The Sand

Well this opportunity fell in my lap. I was given the chance to review The Sand, a creature feature about a sand dwelling monster praying on a group of hungover college students who got more than they bargained for after a night of partying at the beach.

The film's press release describes itself as a loving homage to B-horror films like Tremors, and while I can't quite say that The Sand is anywhere near as funny or memorable as that great Bacon horror-comedy, the film still manages to do quite a bit with an equally silly premise and single location.

The movie starts off with a party fueled prologue that drops some very minor hints as to how the creature arrives on the beach, though it wisely avoids any real explanation, instead just taking its premise and running with it. The rest of the film follows a who's who of standard horror characters (The Blonde, The Jock, The Guy Best Friend, The Ex-Girlfriend) as they drop one by one trying to figure out how to get escape with their limbs and lives intact.

The Sand establishes its rules early on. If your skin touches the sand, the creature will slowly suck you in, tearing away skin and body parts along the way.  As with any good monster movie, a lot of the fun comes with watching the characters try, and fail, to escape their horrible situation.

Now, writers Alex Greenfield and Ben Powell have made the welcome decision to actually make the characters smart and think out their actions, a rarity in the horror genre. Each time someone suggests an idea of what to do or how to escape, at least one other person offers a reason of why it works or why it doesn't, and it actually makes sense. It adds quite a bit of suspense and surprise to the proceedings, making trying to figure who dies next all the more complicated.

The cast is lively and game, and director Isaac Gabaeff helps the film fly by with its quick pace. The low budget is well hidden for the most part, with most of the big effects being saved for the finale. Some of the bloodier parts rely more on digital effects than I usually prefer, but the kills are slow and nasty as they should be in a film like this, which helps make up the difference.

Overall, The Sand is a quick and fun little monster flick that wears its B-horror movie roots on its sleeve. So if watching attractive twenty-somethings die one by one, check it out on VOD and DVD October 13.