leatherfacepartydown A maximum security prison can be looked at as the ultimate house of evil, as it occupies some of the most sadistic criminals. Its walls are terrifying, its gates ensure that no evil can get out. In the case of FURNACE however, a force within the confines of the eerie Black Gate Prison reveal a darker evil than the most extremely violent offenders incarcerated.FURNACE, the latest film by William Butler (MADHOUSE), opens with a prison guard who commits suicide after coming home from a shift at the Black Gate Prison. Homicide detective Michael Turner (Michael Pare) is assigned the case and quickly discovers something odd. The guard had two fingers severed and bandaged. When an inmate is found dead (the last one who saw the guard alive), he decides to go to the prison to investigate where he runs into his old partner Frank Miller (Tom Sizemore), now a drug addicted, corrupt prison guard. Miller is leading an excursion into the darkest reaches of the prison, where a few inmates (Danny Trejo and rapper Ja Rule) are taking part in. As Miller learns more about the prison, he teams up with the prison psychiatrist (Jenny McShane) to find that spirit from within the prison has returned to extract vengeance on the guards and inmates inside the prison.FURNACE is the second film directed by William Butler and he does a very good job at setting the film's atmosphere, slowly building tension to the story. The film makes excellent use of its primary location, a Tennessee State Prison (and it does look great on screen). At a scant 85 minutes, the film runs at a brisk pace. Butler, a veteran of horror, definitely knows the genre well and he provides some solid chills here. The film's final act reveals the mystery of the furnace and while it provides the film's more extreme moments, it does fall into territory we've seen before. I also didn't feel the need for things to be explained because the visuals alone were enough to tell the story (Butler is very good with visuals). The dialogue is a little cringe worthy at times in moments of drama and in back story, but what separates this from others is that Butler did assemble a really fine cast for this film.The ageless Michael Pare, who I've always liked, is fine as Turner, the dedicated detective with a tragic past. It's fit for him and it's good to see him still able to carry a film. He's always been reliable to give a decent performance. I've said before that I've admired Tom Sizemore as an actor and he delivers another good performance as Miller, the film's antagonist. Mirroring his harrowing off screen life, to see Miller as a man fallen on hard times dealing drugs did make it feel uncomfortable to watch at times, but Sizemore delivers it all with a fiery demeanor. Danny Trejo, an ex-convict, mainly has an extended cameo as Fury, and does his scenes well. Ja Rule is surprisingly good as a convict who warns Turner of the evil within the furnace of the prison. Kelly Stables of THE RING is fun as a coroner who has a friendship with Turner (though the mention of a cup of coffee after every exchange did get a little tedious). Jenny McShane is OK in her role as the prison psychiatrist, but the character does seem a little out of place with the rest of the film.The special effects are interesting in this film, with lots of digital effects (a surprise considering Butler's career as a special effects artist) which are good and effective in showing the ghosts inside the prison but the practical effects are very good here. I wouldn't say the film is extremely bloody or gory, but there are some nasty effects which combined with some good use of lighting make for some very scary moments.The DVD contains some alternate scenes which doesn't offer anything new to the story and were wisely cut out, but there are some entertaining interviews with Ja Rule, Danny Trejo, and Tom Sizemore. Sizemore in particular shows his unpredictable behavior with some very funny moments.In all, FURNACE is an enjoyable movie, a throwback in a sense with some fine performances. With this film and MADHOUSE, William Butler is proving to be a modern day Roger Corman in delivering on a small budget with some familiar yet enjoyable fare. If there's one thing, Butler does respect and love horror, and it shows in his work.

