By Geno McGahee
The relationship between heavy metal and horror is a match made in heaven. They are linked in the best of ways and we see the two crossing paths with regularity. The typical pairing happens when the bands make music for the films to help set the tone. Dokken had “Dream Warriors”, for the movie with the same name, Megadeth did a cover of “No More Mr. Nice Guy” for SHOCKER, and Alice Cooper’s “Man Behind the Mask” was just one of the tunes that he put into the FRIDAY THE 13TH series.
The soundtrack is the most common thing, but we do see the relationship go to the next step with the musicians making their way into the film. Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons both starred in TRICK OR TREAT, Alice Cooper did MONSTER DOG, and now the heavy metal band LORDI stars in the 2008 monster movie “DARK FLOORS,” and if any band belonged in a horror film, it is LORDI.
LORDI features a line-up of musicians that dress in monster costumes to perform and it’s not a gimmick. Some bands supplement a lack of talent with showmanship, but not here. LORDI is a great band with an extreme horror influence, evident in all of their music videos. They are telling a story on stage and through their music. Much like KISS and GHOST, they are asking the audience to accept these characters as genuine for the time they sit down to enjoy the show.
Based on a story by Mr. Lordi, DARK FLOORS concerns an autistic girl, Sarah (Skye Bennett), being treated at a hospital when a power outage puts her life in danger and convinces her dad, Ben (Noah Huntley), to take her away. While leaving, Emily (Dominique McElligott), a nurse, runs up and asks him to stay. He refuses and gets into the elevator. Joining him are Emily, a businessman, Jon (William Hope), and a security guard, Rick (Leon Herbert). That is when things get very strange.
The group gets off on a different floor and the hospital is dilapidated and the group begins to see strange things, beginning with a terrifying and aggressive ghost, played by Awa of LORDI. I almost look at this film as a backstory for the band and the characters. It was great to see Awa in action and the special effects here were much better than most of the CGI we see. Jon runs to the elevator to escape, but he runs into Kita of LORDI, an aggressive and large monster, that is breaking through the bottom of the elevator. The group rescues Jon, but there is no gratitude.
Jon is the biggest villain of the film. William Hope does a great job in the part and he is immediately unlikable just from his demeanor and brief comments. As the film goes on, he gets worse and worse, and so does the paranormal activity. The connection to the monsters seems to be Sarah and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Jon tends to think that the monsters want her and, at one time, offers her up.
Amen, the mummy of LORDI, enters the movie in such a great way. A sand storm surrounds the group and Amen stands there. Throughout the film, the group finds dead bodies everywhere and some of them are buried in sand, and we find out why when Amen comes out to play. When he grabs somebody by the throat and lifts them into the air, it’s very neat. Ox of LORDI makes an appearance and then we finally see the leader of this group, Mr. Lordi.
As the group encounters the monsters and the strange condition of the hospital, they begin to figure things out. Time is standing still and overlapping at times. They are stuck in another dimension and can see the reality they knew at times, but, for the most part, they are trapped with this demonic force. It is a battle for survival with the autistic child holding the key.
DARK FLOORS, directed by Pete Riski and Alan Smithee, was a very good horror film. It is obvious that Mr. Lordi not only loves the genre but totally understands it. As a big fan of LORDI, it was great to see the characters involved in a film and it is done in the right way. I think that Mr. Lordi wanted to tell the story of his creations, giving more insight into the band that he leads, and that’s what we saw here. The cast was very strong and the story concerns enough mystery to keep the audience watching as we lead up to the carnage.
I highly recommend DARK FLOORS.
Rating: 8/10
