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the audience applauded

Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is one seriously bad film. But on the plus side, it's one of the funniest, most watchable bad films I've ever seen. Unfortunately, my rating scale does not account for such minutiae, and I have to assume it was designed to be an entry in the 'horror' genre. And by that definition, it's beyond the pale. Having said that, if you want to see a bunch of actors stitched up to say and do things which will haunt them for the rest of their days... Well, my friend lets catch the last train to crazyville.There's this Ouija board, see? And some Mexican friends who somehow thought it would be a lark to try out American accents, give it a go. Needless to say, they unleash DARK SPIRITS THAT THEY CANNOT CONTAIN. But first, we have a love montage of our main protagonist going out with a girl he's known for all of a few hours. They try on stupid hats, go for a pedal-boat ride and hold hands on the boardwalk, while a cheesy 80's pop song blares out. This is far more horrifying than anything that follows.After all that romance crap is over, we FINALLY get to the good stuff... the lead character running around in his dinosaur pyjamas at night to warn someone at a hospital they're about to become brown bread. The truth is, one of his buddies at the satanic ritual the other night was possessed by a renegade spirit, and is now wearing a stupid mask and speaking with A VERY DEEP VOICE. The soul of the individual who was taken over now dwells in a television set, and relays information through a static screen in which his face appears, which is a bit annoying when you want to watch Corrie. Our hero is the ONLY ONE who can make sense of all this mumbo-jumbo. Everyone thinks he's nuts, though. Just because he crawls around on his hands and knees, makes stupid noises while pulling faces and rips all his posters off the wall. How on Earth did they reach that conclusion? So, all who were present at the seance get killed one by one courtesy of THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE (Thanks, Elvis). so they all stumble straight into his grasp every time, like they've had a lobotomy. Maybe they did in real life too, to sign up for this dismal nonsense.Ultimately of course GOOD WILL ALWAYS TRIUMPH OVER EVIL, though our permed hero has to sacrifice himself to save THE WOMAN HE LOVES. (You know, the one he met just the other day) Arr, shucks. Not to worry though... before he shuffled off this mortal coil, he was given a rose... and as long as that rose is in full bloom, he will always be with her. Said flower is as dead as he is at his funeral right at the end, but it comes back to life again just as his beau chucks it into his grave to prove that THEIR LOVE IS ETERNAL. Then, as she smiles, her hair in blown back by an invisible breeze. The ending credits roll. I am not making any of this up.What this review fails to do, is encapsulate just how dreadful the acting is, the fact that no-one behaves like any human you've ever met throughout, and the completely pathetic attempts at scares. Sure, we can laugh. But someone GREENLIT this script. Someone PAID people to make it. And when it was over, someone saw it and thought it was FIT FOR RELEASE. The mind boggles... 1/10

