Domain of Orcus

Category: Reviews

  • The Outsider

    By: Old Sorcery

    Date: January 26, 2026

    Format used: digital

    Rating: 3/5

    Not until after I wrote up this review did I come to understand that Old Sorcery’s The Outsider is part of a trilogy that started with the Escapist. Normally, for better critical cohesion I would revisit a trilogy in anticipation of a release if possible, but this time I was blindsided and for that reason a dozen acolytes will be strung up on saint andrew’s crosses in my basement. Rest assured, Orcus the Vile will not make such a mistake again. But now on to the review. The Outsider is distinctly darker than its predecessor, both in terms of art and in terms of subject-matter. Unfortunately, the music itself does not have this same dark edge to it. Rather, the music is simply more sorrowful and atmospheric with the occasional glimpses of insanity through wailing ambient passages and moments of tension that are resolved in the most eerie way possible. The majority of the darkness on this album comes from this dissonance technique and from the themes itself. But you cannot carry musical darkness through imagery alone. It is the exact reason why Death SS is considered child’s play by today’s standards. The album does carry the hallmark of all good dungeon synth – it feels like a desolate melancholic eulogy performed in a dismal dungeon. But fundamentally, the use of guitars that are surprisingly acoustic this time around – as well as the tendency for more mellow sounds – makes the music a little less potent than you would expect.

    One thing I should bring up is the individual tracks themselves are usually good enough as shorter numbers, but the 20 minute “Magickal triumph” is to blame for a lot of the album feeling mundane. It drags on for longer than it should have and delivers less inspired music than if we were to combine the other tracks into one song. I understand we say that one track should just be one song – but for the love of the Great Duke Abrasax – don’t be afraid to vary it up. Orcus the Vile would need to cast a spell of temporal warp and only then will the song go at the same level of quality as the others. We could perhaps shorten “Magickal Triumph” or make this work an EP instead of a full length album if need be. However, if you can focus on just this music or use it as study music you absolutely will not be distracted I guarantee you that. Although in the former case, you will need to enter a trance to sustain your focus.

  • Goat Simulator 3

    By: Coffee Stain

    Genre: Sandbox

    Release date: April 1, 2026

    Platform used: Nintendo Switch 2

    Rating: 1.5/5

    Let me go ahead and say this as clearly as I can so the impact of my words an register: in the past, when we upgrade a nintendo switch game to nintendo switch 2 we pay maybe a fiver for it. Advanced graphics, increased features (if we’re lucky), better frame rates. Nothing wrong with that. Consider: an xbox game can run on an xbox 360 without needing to buy an xbox live update. For nintendo, we also have ds games running on the 3ds without needing to pay extra. That’s fine. But hey some digital games want to lock us out of features by selling season passes and the like – so I understand charging for an upgrade. Except wait – we are not paying for an upgrade. This time we are buying a game which “released” separately with ads and hype and everything, but it is the same exact game we got for switch in 2025. For this review we will pretend that goat simulator 3 was never released for swtich – which is what nintendo no doubt wants. But make no mistake, this scummy remake culture and absence of real games is the symptom of a bigger disease that we, as consumers, are not treating. We are just letting our defective train chug along without any service whatsoever because apparently it hurts us to think or it takes effort to change our lifestyles. But it doesn’t have to be the only way – at Father Orcus’s monastery of the frozen mists you can revitalize your spirit with freezing…. Oops, can’t start dropping the propoganda yet. Need to continue building loyalty first.

    Now that I’ve said my sermon let me delve into the game itself. It has the emotional depth of a unwashed pipette and plays like the developers were trying to provide the ragdoll equivalent of hardcore adult entertainment. Which, if you have access to a spell of levitate, have an absorb shield, and another mage of equal power is in fact a form of hardcore adult entertainment. My acolytes say moshing should not be referred to as such, but I’m just saying when Orcus the Vile is in the mosh pit children beware – because bodies will fly! That being said, the game is pretty amusing. A cadaverous ogre such as I can enjoy the game for its idiotic simplicity, its crude humor, and simplistic challenges and gradual sense of unlocking a tower of evil. But this is a critical review, and those features are not indicative of good games even if the game itself is a form of comedy. And really there is no plot, unless you enjoy the mindless chaos, the only sense of progress is artificial by virtue of the tower you need to complete in game and the cosmetics you can unlock. There really is nothing for you here if you can’t just enjoy the mindless chaos. I can – but most gamers can’t unless they’re in a very specific mood.

