REVIEW: "Glenville: Hell's Homecoming" (2005) 76 minutes. Starring Wayland Harris, Steve Brown, Benjamin P. Ablao, Jr. Chris Erickson, Bobby Hamilton, John Larsen.<br /><br />It's time to leave the town of Glenville, Ohio.<br /><br />After four films, it is obvious that director/writer Anthony Spadaccini searches for novelty in far off places. The first two Glenville films were not very good, but competent efforts in the slasher genre (with some particularly disgusting gore sequences in part 2). "Glenville 3" (2001) featured a large cast of despicable characters with self-absorbed motivations and about 4 plots that wove into a 76-minute slasher movie. It was slightly above average and Spadaccini deserved a lot of credit for attempting to do something different with the genre.<br /><br />Now here we are, with "Glenville: Hell's Homecoming." Technically Glenville 4, it doesn't really require the viewer to have seen the others, except maybe part 3. But even part 3 opens with an epilogue from part 2...oh, never mind.<br /><br />I could detail the plot, but there isn't much of one. From an opening cross fade, we learn that the child murderer from part 3 is now grown up and been released from a mental institution. Or escaped. Anyway, he has assumed the identity of a nightclub owner (though he more resembles a stripper...nice body) and has a gay roommate who is fighting with his boyfriend. There's a gay sex scene that lasts about 10 minutes, an extremely bloody bathtub murder, a couple of detectives, another murder, then an entirely confusing ending.<br /><br />OK, before I start on the bad, let me talk about the good. The idea for this movie is definitely a good one. Spadaccini had the balls to pack several different genres into one movie (when's the last time you saw a gay love story morph into a slasher movie?) and the gay sex scene is definitely a risk. The final reel is beautifully shot and the music, especially in the final 10 minutes, is very creepy.<br /><br />Now, the bad. "Glenville: Hell's Homecoming" is nothing more than a 15-minute short film stretched into 75 minutes. Like I previously stated, the idea behind the film is good and since this is one of Spadaccini's first efforts, I give him credit.<br /><br />The acting is mediocre at best, with the exception of John Larsen, who returns from the grave to play psychotic father mastermind Warren Sinclair. In fact, Larsen is the only one who looks like he has acted before. Performances are uneven to say the least, with some props given to lead actor Wayland Harris for not sucking at his portrayal of a serial killer.<br /><br />Spadaccini's overuse of video effects has been mentioned quite a bit in the reviews and I totally agree. While it's nice to see that he was able to put something together without a budget, it also would have been nice to see a movie not rely on Adobe After Effects. It makes the film look incredibly cheap.<br /><br />There is hardly any dialogue in the movie. There are long, drawn-out scenes in which the characters just walk around bored or angry, maybe even a combination of both. Maybe Spadaccini was going for being subtle, but it came across as just unnecessary.<br /><br />In all, "Glenville: Hell's Homecoming" fails as a movie, but there are some bright spots. Spadaccini (according to IMDb) loves David Lynch and I think some of that inspiration shines through. He obviously has some talent, but I think he needs to be molded a bit.<br /><br />Rating: 4 out of 10.