A sometimes cheesy, sometimes (very) gory, sometimes funny but never scary film, The Hazing is a fun enough watch to make it worth checking out.
Brad Dourif ("Child's Play"), Tiffany Shepis, Nectar Rose ("Roman"), and Parry Shen ("Hatchet") star in this college-set film. Unaware that a madman is watching their every move, fraternity and sorority pals haze pledges in a spooky house. Before long, the madman (Dourif) is wreaking havoc, possessing the students and making them kill. What will the remaining few have to do in order to survive the night?
From writer-director Rolfe Kanefsky ("Nightmare Man," a whole bunch of low-budget teen sex comedies), comes The Hazing, a fun little film that shares a fair amount in common with "Nightmare Man," most notably castmember Tiffany Shepis and the idea of demonic possession. Like that film as well, this has its fair share of humor. In fact, it is much more of a comedy than "Nightmare Man," which, aside from a few scenes, pretty much played it straight as a horror film.
What I liked about The Hazing is the laid-back, fun and cheesy attitude. While it will undoubtedly be a turn-off for those looking for a real scarefest, Kanefsky and company let you know pretty much from the get-go that the film is a horror-comedy with an emphasis on the comedy, both intentional and unintentional. For example, take the scene in which Dourif's character comes back from the "Land of the Dead" as he calls it and convinces one of the students to read a spell from his book of damnation that will allow him to enter the land of the living. There is a flurry of really poor, corny special effects and then Dourif appears in ghostly form, a green outline surrounding him and making him literally glow. The special effects are about on-par with a sci-fi TV show and Kanefsky knows this, lingering on them for what has to be comedic effect. Not to mention the fact that the student he asks to read the spell can barely read and has to be told that there is an English translation of the Latin spell on the opposite page!
After this scene, Dourif has been let loose, possessing one of the more maniacally mean-spirited students and going on a killing rampage. It is here that the film delivers the gory goods. He uses everything from chainsaws, darts, to a road sign to knock off his victims, often quipping like Freddy Krueger (or better yet, Chucky) while doing so. My personal favorite quip was the gloriously cheesy "You should have obeyed the sign" after decapitating his victim with a detour sign.
The film also benefits from a game cast that delivers fun performances. Shepis is her cheeky, sarcastic self. Parry Shen is a laugh-riot as the one everyone calls a nerdy computer geek, Nectar Rose is great as the requisite bimbo who sleeps with every guy with a pulse, and Dourif is obviously relishing his chance to play an evil character in person instead of just lending his voice to a demonic doll.
Sure, it contains its fair share of low-budget cheesiness but hey, you won't find a more eclectic demonic possession movie. The Hazing is worth seeing just for that alone.
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