Ben Stiller’s wife...

The fat kid from Stand By Me…

The bad dude in Underworld who somehow managed to be out-acted by Kate Beckinsale…

Is this a recipe for a wack-ass horror movie or a wack-ass romantic comedy?

Whatever the case, I have to say that I’m impressed a script like Room 6 was able to attract even these three C-list stars.

The story is basic enough. Amy (Christine Taylor) hates hospitals. Her beau, Nick (Shane Brolly), recently asked her to marry him, but in a nice reversal of typical sexual stereotypes, Amy’s self-involved ass won’t stop to smell the roses. She feels bad about her inability to commit and things only get worse when the couple gets into an auto accident and injured Nick is rushed off by ambulance to St. Rosemary’s Hospital. The only problem? St. Rosemary's burned down years ago!

(Dun… dun… DUN!)

So, with the help of a stranger she meets in the hospital (Jerry O’Connell), she sets off to solve the mystery of its existence while Nick is subjected to all kinds of weird situations including but not limited to:  Lesbian nurses, lesbian nurses who do lesbian things, and Satanic lesbian nurses who eat their patients. There are lots of Satanic lesbian nurses in this film and when the Satanic lesbian nurses are the best actors in your movie, you know it’s going to be entertaining. Be on the lookout for Kane Hodder (Jason in Friday The 13th Parts 7-10) in full on Horrorgeek cameo mode as a homeless demon.

Anchor Bay has been on a roll lately, releasing movies that are as low rent and mundane as possible. I really don’t know what audience they think films like It Waits or The Tooth Fairy has. I frequent several horror themed web sites and no one ever gets excited over this shit. So I was pleasantly surprised when I watched Room 6 and it was slightly better than average.

I really dug the atmosphere. From Halloween II to Visiting Hours to Horror Hospital and many others, hospital horror is a well established sub-genre due in large part to the fact that hospitals are inherently ripe for creepy situations. Think about it. Where else in any "normal" community besides a hospital would so many people die in such close proximity? If ghosts or even the concept of death can freak you out, hospitals probably aren’t your bag to begin with. Room 6 takes full advantage of the freaky hospital environment. The lighting effects and make-up are particularly successful at drawing the viewer in. This is surprising considering recent DTV films such as Demon Hunter, where off-the-shelf Star Trek Klingon Halloween Make Up Kits and Miss Lee Press-On Horns are all too common..

Room 6's Twilight Zone twist ending may not make you groan but you're almost certain to groan over the horrible overacting and delivery of the done-better-elsewhere conclusion of the film. Horror fans like myself have a very high tolerance for bad acting so when I say it's bad, trust me; it’s really bad. Christine Taylor couldn't deliver a line if it had proper postage.  Jerry O’Connell is supposed to be convincing as a potential threat?!? Does ANYONE consider him even the slightest bit intimidating? I mean, this is the guy who, as a kid, used to fly around with the aid of fucking aerosol cans while doing his part to destroy the ozone in that lame television show, My Secret Identity. Oh yeah… I’m shaking in my boots.

If you are looking for a fun distraction, Room 6 will fill your evening nicely, but if you are looking for something truly scary or exceptionally well made, you will have to look elsewhere.

The DVD Presentation
It looks really good, I will give it that. The picture is very bold, very sharp and presented in anamorphic widescreen. Basically everything you could want from a low-budget horror film. The audio is also very clear and the 5.1 mix is fairly impressive. There are no subtitles available because, as usual, Anchor Bay hates the deaf. I really don’t get that. Dark Sky, like, just hit the scene and already has this as a standard feature. What the fuck is your problem, AB?

And the Extras Are?
Hospital from Hell – (40:57)

To: Anchor Bay – A quick note:

Dear Anchor Bay,
Please stop making, or, at very least, please stop releasing 30-50 minute spoiler filled non-documentaries on your DVDs that are of the most minimal interest.

Thank you,
-Shawn McLoughlin, DVD In My Pants

In all seriousness, don’t watch this before the movie. It spoils quite a bit. Anchor Bay recommends this as well, and warns you not to do so. The trouble is, there is little more than self-congratulatory obvious observation. Nearly everything discussed in the doc you will come to terms with on your own while watching the film. Very little of this is of any value whatsoever – and it isn’t worth watching to get to it.

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Mike Hurst and Writer/Producer Mark A. Altman
You know, I really didn’t expect this to be anywhere near as good as it was. It really isn’t all that technical, but it is entertaining in an “up past 3 A.M. and delirious” kind of way. Basically the two make fun of each other and talk shit about Leonard Nimoy (because that’s what they did on the Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) commentary track). I especially liked that they said this would be where DVD reviewers complain. Well, I see that point, they don’t actually say much but it was entertaining to listen to them banter.

Trailer – (1:53)
Heh. I was sold on this trailer from an older Anchor Bay DVD. It is almost Full Moon quality (if you remember Charles Band’s video trailers from the VHS days). I still think it’s a fun trailer.

Screenplay (DVD-ROM)
For anyone who might be interested in that sort of thing, Anchor Bay was generous enough to give us a copy of the screenplay, which can be printed from a .PDF file.

Anchor Bay Trailer Gallery
A staple on Anchor Bay DVDs, these trailers are auto-played the first time you put in the disc, or they can be selected from the Extras menu. This batch includes: a trailer for the Masters Of Horror series (1:55), Demon Hunter (1:30), It Waits (1:07) and The Fallen Ones (1:56). None of these movies look very special. Demon Hunter was a waste of a tired idea, and only The Fallen Ones seems at all entertaining (but still not required watching).

The Bottom Line
If you die before you get a chance to watch Room 6, your ascension will not be prevented in any way and even though it isn’t all that good, interesting or important, it is pretty fun in a dumb way. Will you watch it more than once? Probably not, but if you like it, the extras on this nicely put together DVD are worth watching.

It has Satanic lesbian nurses, though. So… yeah… definitely rent it.