"Don't Panic" is one of the best slasher films around and has a lot going for it.**SPOILERS**Gathering together, Michael, (Jon Michael Bishof) invites friends Tony, (Juan Ignacio Aranda) Christy, (Melinda McCallum) Debbie, (Cecilia Tijernia) Robert, (Raul Araiza) Peter, (Mario Ivan Martinez) and new girl Alexandra, (Gabriela Hassle) for his birthday party. During the celebration, they decide to use a Ouija board for fun, but when nothing happens, they decide to call it a night and go home. As Michael begins to romance Alexandra, he becomes plagued by a series of visions of some being stalking his friends. Convinced it isn't normal, he thinks that something has happened with the use of the Ouija board, and sets off to warn his friends when the visions increase. Now convinced that a demon has possessed one of his friends, he sets off to keep the rest alive while trying to find a way to stop the rampage.The Good News: This is one of the better slasher films to come out. One of it's more important facets is that it contains all the familiar trappings in a slasher film which is always fun to see. From the standard POV shots of the killer approaching it's targets to the shots of the weapon of choice being manipulated by the hands and a group that constantly ignores warnings of the one who can help them place this one so firmly in slasher conventions that it's just all-around fun. It's fun to spot the little bits of other slasher film's the director is cannibalized, including the hero has an alcoholic Mom, the characters watch self-referential clips of horror movies on TV, a scene in a classroom where the main character dreams the bloody demise of a classmate, the crispy faced, gravel voiced villain, and the concerned parents who think their kid is going bonkers and call in the doctors. One of it's main positive points is the way it treats the killer. By keeping the killer in the shadows for much of the running time, it helps to keep their fear of him high as does keeping the quips to a minimum. This helps the few times he's on-screen at their most effective. With bloody burns, rotting skin and bloodshot eyes, it strikes a real impressive presence that scores some real scares mainly through the appearance. It's also pleasingly bloody, with some nice gore effects from the time. We get a brutal dagger blade shoved underneath through the chin of one unfortunate teen, and wiggling around messily in his mouth, itself a standout, but a very bloody slit throat, a messy impaling, several stabbings and a whole slew of slashings in here, all quite bloody and loaded with gore. The use of the POV shots lends the film it's several tried and true suspense scenes. The several hospital stalking scenes are so creepy it's almost criminal. Seeing as it's the first time that any part of the killer's appearance is given, the site of it's blistered and decayed hands popping up brandishing a large dagger is quite creepy. Watching it get closer and closer to the unsuspecting victim is classic suspense, and the short stalking scene when they discover the killer there is quite thrilling. That, though, is outmatched in the later scene where the killer takes to stalking the hero, and the chase through the very darkened hallways is as good as anything ever done. With only the killer's approaching boots or the hero's frantic search to get away, it's one of the film's highlights. A later scene is also to be commended, where the fact that a car in the outdoors is the setting for a few murders is quite exciting, and really has a lot going for it. It's a really pleasing slasher film in most respects.The Bad News: There's only a few small problems in here. In one scene, where the two leads find themselves in the same position, the two play hooky from school, leading to a delightfully cheesy romantic interlude where they stop to feed the ducks, have their picture taken in sombreros and play peek-a-boo with each other as they eat giant ice cream sundaes. While serving a plot point, it's utter cheese and pace-killing destroys most of the positives established at that point. It's a really hard scene to sit through, and really should've been toned down or written around. The fact that this is quite predictable and clichéd might be tough for some to stomach, as it's not that hard to guess what's going on right from the beginning and what the twist at the end will comprise. Another low point is the low body-count, which is pretty much sealed by the storyline used, but it still would've been nice to have a few more pop up, as there's enough characters for it to be possible. Otherwise, this is a really entertaining slasher film.The Final Verdict: With a few really easily-overlooked flaws, this is one of the better slashers around. It follows the formula to perfection, almost too much so, but that's still not enough to knock this one down. Slasher fans should give this one a real viewing, while Mexican horror fans and anyone else interested are advised to check it out.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and a mild sex scene

I thought this supernatural slasher wasn't too bad. There were a few effective bits, and even a few suspenseful moments. The killings with the dagger are cool, and the bit where Michael is being stalked around the hospital are good. I also got a scare from the part where Virgil suddenly appears at the back window of the car. There are too many boring parts however to make this a good slasher film. If they had used more shots of Virgil stalking Michael and added some more gore, it would have been quite good. The ending is rather cheesy.Still it's better than many slasher films I have seen so if you're a die-hard slasher fan then seek this one out.

Ruben Galindo is one of those sneaky Mexican exploitation directors who makes quickie-movies for the the American market. The cast is filled with fresh American faces and premise as well as atmosphere are typically US high school-like. Only... the production is entirely Mexican! This technique saves the makers a few extra bucks and the fans of this type of cinema mostly don't notice the difference anyway. However, what you can't but notice about "Don't Panic" is the amateurism. The screenplay makes no sense at all as it attempts to blend the mysteries of the occult (an Ouija-board) with an ordinary high school slasher plot. A group of brainless friends summon a demon (named Virgil...not exactly a petrifying name, if you ask me) and this demon soon after possesses one of the kids. How did this Virgil ended up inside the body of the kid?? Who knows... Why does he think it's necessary to butcher everyone who joined the Ouija game?? Not explained, neither... There's no tension and no sense of humor to detect anywhere in the script. Well...at least not intended humor, because the stupidity and incompetence definitely will make you chuckle more than once! Also, if you plan to watch this film, you're better not allergic to atrocious acting. No matter how hard these teen-actors try, they have no acting skills at all. The best part about "Don't Panic" is – as usual – the gore! Screaming Mad George went nuts again and literally stuffed this film with repulsive massacre and entire buckets of blood. I'm not an expert but I sincerely doubt that an average human body contains so much blood. Oh well, if it wasn't for these gory moments, "Don't Panic" would be completely worthless. In conclusion: this probably is one of the only films ever that feature the hero (supposedly 17 years old) battling evil whilst wearing a ridiculous and utterly childish pajamas. Respect!