horror film with bite! Venom Dimension 2005 color 85 minutes Horror-Thriller Agnes Bruckner, Johnathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D.J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer, Megan Good, Bijou Phillips, Method Man, Pawel Szajda and Stacey Travis star. Directed by Jim Gillespee Written by Brandon Boyce and Flint Dille Produced by Kevin Williamson Rated R for strong language, graphic violence and lots of gore Miramax's genre division Dimension has to be the absolute dumbest company. It's true what you've heard Venom is no masterpiece but it's far from being a disaster. It's a decent film with some great scenes and ideas. It would've certainly been a bankable film. Definitely an audience film, filled with Oh my God frantic jolts, sweaty palm inducing suspense and loads of dumb character stereotypes we've all grown to love. Because without them horror movies just wouldn't exist. So dimension finished this film and fast tracked it for a September release instead of taking a bit more time to develop it slightly and marketing it better so people actually know it exists. I mean why even bother making it if your not going to promote it. Well anyways, on to the movie Venom is a fun little thrill ride. The story is a little contrived ringing continuously true out of I know what you did last summer land mixed with the skeleton key and just a dash of Texas Chainsaw. Massacre. As the film begins we are introduced to a bunch of annoying kids all of whom you pretty much want to die except for a few cute guys. There is a town bad ass named Ray whom the kids tease and one night while riding her bike(because she's saving money for med school) home Eden (By far the worst name for a white character or anyone for that matter) has a run in with her ex boyfriend because of college reasons and becomes part of an accident involving a creepy old woman, Ray and a devilish suitcase. A suitcase that holds a group of snakes that hold the souls of the worst of men murderers, rapists, etc. So ray gets bit a lot before drowning and comes back as an uber human killer trying desperately to get to the old womans grand daughter and the group of friends for no particular reason. There's lots of fun stuff thrown in including loud sound effects,sparklingly clear cinematography, unexpected scares and some creative death sequences. All of that makes for a great but not completely memorable time. It's substance in where the film's major problem lies. It doesn't really have any. We don't know the characters and they're all horrible actors reacting wrongly to the situations. There is no real plot development or story buildup so it's hard to care for anyone or even know whats going on. The film also comes equipped with that annoying flashy editing that I hate so much. However the good outweighs the bad and Venom makes for a fun night out at the movies especially with a date. The main villain is haunting, and the cast is full of hot guys adorable Johnathan Jackson from Tuck Everlasting, Sexy D.J. Cotrona from TV's short lived but excellent series Skin. And last but not least Pawel Szajda that hunky young man from Under the Tuscan sun. The girls are less memorable some of them are mildly attractive and Bruckner does badly as the film's heroine but kicks it up a slight notch in the last reel. And about the last reel, this film has a killer last reel. It's quite Brutal filled with edgy, grainy cinematography reminiscent of 70's horror films. So all in all go into Venom with mediocre expectations and expect to be entertained . It's been quite a while since I've seen so many horror films(House of wax, Chainsaw remake, Dawn remake, exorcism of Emily rose, Hellbent, etc.) with such a brutal bite as the ones they've been releasing. It reminds of me of the 80's when I grew up it was a damn fun time! Keep'em coming guys! ***(out of five)