The Roost (2005) 6/10

The Roost is about a group of young adults on their way to a wedding late one night who happen upon a barn filled with bats that turn their victims into zombies.

Surprisingly the CG bats in the film actually look pretty damn good. That was my first concern when checking out the film, and it passed my test with flying colors. The film is super low budget and very short but given the subject matter the film didn't nessecarily merit a huge budget or a long run time. The director chooses instead to keep it short and sweet. Good enough for me. The acting is pretty good given the obvious budget impediment. The film starts out with a spooky black and white introduction by a ghoulish man, obviously paying homage to Vampira and Elivra's spooky late night creature features. I personally believe that these segments found throughout the film are nothing more then filler for an already very short feature. Honestly though this is ok with me, they're shot well and although one particular spooky segment towards the end of the film really derails the energy of the film, overall it works.

The lack of budget does hurt the film overall as some of the action must be done offscreen and it left this viewer a bit confused at certain points in the film as to just what in the hell happend/is happening. The spooky black and white interludes work but do become somewhat intrusive as the film progresses and the very short run time doesn't leave much room for character development or meat on the bone.

In the end I'm left feeling entertained and looking forward to checking out some more of Ti West's films, should they cross my path, though I won't be actively seeking them anytime soon. This is low-budget film making at its best...almost.

Overall - 6/10