HORROR DVD/BLU-RAY REVIEWS

Three forensic college students go on an assignment in an abandoned asylum. Once there, they stumble upon a badly mutilated sheriff and the reason why he’s in such a bad shape.

The Institution was a short film created from the feature length script The Assignment, which was written over a period of 4 years by two college friends, Brad LaMar and Clayton Monical. The premise of The Institution as a short was interesting, because in no way did they try to give you a clear explanation to what was going on. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t always a good thing, but in this case it actually works. At a running time of 14 minutes, I can’t honestly tell you if it’s good or bad, but it’s definitely interesting. It felt more like watching a long movie trailer, which was what I think they wanted to achieve.

The popular loud noises scare tactic is really pissing me off. You know when you’re on your way back from the concession stand with a large drink that cost you $17.50 and you’re really looking forward to the movie. Next thing you know you just spilled your god damn drink all over yourself because of slamming doors and shrieking noises. Well, The Institution does not resort to such cheap scares. It’s more concerned with what’s going on on-screen. An intense creepy mood usually does it for me and The Institution is all about that. Derek Vincent’s score does a good job to set that tone.

The acting left much to be desired. The screen presence of our protagonist is so limited, that I don’t think it will be enough to spoil the experience for you. Honorable mention goes to the special effects department, who did a good job. When taking into consideration their estimated budget of $12,000 you can’t help but feel they made the most of it.

When The Institution full length feature (The Assignment) is released, it runs the risk of falling into the avalanche of current straight to DVD or at best coming in second to titles like Dark Harvest 3, The Mangler Reborn or the next Ulli Lomme movie. Of course there is the occasional exception, in my humble opinion case and point Dog Soldiers (although it was released it theaters overseas, it was a straight to DVD in America).

Audio: Presented in English (DDl 5.1) and Stereo.

Behind the Scenes (40:26): A somewhat interesting look at the production.

Trailer (1:13): The trailer was actually the first minute or so of the movie…it’s alright.

If someone asked me if the movie works as a short, my answer is a definite yes. I’m just not sure it could hold it’s momentum for a feature film. But I would be the first in line to find out.