A television movie filmed as part of the Masters of Horror series, CIGARETTE BURNS is just under an hour in length and nevertheless achieves the same effect as a full-blown, feature-length movie. The short running time means that the pacing is nice and fast, and what plays out is a story that may be a little predictable (the idea of an 'evil' film has been done in the likes of the Ramsey Campbell novel, ANCIENT IMAGES) but is nonetheless handled very well indeed. This is horror at its most chilling: a nice combination of subtle chills with in-your-face shocking gore. And of course, most of the impact has to do with director John Carpenter, the man who brought us classics like HALLOWEEN and THE THING, and more recently trash like the bomb that was GHOSTS OF MARS.
On the strength of CIGARETTE BURNS, Carpenter's back. His direction is focused and assured, and there's only one time when his work feels false: there's a scene that rips off HOSTEL quite obviously, but Carpenter's in-your-face direction means that it's still powerful and shocking. For a television movie, the cast is fantastic. Norman Reedus plays a character who is a far cry from the nerdy geek he was in BLADE II; he's intense, multi-layered and fine. Udo Kier has a great little cameo and makes a memorable departure. The supporting players are great, and everyone seems to give a powerful, vivid turn. Special mention has to go to Douglas Arthurs and Colin Foo; they've both got small parts, but they're equally terrifying in their own way.
The focus is on a film-within-a-film here and there are plenty of nods for fans, including references to Dario Argento and the like. The glimpses of the 'evil' film that we see are intensely disturbing and not for the faint-hearted. Neither is the bloodshed, which includes a very realistic decapitation and a bit with a projector which is very nasty. The climax is well-achieved and the film as a whole is an effective piece of work. I especially liked Carpenter's traditional, simplistic synthesiser work; the score here is one of the best things in the film, adding a subtle layer of dread and foreboding to the proceedings. Good work!