demonwarrior13 Well Furnace turns out to be the first film that I have watched in 2008. I was going to watch something else with the wife but she went to bed on me early tonight and since horror films are NOT her thing I figured I would go ahead and watch it without her.I have known about Furnace for a while since a while back I interviewed the director and co-writer William Butler. It seemed like it was taking forever for this film to come out but it was worth the wait.Right off the bat I knew there was going to be 2 things that I liked about it and 2 things that I wouldn't. Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo were the two good things and Ja Rule and Paul Wall were the two bad. Since the film Heat is one of my top 3 favorite films of all time, it was especially valuable to me that this marks another film that Sizemore and Trejo were on screen together. I am against putting rappers into films just to cash in on their names or really for any reason which no doubt was the reason behind casting Paul Wall since he had done no previous films before this one. Ja Rule actually was not that bad but still would rather have seen someone else.Tom Sizemore is without a doubt the strongest actor in the film and no I am not saying that because he is my favorite actor of all time. Michael Pare is the actual lead in the movie but to me Sizemore carries it. Pare seemed a little dry and emotionless for the character but his character was suppose to be dealing with emotional issues being that his family was murdered because of him. This made it hard for me grasp what was the character and what was Pare. I also am just not that familiar with his work to know what type of acting he normally brings to the table.The plot starts off with some suicides that keep happening to inmates at an old maximum security prison. Detective Michael Turner (Pare) starts to investigate the suicides finding them very suspicious and even going as far as to think that they might be murders. The killings started mysteriously after a wing of the prison which has been sealed off for many years was reopened due to expansion needs.The Good: The cast is great. You have several known faces including Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Paul Wall, Ja Rule, Jenny McShane, Michael Pare and Kelly Stables. This film reeks of a fan boy writer. The writer which I know for a fact is a horror nut has his signature all over it. It has a very creepy vibe to it and for the budget (which I'm sure was low)....the effects and ghostly images look real and scary enough to make you turn on a couple of lights just to walk to your bathroom after you watch it! The filming location was wisely chosen as I have never seen a creepier looking prison.The Really Good: Possible homage to the film Aliens (another film in my top 3 favorites) when an actor sees movement and hears a noise up above and sticks his head in an attic. Using a flashlight (just like Hicks) he pans around the dark space to see a rat first and then to get killed. Cool scene! The Bad: I have poor vision anyway's and some of the interior prison shots are filmed very dark which made it hard for me to see. I know part of this is done on purpose but it made it a bit hard to make certain scenes out. Also there is a sex scene in the film which could have shown some t*ts and ass. The last thing is not just for this film but a constant problem with DVDS these days ESPECIALLY horror DVDS is that they are advertising them as unrated....and the unrated DVDS never have anything in them that you as an audience member think makes the film deserve that unrated rating.Overall I liked the film well enough to give it 4 stars which is rare for me with a horror film because I judge them very harshly. Butler has done some great things for the horror industry and I think that this just shows more of his craft and talent. I am looking forward to the next one if I could pick I would have Bill try his hand out in the zombie genre!

Claudio Carvalho While opening the abandoned south wing of the Blackgate Prison to receive three hundred new inmates, one security guard and one prisoner enters in the furnace room. In the evening, the guard commits suicide and later the inmate is found dead in his cell in weird circumstances. Detective Michael Turner (Michael Paré) investigates the suicide case and he notes that the guard had just lost two fingers. He drives to the prison, where he discloses an uncanny event in the furnace room."Furnace" is a lame movie with an awful screenplay that does not develop well the characters or the situations, which are absolutely disconnected, senseless and without explanation. The conclusion is terrible, with many people dying (security guards, coroner, prisoners etc.) and the only action is sealing again the wing of the prison without any further consequence. My vote is four.Title (Brazil): "A Fornalha" ("The Furnace")

carolyn-carter50 My boyfriend and I rented this yesterday. I loved it! Him not as much as me but overall the film was very scary and dark. The little girl in the film who had been burned badly was really hard to look at though the make up was so painfully created and realistic! I don't know many of the actors but over was scared to death! I highly recommend. The story stakes place in a dilapidated old prison where the ghost of a murdered young girl wanders the hall in search of her killer. Its not until the ending that you realize that her killer is the last person you expected. It's a pretty twisted premise so I don't recommend it for the kiddies!