Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

MetalGeek Brian Pulido is best known in the comic book world as the creator of "Lady Death" and "Evil Ernie," two series which feature lots of gore and lots of cleavage. So it probably would not a surprise to anyone familiar with his four color work that when Pulido made the jump to filmmaker, his directorial debut would also feature lots of ... gore and cleavage. And it's a good thing too, because without the impressive, shall we say, "assets" of Claire Evans as one of the film's leads, "The Graves" would've been a complete bore."The Graves" takes its title from the last name of its two heroines, Megan and Abby Graves, a pair of Goth dressin', horror punk rockin', comic book lovin' sisters. Megan's the older, tougher one and Abby is the sidekick. The two embark on a roadtrip through the Southwest together as one last sisterly hurrah before Megan heads off to New York to start a new job. It should be noted here that the film opens with the Graves Sisters hangin' out in a comic book store, proclaiming their "picks of the week" for their hand held video camera, and one of them just happens to recommend... Pulido's "Lady Death" title. Subtle, huh? By the way, I spent a lot of time in a lot of comic book stores as a teenage geek and I never -- repeat, NEVER -- saw any girls who looked anywhere near as hot as these two in any of them. Hell, I can't recall seeing any girls in comic book stores at all. Have times changed that much since I got out of the hobby? Anyway, when the Graves Sisters get lost looking for a roadside attraction in Arizona, they are directed to the local Skull City Mine by a friendly diner waitress who promises that the tour is worth the trip. What Friendly Waitress neglects to mention is that the mine, and in fact the entire town, is run by murderous religious nuts who kill any outsiders who venture into their little town to appease some kind of unnamed beast/god thing that lives in the abandoned mineshaft. Seems like a pretty simple plot, right? And it should be, but the movie quickly gets tangled up in its own storyline. When the sisters arrive at the Skull City Mine and witness a hulking dude in a blacksmith's apron brutally murdering a fellow tourist, they realize they're next on the menu if they don't find a way back to civilization, and the chase is on. This first portion of the movie is actually kinda fun, even if it is totally derivative of such redneck-killer flicks as "Wrong Turn," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or Rob Zombie's first two films. In fact, Bill Mosely of Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" shows up at about the one quarter mark and briefly, provides the highlight performance of the film as he chases the girls around the mine camp with a plastic pig nose on his face, carrying a big ole sickle and snorting "Soooo-EEEEE!" Abby and Megan get separated and Megan is captured by Moseley's character, fortunately Abby is able to find her inner psycho and save her sister from the pig-nosed menace.The film completely falls apart in the last third, as the girls go screaming back to town looking for help, only to discover that everyone there is "in on it" and soon they're tied up back at the mine camp, witnessing a bizarre religious ceremony led by Tony "Candyman" Todd and about to be sacrificed to the mysterious powerful thingie that lives in the mine shaft and apparently smells really bad. I say "apparently" because we never see the actual beast/spirit (presumably because they didn't have a big enough budget to create one), nor is it ever accurately described or explained, . The sudden shift in the film's tone from derivative but somewhat enjoyable Redneck Slasher Flick to something more akin to "Children of the Corn" is jarring, and never truly comes together. Of course, the ending leaves things open for a sequel, which I shall be sure to ignore entirely if it ever surfaces."The Graves" shows that Pulido has potential as a director, as some of the scenes are nicely staged and it has a nice "look" all around. I just wish he'd written a less convoluted script to work from. If you're simply a gorehound who likes to see the red stuff, you're likely to get a kick out of this one, but those who are a little more picky will be left wishing for something with a little more substance.

jfgibson73 There really isn't any reason for this movie to have been made. I don't really expect the average horror film to actually be scary, well made, or very original, but it should find some way to entertain. The Graves was just SO clichéd and uneventful, that not only would I recommend against watching it, but I really don't want to watch anything else by the writer or director ever.Two girls stop in a deserted town and pay to take a tour of the historic remains. Crazy religious locals torture and kill anyone who stops there, so the girls are pursued. A few other innocent victims die, but the girls kill their captors and escape at the end. There was something about demon possession and the taking of souls, too, but I lost interest by then. I still liked the two actresses in the lead roles, but I would rather see them in something halfway memorable. I will think of this movie any time I consider how most horror movies have nothing scary or tense about them. Total suckfest.

