We follow a group of small-town residents, led by rookie cop Daniel ( Aaron Poole), as they are besieged by murderous cult members, tentacle creatures/humanoid monsters with hideously deformed bodies. The film's plot is wafer-thin, but that's not the biggest problem. 'The Void' sounds irresistible, but it's poorly paced, thinly plotted, and unimaginative throughout its bloody special effects-centric set pieces. I don't want to say that this is a common problem with indie horror films, because half the fun of being a horror fan is looking for new stories amidst heaps of tired genre pastiche and shameless 'homages' (Carpenter has especially been homaged to death within the last couple years).

But co-writer/director duo Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski fail to synthesize their influences in a meaningful way. It is indeed an homage to Lovecraft, Barker, Carpenter, Romero and Fulci (who, when listed together, sound like the world's spookiest law firm). Unfortunately, 'The Void' did not live up to my high expectations, and it didn't give me many reasons to meet it at its bar-lowering level.

Legacy of the void ending