Totem Reviews

Strangers are drawn to a remote locale so they can be slaughtered in this tired variation on the FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) formula. Unable to resist the inexorable pull luring them, six people drive to a cabin where they discover that the spirits are restless. Paul (Jason Faunt), Alma (Marissa Tait), Ken (Eric W. Edwards), Robert (Tyler Anderson), Roz (Sacha Spencer) and Tina (Alicia Lagano) explore the adjoining Native-American cemetery next door and discover that cemetery gargoyles are keeping the dead in their place. When they try to leave the sacred ground, a force field prevents their escape; the only clue about their captivity lies in an antique photo of settlers. After spotting their own names on tombstones, the visitors learn that deceased devil-worshippers have plans for them; they need three assassins and three victims in order for the ceremonial totems to unleash the living dead. This direct-to-video shocker, the contemporary equivalent of 1960s' drive-in fare, panders to a low common denominator. Screenwriter Benjamin Carr borrows from George Romero to concoct a semi-original story about a graveyard, but doesn't flesh out the ghoulish details (though it's gory as they come); while the film is less sleazy than most of its type it neither creates a sense of pervasive menace nor makes much sense. Its only purpose seems to be giving teenaged girls an excuse to jump into the laps of their dates. To its credit, this moderately creepy picture doesn't dwell excessively on sexual matters.