Horror is a great medium as there's something init for quite literally anyone if you like slasher films then there are tons of films for that if you like supernatural films there are tons of films. However when it comes to animation there really aren't that many animated films out there yes they do exist but there's not that many of them in the first place and very of them are actually good and even fewer of them of adult animated films which is what this film is and so then join me as I review the film that was animated by FOUR people with the film in question being called simply just "The Spine Of Night" enjoy.
The plot of this film is a witch queen is given powers thanks to a magical flower with that flower being able to grant terrible and deadly powers to all those that use it. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good as while yes this film could be seen a being an anthology film it does also have a really good throwline running through it that being the journey's of this one flower that somehow ends it decades long journey back to the person that first used it and was killed by someone else decades earlier with the plot of this film being a really good and interesting way to tell a story like this as you very easily could have told this films plot in a way that doesn't make the film feel like an anthology film and yet because of the fact that the makers of this kind of went that route with the film and made the film feel alot more like a anthology it really does allow for the plot to really open up the world that this film it set in and it also allows for this films plot to feel alot more fresh and different then what it actually is with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is Richard E. Grant as The Guardian , Lucy Lawless as Tzod and Patton Oswalt as Lord Pyrantin. Also starring in this film is Betty Gabriel as Phae-Agura , Joe Manganiello as Mongrel , Jordan Douglas Smith as Ghal-Sur , Patrick Breen as Doa , Larry Fessenden as Prophet Of Doom , Tom Lipinski as Falconhawk , Nina Lisandrello as Sparrowcrow , Abigail Savage as Kestelwren , Rob McClure as Gull and Maggie Lakis as Dae.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty i in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. Which isn't really something that's all that surprising given who is starring in this film as alot of this films actors are a bunch of really good actors in there own right and heck even a few of them have indeed ventured into the world of voice acting before now and as a result of that is the fact that it does make that they turn in some really good performances in this very film with this films actors perhaps being the oddest bunch of actors to ever start in a film really just because of the fact that both Richard E. Grant and Joe Manganiello are movie stars and yet the rest of this films actors just aren't and yet here they really all are starring in this one little independent film together and all of them really do knock it out of park performance wise as that's just how good all of this films actors really are and just how good the acting in this film really is as well with the acting that's in this very film also being helped by the fact that the script for this film is just so good that all this films actors really have to do is just say the lines as they are written and as a good performance really will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
For once I cannot tell you who did the animation for this film as there are no animation companies listed either in the films credits or the films official IMDB company credits page either. Now then interms of what I personally thought /felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty alot better then what it really had any right to be as this film only had FOUR main animators working on this film hence why it took seven years to finish the film and while yes the film did have additional animators working on the film the very fact that it only had four main animators animating the film it really is shocking the animation that's in this film is feature film worthy as in it belongs to be seen on the big screen with this films animation looking visually like Heavy Metal and using rotoscoping for it's animation which does make the films animation look like that it was done in the late eighties early nineties and yet even with that in mind the films backgrounds look really good with them being very highly detailed with the films characters also having some really nice and fluid movements to them all of which really do come alive during the films more horrific scenes.
This film doesn't just look like Heavy Metal either as it also resembles it from a plot point of view as well. As both films are anthologies that deal with very mature themes and while Heavy Metal is the more mature of the two films this film is a little less mature as the only thing that makes it mature is the fact that it has topless women and gore in it ad that's really it and the fact that both films have a surprisingly stacked cast as well with this film pretty much being the more modern version of Heavy Metal only without the edge that made Heavy Metal work as this film does come across as being like an adult film in name only where as with Heavy Metal it had some really mature themes to go with all of the nudity and gore that was present in that film and as result of that is that is the fact that it's very easy to see this film becoming a cult film as a film like this was never going to attract a mainstream due to the fact that there are so few people out there actively looking for an adult animated film let alone an adult animated film that's also a horror film as well but what does set this film apart from Heavy Metal is the fact that it's a fantasy film where as Heavy Metal leans more into science fiction but both films do fully embrace both of there respective genres and gave fun playing around with what you expect to see in both of there respective genres.
