The Craving (2008)

Now that I am settling into a groove with the blog to start the year, it is fun to get back into some of the low budget horror flicks that I have always enjoyed. The next movie up for review is from that nine-movie set I picked up over the holidays. It is the 2008 no-budget entry The Craving from Brain Damage Films.

Plot/ A group of college students embarking on a cross country road trip to the Burning Man Festival find themselves stranded in desert. Come nightfall a vicious predatory monster comes out searching for a meal.

This is another micro-budget flick that I found on that nine-movie set and a movie that I expected to suffer from many of the same flaws that the other films of this budget suffer from. This movie does have its share of flaws and is somewhat clichéd, but there is some positive elements that I would not have expected at first glance. The scripting was not bad and the pacing allowed the tension to build throughout, the atmosphere matched the scenery, and there was enough blood and violence sprinkled in to overcome some of the clichéd moments. Yes, there are some strangely placed sex scenes, the sound quality was all over, and the performances were uneven, but I have seen a lot worse in movies with larger budgets. In the end, this may not be a perfect flick, but it is a decent no-budget entry. Sure, it will fall into the love/hate vein, but don’t most horror flicks do that?