Verdict
Summary
From underrated and underappreciated cult filmmaker Rolfe Kanefsky (There’s Nothing Out There, Nightmare Man, Art of the Dead), The Hazing is as gonzo and fun as his body of work correctly suggests it will be, and with a slightly higher budget than most “B” movies of its era, the film manages to achieve a level of enjoyment and gleeful joy that most studio horror pictures of its day never managed to reach. Wild Eye Releasing has just released a pretty barebones DVD that comes with some trailers and an AI generated cover, which is truly a baffling decision on their part, especially considering that this would have made a great addition to their “Visual Vengeance” line of films that resurrects obscure horror and cult films with hours of bonus content. The Hazing deserves a much better home video release than this pretty crummy reissue. Where’s the commentary? Where’s the making-of feature? How about a Blu-ray? Come on, Wild Eye! Fans want a fully loaded edition of this one!
Plot:
A college hazing goes horribly wrong when the teens involved become trapped in a house that might be a gateway to hell.
Review:
A group of fraternity hopefulls are given a scavenger hunt list of items to find as part of a hazing ritual, and the hunt leads them to a house that is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a man who committed suicide many years ago. It also happens to be Halloween night, which is prime time for mischief and weirdness, and only just recently, an eccentric collector of occult artifacts (played by wild-eyed Brad Dourif) died before he could complete a ritual that would open up a gateway to hell with his book of spells and a gnarly spinal column key. When the teenagers (played by sexy Nectar Rose and jaw-droppingly cute Tiffany Shepis, as well as Perry Shen who gets to play the lucky – or unlucky – nerd in the mix) show up to hunt for their items, bad stuff starts happening pretty quickly, but not before the teens split up and get up to no good. A sex coupling turns into a kinky bloodbath, tongues and heads are chopped off, and the hazing ends up becoming a night full of possession and unexpected rift-ripping when the soul of the recently departed cultist needs to take charge of a soul in order for his book of incantations to work its dark magic!
From underrated and underappreciated cult filmmaker Rolfe Kanefsky (There’s Nothing Out There, Nightmare Man, Art of the Dead), The Hazing is as gonzo and fun as his body of work correctly suggests it will be, and with a slightly higher budget than most “B” movies of its era, the film manages to achieve a level of enjoyment and gleeful joy that most studio horror pictures of its day never managed to reach. This remains of Kanefsky’s best films with stylish filmmaking, good performances, a plot that feels like an homage to Evil Dead II (one can’t help but notice multiple hat-tips to Bruce Campbell throughout the movie), and a level of playful sexiness that Kanefsky is known for thanks to generous nudity and also a level of careful restraint when it comes to gore, makeup, and the supernatural stuff. It works, and it’s a shame the movie isn’t better known because fans of the genre are certain to love it.
Wild Eye Releasing has just released a pretty barebones DVD that comes with some trailers and an AI generated cover, which is truly a baffling decision on their part, especially considering that this would have made a great addition to their “Visual Vengeance” line of films that resurrects obscure horror and cult films with hours of bonus content. The Hazing deserves a much better home video release than this pretty crummy reissue. Where’s the commentary? Where’s the making-of feature? How about a Blu-ray? Come on, Wild Eye! Fans want a fully loaded edition of this one!
