A nasty tempered loner. The group is well played and the dynamics are interesting. for a while. Then the plot gets in the way.

Here there is not much of a plot , Rather the movie resorts to the standard set of clichés to take us to the inconclusive conclusion. The dark form running before the camera, accompanied by mysterious sound effect, has long since ceased being an effective jump scare. In this movie "I'll find them" is an overused phrase. Anytime there are group separations, and there are many, "You stay here, I'll find them" is put into play. Then there is the mysterious figure that disappears before the surveillance cameras. The Creepy girl who talks in voices, "You are all going to die" And so on.

Production values are good, effects are minimal, It is the roundabout ending that is problematic. Here it is the writers who fumbled with the hit and miss plot points. In the end it did not really matter, just ride it through like a Roller blade session. Seven out of Ten, "Mindless pleasure" Stars

Interesting

[giuseppedidomenico76 · 6/10 · 12 January 2020]

Harsh imdb score

Is worth at least a 5.5 Has got a plot and follows the basic rules of a script that many pretentious author's one loose sometimes

It keeps it simple and it works Does the job that is to entertain a public

Let's not forget that is at the end An indipendent low budget movie so 👍