The Graves   Starring: Jillian Murray, Clare Grant, Bill Moseley, Tony Todd and Amanda Wyss Anchor Bay Entertainment RRP: £15.99 ABD4831 Certificate: 18 Available 31 May 2010

The confident and sassy Megan and her younger Goth sister Abby have been inseparable. However, a lucrative job offer in New York for Megan means that the two will have to part. The pair decide to embark on a road trip through the Arizona desert, where they happen across an old mine which is supposedly haunted and has been opened as a tourist attraction. No sooner do they arrive than they witness the brutal murder of a girl at the hands of a thickset man and, as the potential next victims, are suddenly on the run. It seems the killing of visitors to the mine is not without purpose. The nearby Skull City is in the grip of the Reverend Abraham Stockton and The Church of the Devout Ascension, who live in religious fervour serving an ancient evil...

I've mentioned before how directorial debuts inevitably prove to be either inspired or derisive, with no shades of grey. This feature, written, produced and directed by Chaos Comics creator Brian Pulido, is sustainably inventive with its twists and turns taking it from slasher movie to supernatural chiller. Even the title is clever, using an eye-catching horror headline which in actuality is merely the surname of the key protagonists. It's far from original to have the weaker of the main characters having to find inner strength to prevail when the tough one they have come to rely on becomes incapacitated, but here the sisters personalities spark off each other (and I have to say Clare Grant who plays Megan is a real stunner). Other impressive performances come in the shape of Bill Moseley of The Devil's Rejects, and particularly Candyman's Tony Todd, who steals the show as Reverend Stockton.

DVD extras include an audio commentary, interviews, bloopers, photo gallery, Tattoos video, and other quirky featurettes. Well worth a look.

7

Ty Power