By Geno McGahee
Lionsgate has just released ROOM 9, an interesting horror flick starring Michael Berryman, known from his role in THE HILLS HAVE EYES. It also features Kane Hodder of Jason Voorhees fame and brings forth a mystery with some unusual filmmaking choices that will probably be loved and hated, depending on the viewer.
ROOM 9 begins with a married couple and some flashbacks with various filters. It seemed like the editor was in love with filters and I sort of get what they were going for but they became overwhelming at times considering the overuse.
After several murders, Star shows up to investigate. Star has inherited the Inn and must now figure out what’s going on and why people are dying. She doesn’t come into the film until it’s over halfway over and it sort of fumbles its way there. There seemed to be more focus on showcasing Berryman and Hodder initially and then shifting over to the actual story. This one definitely needed some work.
The ending isn’t satisfying and that was disappointing. Usually a movie that is pretty rocky can rebound with a satisfying ending, but it struggled to conclude. ROOM 9 had some good ideas and wanted to establish a memorable style with the editing, but it missed the mark. ROOM 9 didn’t do it for me. It’ll probably be appreciated by horror fans that just like seeing Hodder and Berryman, but it never found its footing with me.