Sadly this film came out around the same time as Mad God and given just how good that that film it really did overshadow this film. When this is a film that does deserve to have it;s time in the sun as well as this film is good in it's right as it does give you some fully formed characters and it does give you a compelling story that while it's not for the faint of heart it is something that is a really enjoyable watch. With one of the things that makes this films enjoyable being the fact that you don't really know where the film is going as the film does have it's flashback scenes act as a prequel to what where seeing in the present day with the flashback scenes mainly detailing the rise of the films villain and the fall of the films hero whilst in the present day scenes it's telling us the story of the rise of the hero and the fall of the villain which is really interesting way to go about things as it's something you don't really see in films at all with the film making great use of it's flashbacks scenes as to not only explain how the hero comes back to life after being killed off early on in the film but to also fully set up the world upon which that this film takes place in and while yes some of the world building could have been alot better then what it was and while the film could have used it's flashback scenes alot better then what it does as well the very very fact that they were able to craft this good of a film given the small team that worked on the film is a wonder in of it's self.
While this film does gave quite alot of things going for it one of the things that it has going against it is the fact that alot of the films side characters aren't that well developed. With alot of them being at best forgettable characters ad at worst characters that you just straight up don't care about with all of that beg due to the fact that the film doesn't really have the running time in order to fully develop all of it's characters with alot f them just coming across as being very one dimensional characters that don' have all that much going for them with this not really being helped by the fact that alot of the films characters end up dead by the end of their respective segments which is fine as it's service to the main plot of the film but at the same time you still need to make us care for the characters and if you don't do that then it really doesn't matter if it's service to the plot of the film or not because us the audience won't really care for the characters or not and while yes there deaths do also set up Ghal-Sur as the main villain of the film by showing us just how far that's willing to go in order to achieve his goal of basically becoming immortal we still need to feel something when these characters do die be it due to us hating them or loving them and when you don'y do that all it does is make there deaths feel hollow and it makes us the audience feel nothing for those characters.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirty three minuets and thirty eight seconds. Which is a really solid running time for this film to have as the film really does have the right amount there interms of plot to really that amount of running time and with this film basically being an anthology film it really doesn't need a really long running time in order to tell it's story it just needs to be above feature length and that's really it and while yes this film really could have used with having a much more longer running time as that really would have allowed the makers to develop all of tit's characters alot more then what it really has the time to do as this film has to get from plot point to plot point and as a result of that is the fact that things do have to get dropped as alot of things that could have been added to the film to give the film it's character development those scene also could have felt like pointless scenes that add nothing to the overall plot of the film and thus making them feel alot like filler scenes when this film really doesn't padding out at all but at the same time it could also be argued that this film did have some character development in it then it could have made this film alot better then what it already is and it also could have helped to stand out against all of the other adult animated films out there as well but I really will admit that this film really does ave some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a horror film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured /presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought ;/ felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty the best part of this film. Due to the fact that all of this films kills are really gory with this film showing a guy getting straight up cut in half by sword where you see all of his insides and you get to see a guy get his face burnt right off with all of this films kills being really inventive given that alot of them just boil down to who can stab who first and yet it's because of how simple these kills are that alot of them do end being slightly memorable and oddly creepy because of it where as it would gave been very easy to make all of this films kills come across as being very forgettable kills which alot of them are but the ones that stand out the most are the ones that are the best kills in this film with the best kill in the whole entire film being the deaths off Ghal-Sur and Tzod as Tzod uses her flower to light Ghal-Sur on fire thus killing the both of them with Tzod's head floating off into outer space with the guy getting cut in half's death being a close second just due the fact that you get all of his insides which does make his death a really memorable death in a film that's filled to the brim with memorable deaths in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst Mad God might be the better of the two films that doesn't mean that this film deserves to be sleeped upon either and kudos to Shudder for taking a chance on these really creative and inventive horror films like both this film and Mad God as both of these films are really good films in there own right in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images really simply because Google Images actually really has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and really plus pretty much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images really were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we really do end this review as we really always do with really our one and really true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.
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