Mr_Ectoplasma Think "Wrong Turn" set in subterranean Manhattan."Stag Night" follows a group of friends on a subway home from a bachelor party in NYC. After exiting their train too early at an abandoned station, the group along with two female strippers from the party look for a means of exit. Unfortunately for them, they've walked off the train and straight into the stomping grounds of a clan of subterranean cannibals. It's gonna be a long night."Stag Night" works with the cannibal killer formula that's been done for the past three decades, but, like the 1972 film "Raw Meat" (also known as "Death Line" in the UK), this one is set in abandoned subway tunnels. We saw a similar scenario in the 2004 flick "Creep" with Franka Potente, where she struggles to survive against a mad cannibal in London's subways. There's something eerie about being underground in the first place because it adds an increased sense of helplessness; you've literally got the weight of the earth against you, and means of escape are few and far between. Even creepier is the fact that these abandoned subway tunnels and platforms do actually exist far beneath the streets of New York and London, and the notion that people could be inhabiting these dark, old places is one that is extremely eerie.This film makes ample use of its setting, which is ultimately the hook, line and sinker for this one. Transplant this story to the woods, and you've got "Wrong Turn". Transplant it to a nuclear California desert, and you've got "The Hills Have Eyes". It's familiar, yes, but who said familiar cannot be fun? This is an extremely violent film, so modern gorehounds will get their money's worth here. For those who prefer slowburn suspense, this one may be a pass. I like both ends of the spectrum, and this one delivers on action. I've read some complaints about the cinematography in the film and the shaky camera-work, which are understandable complaints, but I will say that it does give the film a visceral texture. I could, however, have down without the corny slow-motion shots during scenes of high drama though.The production quality is actually really great, and the subterranean atmosphere is well-used. The villains in the film are also surprisingly scary looking, and, where films like the aforementioned "Raw Meat" gave a humanity to the villains, this film rather presents them as outright murderous animals. Acting-wise, there's a solid cast here that make up the core characters. Kip Pardue and Breckin Meyer are both pleasures to watch, and Vinessa Shaw (you may recognize her from "The Hills Have Eyes" remake or Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut"— or, if you're a '90s kid, Disney's "Hocus Pocus") plays a sassy Columbia student by day and stripper by night. There is some particularly funny dialogue between her and Meyer, that is, until things get serious.I felt the ending of the film was abrupt and the last-second surprise was a "c'mon" moment for me, but I can forgive it since I was glued to the screen for the 80 minutes prior. Standout scene: the group's first sighting of the killers as they dismember a security guard, and the train track beheading.Overall, "Stag Night" is all in good fun. It's not high art, but I tuned into it right at the beginning around 1am, and I was taken by it enough that I finished it to the end. Genre fans will likely enjoy it, while most others will not. As far as indie horror goes, this one is fairly high up there. 6/10.

TheHrunting This opens up with a bloodied woman running away from "something" in the terminal of a subway station only to be slaughtered with no one to hear her desperate cries for help. Now, four guys in the wee morning are celebrating a bachelor party at a strip joint when they get kicked out and head for another club by using the subway to get there. They catch two ladies on the train from earlier--one drunk and ditsy, the other confident and collected--and try to continue the party up until one of the woman gets fed up and uses pepper spray on the unruly brother of the polar opposite nice-guy bachelor. They all step off to clear their eyes, when suddenly the nonchalant operator takes off and leaves them stranded.The terminal exits are locked, there's no cell phone reception and even if another train comes through it won't stop. Four of them head up the tracks on foot while a man and woman stay behind to get a little frisky--yes, the filmmakers went there, partial nudity to boot. Soon enough they realize they're in danger when three modern day cavemen looking vagabonds brutally kill a cop after he catches them raiding a vending machine. The villains end up being one-note savages who's stench alone could make one keel over, who are so dirty they look like they have permanent tans, who's obnoxious growls could make any wild beast run with tail between legs and who's skin is so greasy it could be bottled up to make everlasting Jheri curl solution. From what was initially just a time-killing mistake turns into a killer game of hide and seek till they can come up with a plan to get out safely, including manning and womanning up to fight back as these tunnel dwellers are far from lethargic pushovers looking for a handout but skilled warriors that like to taunt their opponents for the challenge. Now, it's explained that their situation and the groom to be have a coincidental connection in that bachelors some ages ago would be