Athletics coach and all round fitness nut Dana Milgrom (Shauna The Descent Macdonald) is knocked down by a car while out running. Although she survives, it's touch and go and her recovery is slow - her legs are shattered, she has facial scars, she cannot speak, and for a couple of minutes after the incident she has - briefly - died before being resuscitated: this will be important later. Dana's husband Steve (Steve Vikings Wall) and daughter Gemm (Leah McNamara) try to be supportive, but become concerned when bedbound Dana describes a figure she has seen at night, emerging from a cupboard in the ward, which she later discovers goes by the epithet 'Nails', and to which she may be connected.
Dana's attempts to convey her distress are limited by her being unable to speak (she communicates via a text to voice laptop, a plot device that soon outstays its welcome) and her inability to convince anyone that she isn't seeing things. But we all know that the danger is real (well unreal, but you know what I mean) and it's up to Dana to find the truth while battling to save her own life.
A first feature for Bartok, which plot wise borrows rather heavily from A Nightmare on Elm Street, on the plus side is well setup, with half glimpsed visions of 'Nails' and the old 'they don't believe me' storyline made more believable by casting the very capable Macdonald as Dana.
But at around the halfway mark the over familiar starts to crowd in: Dana doing her on line investigations into the history of the hospital and finding out the truth of 'Nails' and his baby killing origin; the 'I see dead people' shtick which allows Dana to look bonkers to all except the viewing audience; and the presence of the haughty hospital director who clearly knows more than she's letting on about the whole haunted hospital setup. Macdonald is the best thing about this, managing to communicate a range of emotions (including the suspicion that her husband may be doing the dirty on her) while remaining virtually immobile for much of the film: and funnyman Ross Noble offers a rather good turn as Trevor, a put upon hospital orderly - who seems to be the only person working on the wards - caught between helping Dana and keeping his job. But ultimately Nails foregoes its earlier atmospheric build up for the usual running around and screaming. And 'Nails', when he finally fully emerges from the cupboard, obeys that tried and tested horror film rule that what's glimpsed is way more frightening that what is fully seen. Ultimately disappointing but not without atmosphere in its early stages.
Ah, a chance to do my catchphrase! "I must be one of the few people who saw this at the cinema". Adam Marsh booked it for a short run at Derby QUAD a while back (might have only been one screening, actually). I was pretty impressed, found it much better than expected, and who doesn't like a horror movie in an enclosed hospital setting? Never found Ross Noble's standup schtick all that great, but he completely stole The Comic Strip's HUNT FOR TONY BLAIR with a brilliant cameo, and he's just as good here. Really must get around to seeing that clown flick he did.