    This is the sort of game you either sink hours into to complete, or play once or twice for the jokes and quit after sinking a few hours into (interesting that this one doesn’t get an upgrade isn’t it nintendo?). You have to ask yourself though – do you have 30 dollars to waste on a joke? Because if so, I can charge you 30 dollars for robbery. Its a delightful little joke. You pay me thirty dollars – I pick you up by the toes and shake you down until every single loose piece of change is on the floor. If you’re the target audience you will love this game. And if you’re in the smaller and more committed members of the target audience you might finish the game.

    What are the redeeming elements I hear you ask? The humor is good, it will get a few chuckles even if this is not your form of humor, and the minigames are genuinely entertaining. But this game does feel like a huge time sink. Every time I sit to play it I get so distracted wrecking stuff and raising hell I find forty minutes have passed easily – yet nothing gets done. And I feel that is my final verdict on this game. A fun guilty pleasure, a marker for a more serious condition in the market, and generally something to ease your mind at times of too much cognitive activity. I know that sounds pessimistic but hey, Die Hard is more popular on Christmas than Santa. And some of us have multiple heads! But if you’re looking for a meme filled with memes, you can definitely do worse than goat simulator. Do yourself a favor though and wait until its on sale. Don’t pay thirty bucks for an upgrade just because they try to go out of their way to convince you its a new release.

  • Review: Into Oblivion

    By: Venom

    Date: May 1, 2026

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 3/5

    As can be expected for a long delayed comeback by a classic band, Venom’s return Into Oblivion is marked by their trademark sound, more nostalgia than is good, and surprisingly, more fresh and creative ideas than you would expect for the men who wrote the textbook for the first wave black metal movement. But that was then, this is now, the old is new, and the dead are stirring in their graves. Seriously, I nearly cancelled my Order’s Beltane sacrifice just to listen to this album. Luckily. after the second century of death you tend to realize your impulses are just as futile as everything else.

    Futility does not, however, describe this album. Futility would be creative stagnation. And we do have some new lyrical territory equally evil and sometimes even as dark as their usual forays into devil worship. With songs of dragons, myths, and folklore, there is yet some poetic codices to be unearthed at the temple of Venom. And I will say, as somebody who have heard every single minstrel tread this territory back in the olden days – and having impaled the worst of them as public spectacle – Venom will be honored guests at Orcus the Vile’s feasts for years to come. But do not expect any Power Metal leaning bardic shams from Venom, there is nothing but raw aggressive Metal here – and curiously, without the punk sensibilities this time. Now make no mistake – Venom was always a Metal band first – but in my undead opinion, their early music would be inseparable from punk both in ethos and in terms of musical approach. And while in the past they have been criticized for simplicity, it must be said all the robes and incense in my compound makes a fiend yearn for just that simplicity. What we have found instead is, merely well tested and battle hardened classic Metal riffs. Unfortunately, due to the simplicity and raw attack of the music, Venom have failed to make the riffs take on a life of their own. I don’t mind those riffs, and at a certain point all Metal riffs have their backbones in something that came before, but we need to consider how we lend voice to these foundational Metal licks. It has a classic sound, but Venom needs to either add a little complexity and layering just to give it their own voice, or bring in some of that hardcore punk sound and lean more fully in the direction of something resembling the Thrash Metal they helped influence (without losing their own identity of course).

    It was a dangerous tightrope and Venom navigated it well enough considering how easy it could have been to just recycle old music and lyrical tropes specific to their brand (you’re a band of musicians not a company right oh champions of the old guard?). Well – strictly speaking, they do recycle their most impactful song culturally, “Black Metal”, with the very derivative “Lay Down Your Soul” which is a nice song to be true, but if it were not for greater tracks, it would not exist on its own virtue. Luckily, that is about the extent of the pandering, the problem is just how Venom struggle to find a voice, and how they lean too heavily on pre-existing Metal riffs without innovation. Lyrically, in terms of ideas, and in terms of translating their no-frills aggression into a modern album – this is quite the well executed release. There are just a few hiccups technically speaking that hold this album back from being the enduring classic the rest of their catalogue was upon release.

