Hellbride   Starring: Rebecca Herod, Oli Wilkinson and Eleanor James Brain Damage Films RRP: £2.99 BDF013 Certificate: 15 Available 29 March 2010

There is an ancient wedding ring which is cursed. The original owner was spurned, resulting in much bloodshed at the hands of the bride at the ceremony. Since then the ring has fallen into the hands of so-called happy couples, always with the same result. Lee buys the ring from a shop and gives it to his girlfriend, Nicole. She is on cloud nine until a couple of things go drastically wrong. Firstly, she begins to have terrifying nightmares and waking visions involving the original killer bride. Then, she discovers that her father has got mixed up with gangsters to whom he owes money. When the mobster boss's son arrives to threaten Nicole, her father kills him and she helps dispose of the body. So, all is set for a bloodbath at the wedding, as both the mob boss and the spirit of the dead bride seek retribution...

This is another budget horror release from Brain Damage Films - to follow the handful I reviewed a few short months ago. It's always good to see home-grown movies, because there aren't nearly enough, and every so often a genre gem emerges such as the excellent Hush or the surprise that was Tony: London Serial Killer. As with Brain Damage's previous releases, this one also suffers from inferior audio quality, particularly with the untreated reverb sound with the spoken dialogue.

The acting isn't brilliant, but it's acceptable. Almost as a parody of itself, we see two characters sitting on a sofa and watching a film with wooden actors and stilted lines. In fact, I would say that Hellbride's saving grace is the inherent humour. Some of it works and some of it doesn't , but you've got to appreciate the intent, such as the film tag line: At Nicole's Wedding There Will Be Blood, Mayhem And Slaughter... There Will Also Be Cake And A Late Bar.

This is the best release I've seen thus far from the Brain Damage canon, and it's certainly worth the £2.99 asking price. However, don't be fooled by the seemingly plentiful extras; aside from the commentary, they all add up to only 25 minutes at best.

5

Ty Power