Hey gang, Valkor here. And as I dip into the MediaView pile, I dug up what I thought would be a tasty choice of a film. And as I began watching said film from the first scene, I thought I was in for one heck of a ride. However, after sitting through slasher/horror Cry Havoc, I found that my ride was less than enjoyable. The film has its moments of awesome, but beyond that, it’s just meh. Spoilers ahead!
Cry Havoc mostly revolves around investigative reporter Weaver; She was allowed to interview a guy named “The Voyeur”, a man who is highly eccentric yet most wanted by the FBI. The Voyeur lives in a secluded location. And it’s there where he plays this game with anyone looking to make some quick cash (usually influencers are the chosen) if they can survive the death grip of Havoc (spoiler, almost everyone dies), with the entire event filmed for "artistic purposes". Given what Weaver has learned, The Voyeur isn’t just going to let her walk away with all this info; She's tossed into Havoc’s playpen, where she awakens tied up and about to meet the killer’s slicer.
Thankfully, there’s a detective on-site, who followed Weaver as she was brought to the compound. His whole reason for being there was to search for his missing daughter, whom he believed to be somewhere on site. The daughter is the first female we see at the beginning of the film. And she was lucky to escape when a security guard walked into Havoc’s killing area, becoming the next target. This allowed the daughter to escape, but we later learn she didn’t get very far. Once the detective discovers that his daughter is alive, he wants to make sure she stays living. So, now it becomes a head to head match up between the detective and Havoc. And let me just say (again), that almost everyone dies. Technically, we don’t know of the detective’s fate as we last saw him and Havoc rolling down a hill. But we see only Havoc walking away from that fall. Then there’s the daughter’s attempted escape, only the film ends before we learn of her fate. Does she finally break free, or does Havoc catch up to her, doing what he does best? We’ll never know. Finally, the Voyeur also survives, who I’m guessing, will go on to make more of his survival-type “snuff films”.
And to be honest, if there’s a sequel, I’d be all for it. I kind of want to see how things would play out with Havoc, The Voyeur, and the detective. Would there be a new detective who’s looking into the missing reporter? Is the previous detective, who went rolling down the hill with Havoc still alive and seeking revenge? What about the daughter? Would she play a part in all the madness? And what about The Voyeur? Will he get his comeuppance? So many questions! But for now, let’s dive into the TOV Breakdown!
The Good:
If there’s one positive I can take away from Cry Havoc is that the killer Havoc is one badass slasher/villain, who is like a mix between Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface and Jason from Friday the 13th. A few years back I did a top 10 favorite slashers from horror films I reviewed. And if I were to do that again, Havoc would either be number one or really close to the top. The dude is vicious, kills anyone in his path, and if he has to run you down to get the job done, then so be it. Ain’t no sluggish stalking for this mofo. However, he gets easily distracted. But that’s mainly because he wants to kill someone else. And I’m OK with that. And I want all things Havoc; I'm talking action figures, movie posters, video games, stickers, gum, cologne, all the things Havoc! All. The. Things! Other than that, there isn’t much I enjoyed about Cry Havoc. The film is watchable. But some events happen in this film that brings it down.
The Bad:
Other than Havoc, I didn’t enjoy the film all that much. It has some really cheesy moments, but mostly things dragged until Havoc makes the scene. I think if they cut everything involving the reporter out and the film focused on the whole survival bit and the detective looking for his daughter, then that may have made for a more interesting film. Next are the gunfights between the detective and The Voyeur’s men; The aim of these henchmen put Star War’s stormtroopers to shame. The detective could stand right out in the open, and these henchmen don’t even wing the guy. Yet, the detective nails every one. And it’s weird that a couple of Voyeur’s men get shot, then drag themselves away, never to be seen again. Did Havoc get them, or did they bleed out? We’ll never know! And there are many more scenes that play out in that manner to where it’s annoying. Finally, I don’t even want to talk about the acting, which wasn’t terrible, but still pretty cheesy.
The Ugly:
That first Havoc kill, where he rips a guy's head open – jarring!
Cry Havoc is available now on digital formats such as Amazon Instant or in the Google Play Store. While I enjoyed all the hacking and slashing from the film’s antagonist; Other than that there’s not much else that piqued my interest. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving Cry Havoc a 2.