    Who are we kidding though? Venom is grunt music. Can you expect the salt of the Earth hellraisers who wrote songs entitled “Aaaaaarrghh” or “Women, Leather and Hell” to care about criticism any more than notoriously critic-proof footballers and part-time musicians Iron Maiden? I think not. But I have said my piece and I will now offer a benediction unto Venom. Carry on Venom. Keep showing that you only need a few good ideas, passion, instruments, and some friends to make something the legions of hell can march to war to.

    This is a good return for Venom, but I hope not the end of the line for them. Even if there may have been murmurings of the sort. Murmur is a lesser demon anyway, abjure him with all the names of the godhead says I! If you enjoyed this review be sure to return in two days for my next review.

  • A Cry for the Slain

    By: Cnoc an Tursa

    Release Date: April 24th, 2026

    Format Used: Digital

    Rating: 3.5/5

    Ah yes, the Scots, an unruly bunch bunch of Mountain Celts who felt that a single hillfort would not suffice to protect them from the invaders besieging them since the Romans was thoroughly cowed by the ginger maniacs and built a wall to keep them in. How unfortunate that the English were not so easily beaten back. Yes the plight of the Scots is indeed sad, and it is therefore appropriate that Cnoc an Tursa’s latest release has a sorrowful, melancholic sound that permeates every song. We also see the clean female vocals – because apparently we need that beauty and the beast vocal gimmick here – in addition to the slight metalcore leaning rasps that has marked Cnoc an Tursa’s debut album as well.

    Every song on this release is long. I have personally find it dragging in places and I am a certified alumi of mage college! The songs have enough variety and creativity but the sections of the song tend to plod a little bit as we sit on the opposite end of our seats awaiting the next lead or vocal section. The atmosphere is more than decent, and it reminds me a lot of Saor, another band with “scottish sensibilities” – so to speak.

    One strong element of the album is that we do have keyboards and other musical ornamentation clearly audible in the mix. And this is no small feat mind you, as some Folk Metal bands – who do this as their forte – do not always have all the little embellishments pop up. I do find the clean vocals thrown in to add to the overall experience, even if I feel like the contrast isn’t as stark as you would have with say even more guttural death metal vocals.

    Their lyrics have less swaggering nationalistic pride this time around, and there are some interesting forays into mythology and folklore. I’m not sure how to feel about “Am Fear Llath Mór” – have the Scots finally discovered I open portals into the mists of their highlands to abduct the frail and the weak? I would need my acolytes to look into this, but at least from the song it appears that they have not yet guessed at my nefarious purposes yet. Regardless, the eerie subject-matter and more lamenting tone of the obligatory pride songs make this album feel much fresher than it would otherwise.

    Between this album and their debut, I feel Giants of Auld is still stronger. I will be looking at their sophomore effort next just because this album is good enough to make you want to see if the last part of the trinity also holds up. If you like atmospheric Black Metal, give this release a listen.

  • Retrospective: The Deluge

    By: Manilla Road

    Date: February 25, 1986

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 3.5/5

    Whether or not Manilla Road still was at their creative peak in the 80s is of little importance. The Deluge does not suffer from any one particular shortcoming, rather it is a weakening of all the strengths that make Manilla Road’s music great.

    Case in point, the lyrics are less florid, less epic, and while there is a case to be made for why this stripped down approach to songwriting was taken, I can guarantee you, if this was their format from them start of their career – the most well-known and well respected music Manilla Road has ever produced would only have a fraction of the majesty and excellence that made their budding underground releases so impactful.

    The songwriting itself is not bad, but they lift just as much from the canons of mid-era Bathory with a hint of Cirith Ungol as they contain their own touch. And there is still a distinct lean towards the grittier thrash sound that started on Open the Gates. The thrash metal influences are a lot clearer on this release, and they are appropriately accompanied by a down-toned and somber vocal delivery by Mark Shelton. Subject-matter is also a lot darker, and we see a more ballsy stance being taken against religion, with the poets lambasting specific historic ills in their verse. Its no longer just “religion is illogical” or “Religion is slavery” it’s “the church burned heretics” and “this holy war is considered a national disgrace to this day”. It is always nicer when bands take a specific stance when they begin making music with more venom.

    Although there is a cost to this change in their music. There is a more lemming-like tendency for songs on this album to entrench themselves firmly in 80s underground metal orthodoxy. And in truth, Manilla Road’s strength has always been that they can deliver the goods without being constrained by the comfort zone of other metal bands.

