I wanted to like this more than I did. Of course, anyone who is even remotely interested in horror films has heard this film tossed around quite a lot in conversation. Despite its fame, I think that it's a horror fan film rather than a film for a regular viewer. To truly appreciate it for what it is, which is a feat of practical visual effects and a pioneer in the direction that horror aesthetics took, you have to be a die hard. The story isn't much to ride home about, despite Clive Barker being involved. But that's okay, because it's just not what this is about. As a horror fan, I'd give it four stars, but on a general scale, I have to give it three.

Anyone who says this film wasn't comedy doesn't understand dark satire. Just because something isn't blatant, doesn't mean it's not there. I found the film both hilarious, and meaningful. It's an interesting commentary on the type of personality that thrives in the business environment (infamously known to be a psychopaths paradise). Perhaps they don't all turn into murderers, but Patrick Batemans are not as uncommon as we'd like to believe.

This film is a polarizing icon of the horror community. I think I sit in the middle of the poles, and think that while it was overhyped, it also was not the trash that some people say it was. This is an incredibly low budget production from the early 2000's that probably did the absolute best with what it had. You can tell that the cast and crew loved this film, but horror is criminally and commonly underfunded (always has been), and I think that was the true downfall of this film. The acting was spot on for the most part, the writing felt choppy but had believable dialogue, and there definitely are some genuinely creepy moments.

I waited a really long time (almost ten years, until people stopped hyping it, and i had almost forgotten about it) to watch this. And I must say, it was a refreshing breath of fresh air. In the same vein as most of the work done by the Coen brothers, such as No Country For Old Men, it has a realism to it that blurs the lines between who is bad or good, a plot that is almost entirely outside of generic Hollywood lines, and phenominal acting that gave the characters a shocking breath of reality. For those of you who enjoy big plots with a driving story and fantastical action, this is not for you. This film, in my eyes, is great for those who value films that make you think, that show the grit and the grime, and speak about how those who are good are also sometimes evil and vice versa.