The Hazing (2003) Reviews

• Going for the Easy Kill

  BaronBl00d2005-03-10

  Well, the story is nothing new here: two girls wish to join a sorority and are asked as their final pledge initiation test to stay in a house known to be haunted(after licking sandals with chocolate sauce and being spanked with a big paddle labeled Daddy). The girls who are testing them and their boyfriends go to the house later that evening to scare them. Trouble of course comes to all when a girl, with an inhuman build and deformed body, starts terrorizing all of them(plus the obligatory pizza guy and a homeless man). Butchered is a bad picture all the way: with actors with virtually no range, hokey special effects, crude plot devices shown on film such as vomiting, a grade z budget, and a story that has been done in some form or fashion many, many times. But the makers of this film weren't trying to do anything else but show a lot of bloodletting, smashed heads and faces, eye gouging, knife cuts and slashes, and the typical devices used in a film of this ilk. We also get a "ghost" with braces. I'm not a gore-hound by any means, but if seeing plastic heads repeatedly slashed at is your thing, then you will be in for a treat. None of the characters are compelling, the plot is threadbare, and there is virtually no humour. Usually a film like this makes fun of itself in some way. What does it have going for it? All of the female cast, except Rebecca and the redheaded ghost with the braces, are very easy on the eyes. Susan Smythe in particular is an eyeful. Only one of the female thespians disrobes so don't expect too much in that area either. The other big plus is that the film lasts only 76 minutes. And as a final plus, I can say that for a bad film, Butchered is at the very least watchable. I didn't have to fast-forward, but rest assured I will not invest another 76 minutes to ever see it again.

• Frankly i expected more from a movie with the title "Butchered".....

  face_of_terror2004-12-26

  Two girls are about to enter some kind of sorority organization (which includes two other girls and their bfs.). First they undergo a little spanking , then they do some push-ups with a cream all over their bras. After 15 mins or so of that i started thinking that the title "Butchered" doesn't really fit in here. After fast-forwarding those scenes, the movie changes its direction a little bit. The third and the last test the girls have to do ,to join the club is to spend the night in an abandoned house. They didn't expect that the club members prepared another surprise for them. And the club members didn't expect a house' owner - a deformed maniac with a butcher's knife to prepare a big and bloody surprise for them all... For its budget, "Butchered" has good special effects (director Joe Castro is a make-up artist) , and some decent gore. Though its not as realistic as for example Olaf Ittenbach's gore in "Premutos" and "Burning Moon" , but pretty solid. The directing is not very good , and is shot with a home camera. The movie is also very dark - bad lights i guess. I don't have to talk about the acting...there is none. Our maniac is a female by the way ! That was sort of a fresh idea. She is deformed, has big ugly teeth and wears white mask. Oh yeah , i almost forgot about the butcher's knife. She turns out to be nearly twice stronger than those two guys from the club. Music is boring , and starts to annoy after 15-20 minutes. Verdict : Boring gore fest. Annoying Music , stupid acting. Even first 15 mins of the movie don't save it. Once again , they've had a good idea , and totally spoiled it.

• Crap

  gridoon2006-04-05

  The best sequence in "Butchered" occurs early on, when two girls are spanked with paddles by two other girls and then are forced to do "squishy" push-ups (you'll see what that means), as part of a sorority initiation. I must admit I found all of this quite a turn-on. But when the action moves on to the "haunted" house, the film offers nothing but derivative plotting, overacting, screaming, wandering around, watery blood and fake/exaggerated gore. I will give it * out of 4 for the effort; it's obvious that the people who made it do love horror flicks (they even included a double homage to "Halloween" and "Psycho" at the start). That doesn't mean they had enough talent to make one though!

• Follows a well known plot.

  insomniac_rod2005-07-05

  Thank you! t.v. cable cheap channels that have the courage to air this direct to video horror cheese flicks! When there's nothing to do at midnight on the week, these flicks air and believe me it's a pleasure for me to watch as I'm a lover of the low budget. "Butchered" follows the same plot as in "HellNight", "The Initiation", and many more slasher flicks from the early 80's. The problem is that this flick from the year 2003 doesn't offers anything you haven't seen. The "killer" kind of reminds me of the Garth Manion monsters from "HellNight" but not as near as scary. Ugh. This is a flick to booth from the trash can!. The flick has cheap gore effects, scares, and a dull direction even for a direct to video mess! Watch it if you're like me, a hardcore fan of low budget horror flicks.

• Rubbery gore

  joseph-ebbasi2008-04-07

  This one really is as cheapo as they come! The motivation to make it in the first place clearly comes from someone finding a big abandoned house in which to shoot the majority of this very unscary piece or rubbish. The only parts worth exposing your mind to are the 'blood and gore' moments, or 'rubber and watery ketchup' as they should be known. I have never seen pin-headed latex dummies take such a butchering as in this film. The lanky killer dispatches her victims in a variety of ludicrous ways, from snapped arms to hacked-up heads. The thing is that it's all so rubbery and unconvincing that hysterical laughter is often the response, providing much need respite from the dreadful 'plot'. Utter nonsense but worth a watch purely for the manner and delivery of each kill.