Not that As The Village Sleeps is any sort of gore-show. In fact, this feature qualifies as a good example of the post-exploitation horror movie that has appeared with more frequency. There’s no nudity, little blood, and it is big on story, like the classic TV horror films of the 1970s. The lack of exploitable set pieces punctuating these events allows the story to be the core focus, instead of just an excuse to string along a cavalcade of varying quality ghastly kills. Bellande also does a damn good job with the editing throughout.
Spears has put together a solid production that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Other than a dubbing glitch in the opening, the presentation is professional and smooth. It takes a lot of hard work to make the movements of a flick unnoticeable to the viewer. The natural look of the set design and costumes works well. What little special effects used are of the hallucinatory variety and are quite effective.
“…no frills with solid chills.”
The acting by the ensemble is done well, as everyone keeps their performance on the same level appropriate to the subject matter. In other words, the acting is as good as Hell Night, which is high praise in this subgenre. Saravalle and Luna get to strut their dramatic stuff, while Carmmerer and Strange get to go buck wild at other points.
Once again, the overall look is nothing fancy as the audience is roughing it with the characters. For those needing an adaptation of the Werewolf game with much flashier visuals can soak up the splendor of the Mafia Survival Game from Russia. However, you will immediately notice it doesn’t have a fraction of the story drive you will find in As The Village Sleeps. Spears and Bellande have pulled a horror movie out of thin air, which is no small feat. It is no frills with solid chills.
"…Spears and Bellande have pulled a horror movie out of thin air..."
