At the time of this writing, both Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil have just released in theaters. Not being able to go right away, I figured I’d look for something to quench my thirst for horror. I came across an Instagram post saying “If you like Terrifier, try this movie!” with a picture of a scarecrow-faced villain and lots of blood. Die’ced was my pick for the night. Spoilers ahead!
A Teenage girl is determined to figure out what happened to her missing mom but quickly finds herself face to face with a deranged serial killer that was mistakenly released from an insane asylum.
Die’ced website
Teens Cassandra and Tommy are getting ready for some Halloween fun. Unbeknownst to them, two nurses at the nearby psychiatric facility accidentally let go a very dangerous serial killer. The killer, known as Benjamin, immediately starts his brutal killing spree, ultimately finding someone from his past — Cassandra.
I’ll start with things I liked. I liked Benjamin’s costume; I find scarecrows incredibly scary and his face fits the bill. Makes sense that it takes place on Halloween night as well (way to fit into a crowd, y’know?). And speaking of Halloween, I will never hate a movie taking place during that time. The best settings for horror are always around Halloween. I also was pleasantly surprised by Die’ceds gore; Jason Brooks and Naomi Mechem-Miller did special effects for this movie, and I will say that the blood looked gross, as did the mangled bodies. Two thumbs up!
On the other hand, I constantly fought with Die’ced and the volume controls. I’m glad I watch movies with the captions turned on, because there were times when the sound was too loud, immediately followed by background music overpowering dialog. There was also the fact that this movie took place during the 80s. Very little in the actual film would lead you to think that, as there are plenty of modern houses and slightly 80s decor and clothing. To me, this very well could have just been set today, or have no specific time at all. Additionally, I clearly could tell Terrifier‘s Art the Clown was a big influence in how Benjamin acted. Sometimes it worked, but other times it felt like a cheap copy.
Now for the weird. The plot was the biggest thing for me; I had a lot of questions as the movie showed us more and more of the story. We think Cassandra and Tommy’s mom left the family on her own, only to find out she actually disappeared. But then she may have really been murdered by Benjamin, supposedly when the kids were younger (but they reference it like it had only been a year or so, with no mention of an investigation that they definitely would have known about). Then one of the nurses turns out to be the teens’ mom… and Benjamin is really their dad?! So many twists here that I have no idea what is actually going on! While I don’t mind twists, I feel like I needed more story here, especially since the movie is only an hour long.
Die’ced was quick horror flick that I didn’t mind watching. Some parts I liked, others I didn’t care much for. For me, one watch was all I needed… But I wouldn’t pass on a sequel to find out more of the story! If you’re looking for some fast blood, a flicker of other films, and a scarecrow murderer, Die’ced might be for you!
What did you think of Die’ced? Let us know in the comments!
Die’ced is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