lovecraft231 Everyone knows what "After Dark Horrorfest" is. Every year, Lionsgate and After Dark films release eight films into select theaters for a limited time. While there have been some real winners from this line up-"The Gravedancers", "Reincarnation", "The Abandoned" and "Mullberry Street" for example-by the time the second Horrorfest came around, we started getting movies that one is amazed got any sort of theatrical release. For every winner in Horrorfest, there will be mediocre to disappointing movies like "Tooth & Nail" and "Dying Breed", to really awful fair like "Lake Dead" and "Slaughter." Well, you can add "The Graves to that third category, as it may be the worst Horrorfest movie yet.The Graves sisters-Abby (Jillian Murphy) and Megan (Clare Grant)-are two comic book, punk rock (well, as the director sees punk) and horror loving girls aka. two girls you will never meet in the real world. Well, Megan is headed to ASU with a marketing degree, so as a last hurrah, they decide to go looking for a fun roadside attraction. They instead end up going to Skull City Mine, a Ghost Town. Of course, it's not really abandoned, and soon the sisters find themselves fighting for their lives against a psychopath named Caleb (Bill Moseley) and a religious cult lead by Reverend Abraham (Tony Todd.) Can they survive? What's with the supernatural evil living in the town? Why should we care? How on Earth would stabbing a man's thigh kill him? "The Graves" is nothing more than a failure. Writer and Director Brian Pulido is a horror comic book veteran (he is the creator of "Lady Death"* and "Evil Ernie"), but for a guy with such a pedigree, his movie comes off as rather clueless as to what makes horror movies like this work. The whole thing feels too much like Pulido was thinking to himself "well, horror fans like this in horror movies", but that he had no idea as to what makes such movies work. In fact, the whole thing feels artificial, as if it comes from somebody who has no understanding of the genre, but wants a quick buck. That's last part obviously isn't what Pulido intended, but that is how it feels.It also doesn't help that our protagonists are completely bland and obnoxious. The film wants you to like the Graves sisters, but they are so dull, unrealistic and annoying that you keep hoping for the whole movie to come to a merciful end. Even worse amazingly, are the performances from Moseley and Todd. Here, Bill just plays another variation on the psychopathic killer he's played in far superior films, only really bad. It makes you wish he would have played someone else. Todd meanwhile, is so over the top and overacts so much that it becomes laughable. The fact that these two beloved genre veterans are even in dreck like this is depressing as hell, especially with the underwhelming performances they give.I wish I could say "The Graves" is worth watching, but it's not. Instead, it's a cheap, superficial imitator that clearly wants to be loved, but lacks any of the elements that makes horror like this fun. Instead it's a headache to watch, more appropriate for Hot Topic shopping kids than genre fans. Avoid.*At one point, the Graves sisters start going on about their love of Chaos Comics, one in which pretty much plugging "Lady Death" in a groan inducing bit of shameless self promotion. What the hell Brian?

SunnyLyn_80 Part of the After Dark Horrorfest 4 list of movies, The Graves... As the credits begin, you notice Bill Mosley and Tony Todd are in this movie... don't get your hopes up. With my experience, the After Dark Horrorfest films are either a hit or miss... there is no in between. The Graves would be in the category of "miss", as in "miss this movie". The beginning starts out OK, with two sisters going on the road in AZ for a little last minute adventure before the older sister leaves for NYC. They are in search of the world's largest thermometer (???... I have no idea); however, they come across a small town that features a deserted ghost town, complete with a self-guided tour. After that, the movie goes completely downhill (if that's even possible), with an even more stupid ending. There are scenes that don't make any sense (a man dying in a minute with a simple stab in the leg; however, the older sister gets stabbed in the chest right by the heart and somehow manages to live). I couldn't even follow the ending.Bottom line... don't even bother with this one. I gave it a "pity" 3/10 for signing Bill Mosley and Tony Todd.