by Isy Jordan Dread Directors: Anthony DiBlasi Starring: Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Evans, Hanne Steen, Laura Donnelly and more... This is one of the smartest horror films I've seen in a while and it's based on a work by Clive Barker. Okay, stop there. Normally, when someone makes a movie out of a short story by a famous author, I'm hesitant. It depends on the author and still you're taking your chances. We're talking about Clive Barker here, I love his work, and there have been decent movies based on his work (think the first two Hellraiser movies, Candyman, and Underworld) and some really terrible movies based on his work (think every other Hellraiser movie ever made, Lord of Illusions, I could go on...). I'm a fan of the Horrorfest films and, being a fan of Clive Barker, I decided to give Dread a try. Glad I did. It was wonderful. It was repulsive. It was thought-provoking. It's good horror and we don't see much of that anymore. So our story begins with college students Stephen and Quaid (played by Jackson Rathbone and Shaun Evans respectively). Quaid proposes that they work together on their thesis, a study of people's innermost fears. Quaid is intense and manipulative and it's obvious from the beginning that he makes Stephen uncomfortable. But Stephen goes along with the plan, even bringing a friend, Cheryl, in on the project as she has experience in film editing.

The three of them ask for participants to talk about their fears and past traumas on camera, including a friend of Stephen's who's attracted to him but has the misfortune to be marred by disfiguring skin pigmentation that covers half of her face and body. For any fan of horror movies, it doesn't take a lot to realize the direction that it's headed in. Quaid has significant trauma in his past that we learn of, just as we learn how obsessed he is with the fears of others. The next natural step in a horror film is for his character to want to explore the fears of their study participants...

This is where the movie can either degenerate into another mindless, time wasting thing that's supposed to be a horror film. Yet, this film was cleverly crafted from the beginning to entertain, to make the viewer think, and to build the dread of the audience as the movie moves along.

The story itself was well-written, the pacing was perfect, and the casting was fantastic. All of the actors in this film were new faces to me and all were impressive in how they brought their characters so believably to life. Shaun Evans as Quaid was particularly fascinating. His character was unrelenting, driven, and mad and the actor portrayed all of those things perfectly. Jackson Rathbone as Stephen turned in a solid performance as the representative of the audience. Stephen was a young man who, like most of us, considered himself to be quite normal, quite without fear. Until he got to know Quaid. Watching his foundation being shaken is a treat to watch and the actor did a wonderful job of showing us how his character slowly began to come apart. Steen and Donnelly were also very good in their roles as participants who became victims of Quaid's extended plans.

The film is 108 minutes and really earned its R rating. There is strong language and sexual content. But mostly be warned that there is lots of disturbing sadistic scenes -- literally. This film isn't for the faint of heart and that doesn't mean because you've seen all the Saw movies you can handle this. Dread is psychologically disturbing in a well-done way that will linger in the viewers' minds long after the closing credits role.

All that being said, if you enjoy horror films, I do recommend this film.

Isy