Mask Maker: Meet Your Maker

Director - Griff Furst (I Am Omega, Ghost Shark)
Starring - Nikki Deloach (Blood Moon), Stephen Colletti (Kill Katie Malone), and Anabella Casanova (The Empty Seat)
Release Date - 2010
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Midnight Movie Horror Set: Slashers)

Rating (out of 5):

      Have you ever said something that you truly believed to only feel like an ass for saying that.  In a lot of my reviews I mention films that I call "Wal-Mart horror." Those are the films you discover at Wal-Mart and they trick you in to buying them because they have amazing cover art and have a horror legend like Kane Hodder, Ken Foree, Jeffrey Combs, and so forth make a small cameo in the film and bill them as the star.  Anyway, a year or so ago I discovered this film at Wal-Mart and fought the urge to buy it.  However, not long ago I found a four film set on amazon.com and grabbed it.  I got if for the films Sweatshop and Inkubus but this film and Dead Tone was an added bonus. 
      The bastard son of a plantation owner and a servant is cursed with a skin disease and his mother resorts to witchcraft in order cure her little abomination.  When slaughtering livestock is not enough, the crazy old bitch kidnaps a baby to sacrifice.  The townspeople arrive just a little too late to save the baby and kills the witch.  Years later a young college couple buys the huge plantation style home and a large amount of land fairly cheap.  The two hope to sell the antiques for some quick cash and plan on flipping the home for a rather large profit.  The two are unaware of the dark past the home harbors.  When a group of friends come up to party for the weekend they unintentionally awaken the murderous son when they defile his grave.  Now the college students are being picked off one by one by the skin wearing monster.
     I went in to this one assuming that it was another shitty Wal-mart horror flick and I was wrong.  Though the movie is mediocre, it is above the rest resulting is a surprisingly decent slasher flick.  This film borrows from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and I think it works very well.  I have heard a lot of people bitch about that but I honestly see no wrong in it.  Sure, the killer wears a mask made of his victims flesh but he is not an obese mentally challenged man with a chainsaw and that is where the similarities end.  The acting is actually very decent which added to the overall film.  The entire cast did their job well and it was nice seeing Michael Berryman and Treat Williams actually acting instead of just appearing on film.  They both are outstanding actors and I truly enjoy watching them in their element.  The story is really hard to judge.  It borrows from TCM but for a slasher it is very detailed and fairly original.  On top of all that, it is fun as hell.  You don't have to be very original if you can tell a new story and keep it entertaining.  Finally, the special effects are very good.  The on screen kills are bloody and the effects looks great.  This film is a shinning example of what Wal-Mart horror should be, however, it stands as a rarity among all of those.  Overall, this is an above average modern slasher that is actually worth the price.  I highly recommend it.