Slaughter Night aka SL8N8(2006)

Dutch horror films? Can't say that I really recall seeing any other ones. I happened to catch the trailer for this film, and saw that it takes place in a mine. I am sucker for any horror film that uses this location. Of course we all know My Bloody Valentine, but I'll even search out the more obscure ones like this film, and Trackman(don't bother). This was released as SL8N8 in other countries, and I can't really see what that means, because instead of sounding like Slaughter Night, it comes out as "sleight-neight"???

Well on to the film. Years ago a notorious child murderer/occultist named Andries Martienes was killed by police, after killing and collecting the heads of 8 children. It was said that he could travel back and forth from Earth to hell, by performing this ritual with the heads. He was supposedly visiting Hell to see his parents, who hold the secret location of all the family fortune in gold that Martienes is always searching for. He had a location in an old mine, that he used for his "rituals". The police decide that he will be the "fireman" for the miners, as his punishment. This entails wearing a suit of wet rags and carrying a torch into the mines to search for Methane leaks. He is blown apart, and the police think this is the end of Martienes. Ha Ha, this IS a horror film we are talking about.

Cue to the present day, and 8(how ironic, huh?) kids go on a tour into the mines. One of the girls involved father, wrote a book on Martienes, and was recently killed in a auto accident. The daughter is picking up her manuscript for the book, and knows a little about the serial killer and his exploits. Where this film plays it different is, instead of the killer rising from the grave, to kill the intruders, his spirit travels between the bodies of the kids, leaving them to do his dirty work. This adds a Demons sort of element to the film, or perhaps The Hidden, or Jason Goes To Hell? I thought it was a very cool change from the typical slasher film. The gore is done really well, although most of all the kills are be headings, they very effective and realistic. It has a really cool "shovel in the mouth" kill that has been used in several other movies, but always impresses me, when done right. Like I said, it's a Dutch film, so you have to read subtitles, but a real film fan wouldn't complain about that. There a few plot holes, and inconsistencies, but again, this is a slasher film. I think it's a real fun film, and really shocking that it was made in this decade, one of the driest and tamest decades in horror history! It's available on DVD, and I got my copy from Netflix, so check it out! 7.0/10