A Chronicle of Corpses

McElhinney may have made the ultimate anti-calling card, a movie bold and deranged enough to tip its hat to Edgar Ulmer and Barry Lyndon.

Mr. McElhinney has created a movie that is not without the flaws endemic in low-budget productions but still projects an amazing degree of stylistic assurance and originality.

The film's strong point is its stylish, arty look, carefully chosen composition and shadowy lighting.

There's little depth underneath the simmering surface, but if you're looking for escapist Halloween scares, you could do a lot worse.

The story is painfully familiar, and McIlhenney regularly stops it in its tracks by indulging the actors in arty monologues that sap the movie of any suspense or sense of momentum.

By the time the film is over it is not so much a "who-done-it?" but a "why-did-we-sit-through-this?"