The Caretaker (Region 1 Edition)   Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Judd Nelson, Jennifer Freeman and Jonathan Breck MTI Home Video RRP: $24.95 039414521399 Certificate: 15 Available 23 February 2010

Three teenage lads are collecting their girlfriends to escort to a Halloween party, but have arranged with the chauffeur to take a little detour to an isolated and abandoned farmhouse. Once inside, the girls are relayed the horrifying story of the Caretaker, a man who was so jealous of his beautiful wife that he kept her chained-up inside that very house and killed anyone who ventured too close. However, the urban myth takes on a gritty reality when a figure armed with a fruit collector shows up and begins picking the group off one-by-one...

The Caretaker is an obvious attempt at creating a new franchise in the vein of Halloween or Friday 13th. The problem is the premise is hackneyed and clichéd, and there is certainly no mileage in the character itself. There are little or no surprises, making the whole a lumbering mess sprayed with cheap polish. The only saving grace is an appearance by Jennifer Tilly, who was excellent in the witty slasher classic Bride of Chucky. As with Jonathan Breck, who was in the genre-bending Jeepers Creepers, she has undoubtedly taken a step back with this flick. It's not badly filmed by any means, but it amounts to little more than a slasher retread, with nothing new to add to the mix.

There are no extras aside from a trailer; though I'm not entirely certain they would have improved the release. Avoid. There are many much better examples of the genre out there.

4

Ty Power