    That being said, Manilla Road are far from creatively spent. They still have some excellent riffs, and their are even some moments of excellent atmospheric keyboard interludes – which more than justifies the instrument the band has historically distanced themselves from.

    Overall, the Deluge is an album of experimentation for Manilla Road, much like Invasion was. And as we go forth into the middle of a new decade for the Kansas outfit,we will hopefully see a whole new sound for Manilla Road emerge. But only time will tell if it holds a candle to what came before.

    I would recommend this album for any fan f 80s Metal really, since it plays it so safe, but there are some qualities that could be used to get the Thrash audience appreciating the more traditional sensitivities of Manilla Road.

  • Echoes of a Time Long Past

    By: Wolfchant

    Release Date: February 13, 2026

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 3.5/5

    There are many words you could use to describe Wolfchant’s latest album. Epic, melodic and catchy are three. Shiny, overproduced, and bombastic are three others. Nay, Orcus the Vile has never particularly gravitated towards Wolfchant. To be sure, they’ve written some amazing albums. Bloody Tales of Disgraced Lands stirred Orcus to furore. And I have rallied my hordes to songs off A Pagan Storm. It’s simply that the early material – while good – did not have the staying power of other bands. And their newer releases are real crowd pleasers in the same way that Powerwolf’s releases are.

    Especially on this album we have some real catchy poetry. “Dem Sturme Vorause” is just real treat isn’t it? Just makes you want to belt that Germanic opera right at the top of your lungs until your gut collapses inwards and gives you a forced gastric bypass (what do you mean that doesn’t happen? I’ve gotten a hernia that way in 1906!).

    Honestly, the second half of the album really makes the rest of it worth the effort in terms of raw aggression and evil undertones. I just don’t know why we preface it with all these shiny symphonies and electronic tomfoolery. I hope Wolfchant doesn’t think their audience would lack the attention span to stay throughout the entire album. Because that would be too cynical – and I am saying that as a notorious eater of cynics (and they did taste like dogs in the olden days).

    Yet while the second half of the album is still more presentable and sounds less like a weird Power Metal-Melodeath fusion, Wolfchant still doesn’t offer us anything less shiny – and their addiction to symphony orchestras makes us wonder why they didn’t just get a full-time quartet to beef up their admittedly impressive keyboard plinking.

    That’s Echoes of a Time Long Past. In terms of symphonic metal and melodeath you can do worse, but you can also do much better. And while I will definitely revisit some tracks in the future, this album will most likely fail to make a long-term impression. Either that or it will become a slow-burn guilty pleasure that takes time to sink in. Only time will tell if this album becomes a mere echo of a time long past.

  • Retrospective: Open the Gates

    By: Manilla Road

    Original Date: December 1984

    Rating: 4.5/5

    Compared to the albums that preceeded it, Open the Gates takes a slightly different direction. Far from being the upbeat, somewhat noodle happy guitar riff-fest we had before, this album is a grittier and harsher with distinct thrash influences that occasionally crop up.

    Once more Manilla Road scoffs at formula and repetition, while the riffs aren’t the most varied and progressive if you played me three seconds from any song on this album, I would instantly be able to name the song its from. Each song has its own tone and feel, and with tracks like “Witch’s Brew” and “the Ninth Wave”, Manilla Road make it clear that they can still produce brooding and somewhat sinister tracks for the sake of narrative purpose.

    “What of the lyrics?” I hear readers ask. “Does Manilla road still engage in their usual pulpy cheese when they compose their lyrics?” Well if you are inclined to only take a band seriously who write serious lyrics, then yes, you will not be disappointed with Manilla Road’s Open the Gates. The lyrics are a bubbling druidic cauldron of inspiration with reagents taken from Viking myth alongside Arthurian lore and even astrology. There is even a few references to Roman mythology. If we look at the kind of influences Manilla Road was associated with later in their career, this album is the point where that world-building begins.

    As on all their past albums, Shelton delivers the vocals with conviction and confidence, and even if his voice isn’t the most pleasant on the ears, its honesty and flair is unmistakable. The production here isn’t as raw as the other extreme albums that came out around this era, and that just shows how much care Shelton and co took to deliver the best product possible. With it being an underground release from a small record label, it would be too easy to go for that cold raw feel of the First Wave of Black Metal, but instead all the instruments can be heard and the atmosphere hits home when it needs to.

