The Roost

A homage to those black and white, late night fright films of the 60's. With it's grainy visuals and great low budget gore effects, "The Roost" manages to be more effective at entertaining audiences than it's big budget brothers. Sometimes less really is more. At least in capable hands that it, and Ti West is certainly capable. The movie takes us back to a time when zombies didn't come at you in hoards and hid in dark barns or houses, waiting for some unfortunate **** to break down on the side of the road. The movie is more effective at making it's zombies threatening than any of the countless post-apocalyptic zombie movies out there. Those types of films have made zombies so easy to dispatch on their own that they have to focus on other humans being the real threat. Not The Roost though. It's zombies are tough to deal with and seem to be actually capable of some form of thought. At least enough so as to catch their victims off-guard. Plus, there are those killer bats they've got helping them out. Ti West's strength is his ability to keep you engaged in the moment to moment action. By going to the basics and adopting a retro style of horror he has managed to create something more tension-filled than even a lot of the more recent horror films. You never quite know when the zombies are going to pop out. Even when you do, the jump scare is so excellently deliver it's to give you a little jolt of excitement. It wont ever scare you, but it's fun enough to keep you going. Even if it is a little disposable watch. I also appreciate the movie's knowing sense of humor and awareness. The little scenes in the beginning and end where our host introduces to the nights gruesome festivities are brimming with camp and humor. They serve as excellent reminders of those late night creature features from way back in the day. The Roost has more than enough to offer than just nostalgia though. It can also serve as a great history lesson as to what the early days of horror movies looked like, even if it isn't actually from that era.