13 Hours in a Warehouse (2008)

Directed by Dav Kaufman [Other horror films: N/A]

Though certainly a low budget film, and a bit derivative of other movies, I think that 13 Hours in a Warehouse is a pretty solid attempt. The story is decently tight, the mystery behind the ghostly figures is sort of fun, and the film is somewhat enjoyable.

I’m guessing that Reservoir Dogs was a big influence on Dav Kaufman, the director. Most of the film takes place in a warehouse following a robbery. There’s some conversation about popular culture (this one robber is a large fan of Robin Williams, praising films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, One Hour Photo, and Good Morning, Vietnam) and betrayal. Admittedly, Reservoir Dogs didn’t have videotape ghosts trying to kill people, but the basics are there.

Actually, I’m a fan of the ghost designs. You remember the movie Thir13en Ghosts? It’s that film that had some cool looking ghosts, but never bothered to give origins for them or their appearances, because nothing’s better than out-of-context disfigured ghosts. Here, we see why the ghosts look the way they do, and more so, the wavering lines through the ghosts (as though they’re projections from a video camera) is a nice effect.

I thought all of the main performances were fine. I mean, none of the performances are great – I think that Chars Bonin came the closest, as he had a somewhat emotional scene in there – but all of them did competently, and during their Robin Williams conversation, it seemed pretty casual. Cody Lyman, Paul Cram (Dawning), Carson Lee, Chars Bonin, Daniel Jay Salmen, and Meisha Johnson were all solid.

None of the kills are really great. There was a guy who seemed to have his penis torn off, and then his neck snapped on a toilet seat, which wasn’t bad, and another was attacked with a saw blade, but most of the carnage is either off-screen or mere gunshot wounds. For the budget, it was probably fine, but it’s not a movie to go to if you want something gory.

When it comes to real problems I had, only two things really come to mind. One, I think the ending could have done with a bit more oompf. It wasn’t a bad ending, but I think a little more punch could have been thrown somewhere in there. Also, while the movie doesn’t really drag, I do think they could have trimmed a few scenes, especially in the final twenty minutes. The movie is around an hour and a half, and I think that the same story could have been told in ten less minutes. It’s not a long film by any means, but I do think portions could have been cut a little.

Filmed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this may be a low budget movie, but I think 13 Hours in a Warehouse has a lot of promise. I dug the ghosts, their designs, and their repetition of the number 32362 (which ties into the mystery, of course), and much like the first time I saw this film some years back, it’s solid for a lower budget film.

7.5/10