Review by R. Stringini for The Hazing
Rating:
I have to say, for a low budget, straight to video film, this movie just plain rocks! I mean, it’s funny, the script is strong, the acting is great, the direction is tight, and the effects are well done. Everything that I could have wanted was in here, plus more.

Let us start with the technical side of things. This disc is very well done. The picture is sharp and crisp, and the sound is clear and strong. Also, there are some very nice extras with a behind the scenes video, and some interviews, as well as trailers and other assorted goodies. The movie itself is one that goes back to the days of Night of the Demons, Return of the Living Dead, and Hell Night. It uses a tired old cliche of a plot, and turns it on it’s head with some very nice dialogue, a good sense of humor, and strong characters. It also helps that the cast handles everything amazingly. Everyone not only seems great on their own, but they all compliment each other so well that this really is a well done ensamble piece. The movie also looks like it should have had a wide theatrical release. The cheap, close up nature of most straight to video flicks, and instead is so well directed that I never once thought that this was a low budget production. It also helps that the effects are very well done, and never pull you out of the action (which is almost non-stop). And while the humor is previlant, it does not over take the horror of the film, but instead adds to the depth of the characters.

High Recommended.

Review by Karen Shaub for The Hazing
Rating:
Since we’re quickly closing in on Halloween, everyone’s favorite non-holiday, I couldn’t resist reviewing this little gem which was directed and written by Rolfe Kanefsky and released to an unsuspecting,and mostly unappreciative audience in 2001. THE HAZING tells the story of a group consisting of three fraternity and two sorority pledges who are undergoing that cherished titular right of passage. Their’s consists of a scavenger hunt followed by the required night in the town’s local haunted house, “Hack” House, where one Mr. Hackford murdered his wife and her lover in a rather nasty fashion.

The film itself begins in a most promising manner with a voice over the credits telling us the history of an ancient tome known as the “Saviour of Souls”. How it had first been found in the ruins of an ancient monestary, “a gift from God, or the Devil himself… filled with pages of blood rituals that could free the pure of soul from the bonds of the material world, indeed from death itself. Corrupt monks twisted the Book’s purpose and began using its passages for unspeakable rites. A lone brother opposed them. He attempted to destroy the Book’s power, but by then it was too late and the Evil consumed him. The entire monestary perished in a terrible fire. Miraculously the Book survived, its dark purpose now fulfilled. Its passages created a gateway allowing lost souls to travel freely between the dimensions of the living and of the dead.” Cool. The man reciting the Book’s history is Professor Kapp (Brad Dourif) and his real audience is his student Jill (Brooke Burke) who seems to be trying to get a few points added on to her grade by sucking up to the good Professor by whatever means necessary. She coyly excuses herself to change into a costume for a Halloween party she plans to attend, and emerges just in time to become the Professor’s first sacrifical victim. As he politely explains to her before delivering the coup de grace, “Its all true.” The Book has merely been awaiting the unhurried sacrifice of human beings, and she was in the wrong place at the right time.

OKAY! I can put up with a certain amount of collegiate bull excrement if we have stuff like this added to the mix. Looks like it could be fun. Speaking of our potential frat boys and co-eds it looks as if our sterotypes are all in place. Yes, they’ve donned Halloween costumes and divided into two teams for the scavenger hunt. Team One has Doug, a semi-obnoxious take-charge kinda guy and Marsha (Tiffany Shepis) a seriously strong chick who IS in charge. Team Two consists of Roy the good-natured, beer-swilling, sex-crazed sterotype, Delia (Nectar Rose) the dumb blonde in the Playboy Bunny outfit, and Tim (Parry Shen) who is Chinese, enough said. Right? Team Two is going for the small point items on the scavenger list, but Doug sees the Book of Souls on the list and recognizes it as belonging to Prof Kapp and decides not to sweat the small stuff and go right for the Big Ticket Item. This one is worth 30 points! Marsha’s past dating history has left her with some knowledge of breaking and entering, so they clamber in through the kitchen window, split up, find the professor going about the slightly tawdry business of human sacrifice, and accidentally impale him on one of his own collectibles. Being basically good kids who don’t want to get expelled or imprisoned they call 911, leave the phone hanging so the call will be traced, grab everything they have touched, and exit the way the entered. Marsha’s right to his jaw convinces Doug that they should not tell the others about what has happened.

