Cookers
After stealing a huge stash of drugs, speed freaks Hector and Dorena plan to cook up an enormous batch of crystal meth and get rich quick. Hector's old buddy Merle has the perfect hideout/meth lab: an old, abandoned farmhouse in the woods where no one will ever find them. Unfortunately, no one will hear their screams either. Turns out, they may not be alone after all. It seems this farmhouse is the site of a horrific urban legend. Now, holed up together with nothing to do but snort, smoke and shoot up, the strung-out "cookers" fall prey to paranoia, private demons and terrifying visions which, whether they are hallucinations or hauntings, are equally terrifying and just as deadly!
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- Cast:
- Brad Hunt , Patrick McGaw , Frankie Ray
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Reviews
Thanks for the memories!
Excellent adaptation.
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
I wasn't much of a horror/gore fan, but late one night, this movie converted me. Rescued from a $1.99 bin at a video store on Halloween, we fully expected this to be a standard, low-budget haunted house flick. It turned out to be so much more. Creepy and compelling, the film builds in tension with every frame and surrounds you with a constant feeling of dread. You just know something bad is going to happen, you just don't know when. Helped along by decent acting and some very clever audio design, there are a couple of scenes that should make your flesh crawl, a few that will surprise you, and some that will make you say "wait...was that reality or a hallucination?" Good movie for a late night fright or two.
Girlfriend comments1) "I had no idea it was this exciting!"2) "Did you know there was this much suspense?" 3) "I love this movie." 4) "This is so rad!"People afraid of horror movies but like offbeat or indie films should not overlook this title. This is actually not a horror movie at all. It's more like a suspenseful drug movie with supernatural overtones. There are no serial killers or monsters, and the filmmakers are uninterested in doing things many, more accomplished, filmmakers might do if they were to make a horror movie -- like inserting a pointless murder or similar scene of carnage just to keep things interesting. Cookers is one of those kinds of movies that seems like it should have been a play, or possibly was adapted from the stage. The dialogue is great fun, with sinister and paranoid ramblings scattered throughout. The cast is very strong, and seems quite comfortable with the dark material. Each of them is given a specific character arc that we get to watch them travel on, and there are some nice payoffs for each of them. The story definitely plays second fiddle to the creepy ambiance. This movie is all about the enclosure of these unpredictable characters in a claustrophobic, dilapidated setting. The dusty and abandoned old house is perfect. The production designer did some superb work on the interiorit's reminiscent of the wildly confusing layout of the house in Evil Dead 2. The music is perfectit isn't manipulative or inappropriate, and has a studio-level quality that is very satisfying. Another strength of the film is how effective and consistent the quality of light is throughout; it never seems like there shouldn't be as much as there is, or that there is too little of it for all the sources present. The overall look of the film falls somewhere between video and celluloid; not quite cheap, but not glossy at all. 35mm might have been a more appropriate format, but it looks fine in standard. The sound, however, leaves much to be desired. At times it is extraordinary, but at other times dialogue levels are either disproportionate or completely inaudible. One of the most glaring weaknesses of the DVD is the lack of captions. For an indie effort, that's saying somethingusually, there are either major continuity errors, logic blips, pathetic actors, and/or a lack of understanding of tone, story momentum, showing not telling, etc. The fact that this movie contains no real noticeable hiccups like these is quite extraordinary, and the creators should be proud of their work.
Judging by the hype, and other reviews on this site, I was ready for an awesome horror movie focusing on junkies. What i got was complete crap focusing on junkies. I wonder if there's another movie called "Cookers" that these people reviewed? There are only 3 main characters, and none of them struck me as well-written or well-acted. Basically the whole movie I just spent shaking my head and marveling at the stupidity of these drug addicts.Do yourself a favor. Don't rent this movie. Rent "Cabin Fever" or some other decent horror movie. Hell, rent "Mary Poppins"! The animated penguins are scarier and more convincing than anything you'll find in "Cookers."
Cookers is a tidy low-budget number, an excellent foray into the world of Meth addiction. Two cookers, Dorena and Hector, disappear into the wilderness with the idea to cook up a batch of high-grade meth, sell it at a huge price, and spend the rest of their lives on permanent vacation. The problem is, the cookers can't keep their fingers -- and noses -- out of the goods. As they continue to cook, they continue to use, staying up for days at a time. Paranoia, hallucinations, and petty squabbles ensue. The story pretty much demands that you buy into their addiction, otherwise it's just going to fall apart. Brad Hunt's performance as the constantly-tweaking Hector really sells the entire movie, his twitching, nervous, Meth-fueled paranoia realistically portrayed.There are a few minor problems, however. Dorena's backstory is a little, shall we say, TYPICAL, which is kind of odd considering how well the script is otherwise. Also, the film tends to lose steam as it reaches its ultimate conclusion, as if the writer couldn't think of an appropriate way to end the film. I will note, however, that Hector's demise is horrifying, especially considering his state-of-mind at the time. And other than a few poorly-executed special effects sequences -- which could have easily been replaced with more of that bump-in-the-night suspense the film relies on most of the time -- there's really nothing to complain about, technically speaking. The film looks great despite its limited budget, though you can't go in expecting this to look like a slick Hollywood production. No, the film wears its budget on its sleeve, something you'll have to overlook if this type of thing is a problem for you. Let me put it this way: If you dug Session 9, then Cookers shouldn't be a problem.The guy at the video store gave me a heads-up in terms of what to expect, and I'll repeat it here: "It's basically just three actors, one camera, and one house. I think the Blair Witch Project had a bigger budget, though it works on the same level." If that doesn't tell you what you're in for, then I don't know what else to do for you.Cookers could have fumbled the ball, especially considering its subject matter. But instead of using stereotypical images, situations, and characters to dress a by-the-numbers horror film, the director has chosen to insert these tragic figures in the middle of a realistic situation, something a lot of Internet reviewers seem to have a problem with. Though the following statement may give away a bit too much, I'm of the belief that the things in my head are far more terrifying than anything in the real world, supernatural or not. Was I expecting a big pay-off? Not really. The film ended as it should, I think, with the viewer coming down from a serious mindf*ck and stepping into the sunlight for the first time in days. My hats off to everyone involved. Fine work, indeed.Cookers, is a little flawed, but highly recommended. Keep in mind, however, that it's not strictly a horror movie. Horrifying, yes. Horror, no.But don't let that stop you from seeing it.