Hold the Fort - Movie Review

The Movie: Hold the Fort

The Director: William Bagley

The Cast: Chris Mayers, Haley Leary, Julian Smith

The Story: After moving to the suburbs, a young couple finds themselves trapped in an epic battle between their new HOA and an onslaught of monsters from hell.

The Rating: 7 / 10

The Review:

If you know me, or have at least followed my reviews over the years, you know that I'm a fan of the horror genre and I always love a good horror comedy, especially when the filmmakers find that certain sweet spot where the laughs just feel right against the backdrop of blood, gore, and scares. Movies like Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods, and Anna and the Apocalypse are some of my all-time favorites and they absolutely nail that concept in their own unique ways.

Sometimes though, the fun comes from discovering a smaller scale, indie film that comes out of nowhere and embodies that true spirit of DIY filmmaking to pull off an unexpectedly good time. I think that's where William Bagley's second feature film falls as he seems to know exactly what this film needs to be, sets things up, and gets things rolling right away. There's no excessive backstory or unnecessary exposition to bog things down, it's just here we go, let's have a bloody good time!

The setup is really great with an HOA set up as a front for a group of homeowners who are tasked with keeping the world safe from certain destruction via a big hole in the ground that periodically spews out waves of monsters. Now that I think about it, this could actually fall into the world that Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon created for Cabin in the Woods which makes me like the concept even more. One big difference is how Bagley doesn't try to emulate or dissect the genre like those guys did, he just jumps right into it and lives inside the space without holding anything back.

The movie is filled with blood-soaked mayhem, outrageous fight scenes, and absurdly comedic moments almost all of which are contained inside the HOA property's clubhouse which keeps things to a more manageable scale. There's also a lot of really fun twists and turns like when you think one woman is about to go on a cocaine fueled rampage against the monsters but then things go an entirely different direction which is where the absurdity and comedy comes into play.

Is this movie going to change the world? Of course not, but it will give you a little over an hour's worth of entertainment and definitely delivers on the promise of monsters and mayhem. Thank you for reading this review and, as always, thank you for supporting independent films like this one.