Now all our characters are finally in place and the fun can REALLY begin. We all know, as do most of the characters in the film, that Jacob and Justine, the heads of the Fraternity and the Sorority, have rigged the house with all sorts of little things to scare them. But we know something they do not, that the Book, and maybe even the Professor, are going to cause some problems that no one has anticipated. The only question remaining is does this film have anything to offer that the scores of other films of its type do not? The answer is, most definitely!

What do we want from these films? Scares some say. But who really gets scared by this sort of stuff anymore? There aren’t any “truly frightening” moments here although there are some interesting ones. Gore you say? Well there are a couple of characters who are covered with the red stuff, there’s a beheading, and one fairly imaginative sex scene that I would put in this category–in fact it was one of the highlights of the film for me. Sex? there is that one rather demure scene I just mentioned, apart from that there’s a decent (or indecent) amount of exposed breasts, this was after all from Rolfe Kanefsky, even though it was probably one of the most clothed films he’s done since THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE. Special Effects? Enough to get by on. Some have criticized the possession scenes, but I don’t think they realize that the victims are not being possessed by a demon, but by Professor Kapp which is why they are not made to look more demonic. So, that’s what the film doesn’t have. What it does have, however, is a sense of humor, but since I’m reviewing it I suppose you’ve already guessed as much. Some of the humor is situational, some of it is character related, a lot of it is adolescent at best, but most of it should give you a laugh. I know I thought it was funny. But then I laughed at STREET TRASH.

What may surprise you are the characters in this flick, all of whom start out as the usual horror film stereotypes. Now I’m not saying that what we have here is a great cinematic study of the nature of personality development in college students. I’m simply saying that we get to learn a little bit more about some of them that we might normally learn in the average hack and slash, and that some of them change in unexpected ways. But toss all of that away and just have some fun, because the photography is more than adequate, the lighting enables you to see what you need to see, the girls costumes allow you to find them even when they are in very dark places, and the cast is likeable. Given my prejudices, I can’t say enough about Parry Shen. I’d like to be able to see him in more serious roles of course, but being Asian, you’re often lucky if you can even land a role in horror flick. And Brad Dourif is always a joy. No one past or present can chew scenery the way this man can!

In short, there’s no reason not to give this film a try.

Review by Tokay for The Hazing
Rating:
The Hazing was everything that most theatrical horror releases SHOULD be nowadays–yet this movie somehow was overlooked as a Halloween release in 2004. What beat this movie out of a release slot? Was it Seed of Chucky?!!? An “amusing” movie without a doubt, but far inferior to this little-known gem.

Now I must admit: this is a “silly” horror movie. Think the Night of the Demons series (part 2, in particular), and make it a little MORE silly; like Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Warriors. But this movie is much more similar to the former, taking place in “Hack House”, a name strangely similar to the “Hell House”, “Hill House”, and “Hull House” of various other nearly identically-premised films. But you know what? I don’t care that it’s a serially violated and re-packaged premise because this time it paid off in full!

Most importantly, while this is a low budget flick, I found myself having to remind myself of this fact–I would not have guessed. The effects were tactfully simple but truly no less entertaining. The film quality, music and sound effects were in league with theatrical horror films (the ones that SHOULD actually be theatrical releases). The frequent humor was delivered with surprisingly good timing by little known, but unexpectedly good actors. Oh, and the pace of action was strong after the much slower character-developing start of the movie, which, still, was rather entertaining.

A final note: nothing in this movie is scary, and if you jump it was due to unexpectedness and not actual fright. This is for those who love the style of horror of the movies referenced in this review.