    We also need to address the beginning of the change in the band’s musical direction. I don’t think it is a conscious change in sound to make the music more accessible. There is still too much of their trademark sound for that to be the case. I think Manilla Road has always been entrenched in the sound and mindset of “true metal”, and between the dominant forms of extreme metal developing at the time of this album’s release – the most clearly defined and firmly entrenched in Metal was Thrash Metal. Stuff like Death Metal was still largely experimental, and Manilla Road would never stoop to Hair Rock.

    Open the Gates is a great album, not as memorable or as iconic as Crystal Logic but it too punches way above its weight class in pound for pound intensity. I would recommend a listen to anybody as this is also part of Manilla Road’s peak as a band. If you enjoy good high voltage Metal, this is the Manilla Road release for you. No progressive frills, all gritty underground Metal.

  • Wizard Fire

    By: Data East

    Genre: RPG/Beat ’em up

    Platform used: Arcade

    Rating: 4/5

    Does it surprise you, the reader, that Orcus the Vile owns an arcade? For one who has accumulated more than a single lifetime’s worth in plunder and wealth, one who despises idleness, and one who longs for those defiling days – having an arcade is the logical next step. This specific box was a gift. I said unto one of my underlings that I missed being the one who stops evil – before I became the evil myself. And lo and behold, from the last excursion, some of my acolytes brought me wizard fire.

    It’s an altogether great game, though i must say, their portrayal of Gaul is not how I remember it. With this game we see gameplay similar to the Mystara D&D arcade games, which apparently Wizard Fire is often compared too. There are some key differences though. In wizard fire, treasure chests holds items worth points, not items with utility in-game. Your armor you pick up does reduce damage though – which was a good touch. The controls are very responsive and its simple enough. One attack button plus move, and the magic key to worry about when your magic gauge is filled up. I did like how for the none spellcasting classes – at times the spellbook will have unpredictable results. For example, after the dwarf’s trademark stoneskin spell is cast, the next spell might show a question mark and then when cast make him a pig. Its an excellent in-game implementation of the idea that dwarves struggle to cast spells and little flavor elements like that are nice touches as they appear throughout the game.

    It is a good thing Wizard Fire’s controls are so simple, as the game is fairly challenging. Expect to die a lot as wave after wave of high fantasy monsters swarm you. Sometimes it is better to simply progress to the next area rather than picking fights with the growing swarms of enemies. The boss fights are excellent too – there is even one where the implemented the horror undertones of the game well by making the bosses so damn tough that you don’t even know if your abilities are having an effect or not. And you can only damage one of the two enemies.

    On the topic of horror, there is a tense, high stakes spin on it with the standard plague riddden horrors, shambling mummies, and environments that look to be straight out of the plaguelands. It adds an additional layer of immersive flair to an already good game. The story is tied very closely to the gameplay and though the cutscenes look very nice art-wise they are voiced very awkwardly.

    In the small sub-genre of beat ’em up RPGs, you can certainly do worse than Wizard Fire (at least for arcade). If you ever find a copy of this game its well worth burning a quarter or two on and I would personally recommend the elf and the dwarf for novelty unless you want to be the unstoppable heroic tank that is the knight.

  • Retrospective: Crystal Logic

    By: Manilla Road

    Original Date: December 1983

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 4.5/5

    Crystal Logic is perhaps the most widely respected album produced by the early Manilla Road simply in terms of how many covers exist for the songs, and how many latter day traditional heavy metal clones their formula. And the term formula is only used here in its loosest possible meaning. There really still isn’t a cookie cutter format like some weaker bands, nor is there a tendency to keep the sound uniform in terms of intensity. For this release Shelton and company still didn’t fear changing up the tone or atmosphere of individual songs to help with their overall effect or message. “Necropolis” and “the Ram” have radically different levels of heaviness for example. Also despite this album’s reputation of being fairly upbeat and epic, “Veils of Negative Existence” starts with some downright sinister laughter with a slow, drudging almost Doom Metal sounding number about the metaphysics of inner sorrows.

    We need to discuss more about this Doom Metal connection while we’re on the topic of “Veils of Negative Existence”. It is no secret that early Doom Metal bands and later ones with a traditional metal bend like the Gates of Slumber have flirted with Manilla Road’s catalogue. But surprisingly, the covers they choose are usually never for the most overt Doom Metal inspired tracks. And I think the fact that such a small band can gain the respect of musicians firmly rooted in other genres is testament to the creativity and the musical chops of Manilla Road in this era.

