Skeleton Crew (2009)

‘There’s no sequel for you’

Skeleton Crew is a 2009 Finnish horror film directed by Tero Molin and Tommi Lepola from a screenplay by Tero Molin and Teemu Molin. It stars Steve Porter, David Yoken and Anna Alkiomaa.

In the 1970s, a mental institution near the border of Russia and Finland was shut down when it was discovered that main administrator Doctor Andersson (who had taken to calling himself “The Auteur”) had filmed himself torturing patients to death. Most of the doctor’s films were confiscated, though the rooms in which they were developed and screened were never found.

Around thirty years later, the asylum is being used as the set of Silent Creek, a film based on the murders committed in it. While doing recordings, two soundmen hear disembodied voices, and find a hidden room. The chamber contains Andersson’s undiscovered work, and while the bulk of the cast and crew of Silent Crew are disgusted by the snuff films, they decide not to call the police, since doing so would shut down production. Steven, the director of Silent Creek, becomes obsessed with Andersson’s films (which he is drawn to one night by an apparition) and begins acting deranged, claiming that Silent Creek is “not real enough”…

Reviews:

Crafted by two clear fans of the genre – novice writer/directors Tommi Lepola and Tero Molin – this attempted haunted hospital possession romp offers the appearance of a brash, bold scare statement. But as another old maxim reminds us, looks can be deceiving. In this case, what should have been suspenseful comes up dull and derivative, too obvious to be imaginative, too scattered to be unnerving.” Bill Gibron, DVD Talk

“It’s slow and plodding, and the actors that should carry us through such trying minutes fail at making us care about their characters, or the plot. The guy who played the director was just bad. The snuff/torture scenes were pretty good and tough to watch, but that’s about the only thing good about the entire movie.” The Horror Club

” …this is a generic, horrendously structured, and largely uninvolving slasher.” Brian W. Collins, Horror Movie a Day

“While it’s not a horrid film there’s simply nothing remotely original about it beyond it’s geographical origin. Cold Prey may have had a standard plot but it worked its arse off to squeeze every little bit of tension out of it. Skeleton Crew is just cheap and lazy, which is effectively worse than being crap but endearing.” Vegan Vorhees