Review of The Pact (2010) by Guillermo B — 16 Jan 2015

Summary: The Pact is spooky, well acted and just a bit slow. 78/100 [B].

The Pact is an indie horror film directed by Nicholas McCarthy. It is a small flick and it has a decent running time, eighty-nine suspenseful and terrifying minutes. Moving on, it starts very well, the opening scene has lots of suspense and some lean scares. It delivers suspense, chills and a sense of anxiety. The movie boasts great performances by Haley Hudson and Caity Lotz, their performances were genuine and believable. Lotz and Hudson did a good job with their roles, but for me the star of the film is Hudson. She was terrific. Anyway, The Pact is such a good horror film that doesn't even need gore or violence to be good. It is a slow movie but it requires patience.

The movie has enough blood and violence to satisfy discerning horror fans. Also, the special effects are surprisingly well done in spite of being a low-budget film. On the downside, the camera movements are annoying at times, the director wants to show you all, it's a very explicit movie, it shows you all the shadows and 'spectrums' with an unnecessary camera zoom, he thinks that you're blind or something. All those 'zoom' moments are so ineffective and not scary. I wish it could be more implicit. In addition, sometimes the camera moves stupidly and makes a scene funnier than scary, for example that scene in the trailer where Caity Lotz is attacked from behind by a ghost, was kinda funny.

Leaving aside its flaws, I highly recommend it for horror fans. You can watch it online with some friends or rent it, it's a very spooky flick. The premise is intriguing, it has a good script and the performances are believable. Thumbs up for the loud-chilling screams, the excellent acting (Haley Hudson you were awesome) and the interesting premise of the film. Thumbs down for a few boring scenes, cliches of the genre and the crappy camera direction. In conclusion, it is a must see if you love the horror genre, I'm pretty sure that you'll love it. Just don't see it if you have very high expectations or if you think that it will be a masterpiece. The Pact is just a little horror gem. [B].