    And while the music itself does sound fairly happy compared to the darker Metal of this time (this was around the start of the First Wave of Black Metal after all), the lyrics themselves – when not too overtly intellectual and cerebral – have a tendency to cover dark, cynical, and at times macabre imagery. But that is the main weakness of this album – though it largely depends on how obvious a listener wants their lyrics. Take the title track “Crystal Logic”: it is so symbolic that there is room for interpretation (or maybe its just a case of symbolic word salad gone to its extreme). However, it is fairly clear that the lyrics are a statement to distance the band from religion of all forms and a pledge of allegiance to “logic” (remember how we mentioned this was about when the First Wave of Black Metal would descend upon the musical landscape?). The lyrics are sometimes a little overly symbolic yes, but again as mentioned in one of my other reviews – you usually shouldn’t come to Metal songs expecting the lyrical equivalent of Shakespeare. Fundamentally however, the lyrics are the most clear room for growth on this album.

    Aside from the lyrical navel-gazing, this is undeniably the point where Manilla Road found their musical footing. And on this ground they planted their leaden sabatons and stood their ground unyielding – at least for a few years. When people picture the classic Manilla Road sound – this is what they imagine. There will be more albums using this sound before Manilla Road takes their forays into Thrash, but this album is the essence of their early charm, mixed with the polish of their later sensibilities. And it deserves its respect as a classic album unsullied by the mainstream.

  • The Mummy

    Original Year of Release: 1959

    Genre: Horror

    Rating: 3.5/5

    The Mummy has gotten more remakes than it can possibly deserve to get. It has gotten to the point where the original Universal Horror mummy series’ plot is the equivalent of the zombie virus genre: the transmission of a contagious code into the DNA of other plots. Ironically enough, the most originality with a horror plot with a mummy came from a Tintin comic. And that’s only because they dared to go Aztec instead of Egyptian with their concept. At least I think there was a mummy storyline – nowadays I can barely remember the syllables to a spell after casting it (but don’t tell my acolytes that). Adding even further to the irony, amidst the mindless and soulless remakes we are getting now, we are getting a movie entitled the mummy and it is by one James Wan. Make no mistake, James Wan does had some movies that were less impressive than people give them credit for, Orcus the Vile is not so easily impressed as all that – but for the most part he is as good of a creative as people make him out to be. So it does make selecting the next congregational loyalty field trip much easier to decide on. While the hype is building, the inner circle of the Cabal – I mean my poker buddies and I – decided to do a private screening of the Mummy by Hammer Horror.

    This movie really does show the ideas from all the lesser Universal sequels spliced into one movie – luckily this one movie is more competent than the movies it took inspiration from. You have Sir John who here is a much better character, you have the debonair servant of Karnac, here much less charismatic but also much less of an incel, and Kharis’s physical acting is a little bit more on point – maybe because of the eyes. Acting overall with all the other roles is about as decent as you would expect – we could have done better with Isobel as she lacks any motivation or goals of her own.

    The effects are quite decent – fitting for hammer horror (when they have the budget mind you, some of their cheaper efforts come across as cheap), the one exception is Kharis’s casket which is obviously made of cardboard or plywood and painted over. And it would not be an issue if it was not featured in well over half of Kharis’s scenes. As a result immersion wise this has more of a fancy theater feel than a realistic movie feel.

    We also need to address the creativity here – yes they took some plot elements from the Universal Movies – most of them in fact. However, some details, like the intricate procession of Princess Ananka, was something that makes this movie uniquely detailed. Also special commendation for never establishing a weakness for Kharis – we don’t mention the herbs, we don’t mention fire – all we know of him is that he is driven by god-given single minded purpose. This would be a writing oversight in some movies, but here it ads to the tension in the final scenes where the entire police force open fires on Kharis, and we as the audience along with the characters, hope and pray its enough to kill this unstoppable entity sent from pagan lands.

    Some reactions of the characters were too pulpy to be natural, but some were at the emotional climax of the film and others were forced by virtue of other actions being due to plot elements from the Universal Series being followed. Fundamentally, aside from some glaring set problems and some lack of character depth, this movie is a perfectly serviceable remake of the Universal Horror series. And while it doesn’t add enough of its own to fully make it a classic in its own right, it is punching well above its weight class as far as remakes are concerned.