6/10
Better than not, but definitely flawed
25 October 2022
Some movies require more of our suspension of disbelief than others, and this is surely one of them. Lines of dialogue that don't quite comport with the scenario; small inclusions that either abruptly introduce an entirely new narrative element, or are maybe just so poorly considered that we have to either presume the same or go mad; characters written with so little intelligence or so much obliviousness as to be contrivances of pure Movie Magic; and so on. In fairness, despite any flourishes to present, at its core this is still a slasher - just one mixed with some supernatural aspects - and in no way is it a film that was intended to be approached with any but the most superficial and unbothered of eyes. It's a big ask to wholly dispense with any critical thought to watch a picture. I suppose if one is able to do so, however, this is passably enjoyable? Look, 'Cemetery of terror' just definitely is no height of horror storytelling or film-making, that's for sure. But it's entertaining enough.

The blood and gore look good. I like the production design and art direction. It's well made from a technical standpoint, and while the story in its broad strokes is nothing special, it's still suitable grisly fun. It's in the details that the feature falls apart. I've seen too many poorly made movies to count, and while I wouldn't say that this is one of them, no comparison readily comes to mind to have so enthusiastically encouraged willful myopia of the viewer such that we can't pick apart every minutiae therein. 'Cemetery of terror' demands that we turn off our brain to engage with it, or else we're confronted with an endless stream of flummoxed, skeptical reactions of "What?! ... okay, sure."

It's a pity that the writing weren't more cohesive, coherent, and complete, because if it were by even just a small measure, the feature would have greatly benefited. There are some swell ideas in here, and between the orchestration generally of some scenes, and the addition of Chucho Zarzosa's excellent score to cement the tension and atmosphere, some moments are especially well done. At its best - or at least in its best potential - this is pretty much just as solid as any like horror flick might be. At its worst, one can only respond with "you're kidding me, right?"

Against all odds I think the last third of the picture is sufficiently well done as to pick up the considerable slack that it had dropped earlier. I think the cast generally perform well with what they're given. More so than not this is pretty okay! I just really wish the narrative and scene writing had been tightened, for that would have made a huge difference. Don't go out of your way to watch this, and by no means is it a must-see, but if you have the chance to check out 'Cemetery of terror' and can abide the most severe inelegance it may boast, this is a moderately worthwhile way to spend ninety minutes.
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