The story: After being abused as a child, a disturbed young woman exacts her revenge on young male college students. Peter and two of his friends/fellow students, and a teacher begin to investigate the grisly murders only to discover who the killer is far too late.

"Little Erin Merryweather" is first and foremost a cut above 99% of indie horror films. Compared to some of the flicks Lionsgate is releasing straight-to-dvd, this is an Oscar winner. The unknown cast is very strong (especially the creepy Vigdis Anholt as Erin) and the cinematography is first rate. Unlike most horror films nowadays, cinematographer Michael Marius Pessah gives a lifelike picture of the small snow covered college town that the characters inhabit. In addition, we get effective and skin crawling shots of the red hooded killer lurking around the college, woods, and the victims.

The film isn't all red roses. The story suffers from a lousy structure. VERY early on, the audience discovers who the killer is (and what their motive is) long before the characters on screen do. Whenever we know what is going on before the characters, the element of surprise is lost. The fun is gone when you can predict the outcome a mile away. Also, the story has a big gaping plothole. If one student death (let alone 3 in the film) were to occur on any college campus, the officials would close the campus down. The police in the film suspected a serial killer was on the loose, yet the dean, students, or parents reaction never came into play. Everyone went about their day as if nothing of importance happened. Simply illogical.

The DVD

Video:
The anamorphic widescreen picture is grainy in spots, but above average for a very low budget indie film. The snow covered small town is beautifully photographed and perfectly contrasts with the red hooded menace.

Sound: We get a 5.1 Dolby Surround track and a 2.0 stereo track. The sound quality is perfectly acceptable for this film. The music score delivers in suspenseful scenes, and the dialogue is generally very audible.

Extras: Trailers for "Dead In the Water," "Pariah," "Fighting Words," "Gory Gory Hallelujah," "A Light In The Darkness," random art/photo gallery, plus a theatrical and production trailer for "Little Erin Merryweather." Nothing worth watching.

Final Thoughts:
"Little Erin Merryweather" starts out promising and delivers some chills early on, but unfortunately the movie falls victim to predictable horror cliches. Worth a rent, but I suggest checking out horror classics instead.

Film and television enthusiast Nick Lyons recently had his first book published titled "Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia." It is available on Amazon.com.