sent out for the night to hunt a stag to prove they could survive the test and provide for their families."Stag Night" doesn't even try to be great. The acting is adequate if not award winning. It's more unintentionally funny in some areas than scary despite some foreshadowing and other sections that attempt to stack tension. It uses excessively frantic camera shots to translate the action and fight scenes, but instead cause more hangovers than palpitating hearts. Sometimes the music seems independent from the film with attempted build ups to translate an atmosphere that seems nonexistent. This is a purist horror film that relies heavily on conventions down to the finish line--though one that tries and keeps up and falls short of even breaking through the ribbon. But let's face it this is a one-off movie for rowdy group gatherings that everybody can half pay attention to or wildly talk over, as other classics have been outlined better, came with more interesting characters, had villains that were more mysterious and menacing, or just included more inventive death scenes even though this does produce some decent blood shed and gore. On one hand you can count on it but on the other there's not going to be a ton of things to write home about afterwards. One thing in its credit is the story is pretty straightforward, which isn't always a bad thing as it had its share of plot holes but didn't get entirely confusing or overly ambitious. It sticks to its tried-and-true guns, even if those guns are somewhat dull and worn thin. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

Paul Andrews Stag Night is set in New York & starts late one night as three friends are thrown out of a strip club, soon to be married Mike (Kip Pardue) is out on a stag night with his brother Tony (Breckin Meyer) & his mate Carl (Scott Adkins) & decide to hit another bar after being thrown out of the strip club. The three friends think a short subway ride will get them to their next drinking hole but Tony makes unwanted advances on the train towards a pretty girl named Brita (Vanessa Shaw) who pulls the emergence exit switch & leaves the train ending up stranded on an abandoned station along with Tony, Mike, Carl & her friend Michelle (Sarah Barrand) when the train pulls away without them. Alone with no phone signal the small group are trapped & decide to walk through the tunnels to the next station but witness a policeman being murdered by tunnel dwelling tramps & soon find themselves running for their lives...Written & directed by Peter A. Dowling this fairly forgettable slasher film steals it's plot & locations from films such as the classic Death Line (1972) & the more recent Creep (2004), while not terrible Stag Night left me rather cold. The script is rather vague & takes itself far too seriously, there's never really any explanation who the killers are or even why they kill people, it's not to eat them as they just cut their victims up & feed it to their dogs, there's no explanation or reason why the normal looking homeless community seen at the end are in league with the killers, there's no apparent connection between the two & the killers can't even speak for some reason which just leaves boring dirty human killers who scream & grunt a lot while chasing a few people along dark subway tunnels. At only just over 80 minutes at least it's short & it moves along at a reasonable pace but by the hour mark I was sitting there thinking how repetitive Stag Night had become, basically the film just descends into scene after scene of a few people being chased around really dark subway tunnels & I just found it got tiresome after a while. The character's are alright but they won't live long in the memory, or at least in mine anyway & the lack of any sort of background or origin for the killers just seems a little lazy. I mean it's not exactly like Stag Night is overflowing with plot as it is so why the makers couldn't have fleshed the killers out a bit & give them some story or even gave them some basis in reality I don't know. Stag Night is pretty predictable, there's no logical reason why Brita would open the doors at an abandoned station & then everyone get off the train or how a guy with a serious injury can outrun a dog & a psycho killer who were literally a few feet behind him one scene & then nowhere to be seen in the next. In the great scheme of things Stag Night is watchable enough if you don't watch much horror in general but for those like me who are genre fans & do watch lots of horror Stag Night is nothing special & I will have probably forgotten all about it within a week.One major black mark against Stag Night is the camera-work, it's of the shaky jerky can't see anything variety which gets so annoying to watch it's a wonder why filmmakers still continue to overuse this irritating technique. There are one or two good gore scenes with good special effects but there's not enough of them, there's a cool moment in which someones head is squashed by a moving train-track, there are impalings, some severed limbs & guts, a decent decapitation & a bitten throat but as I said there's just not enough here for my liking. Ceratinly competently made & quite slick it's a shame the film as a whole is bland, lifeless & ordinary.With a supposed budget of about $4,000,000 this was filmed in New York & in Bulgaria where things are obviously cheaper. The acting is alright from an alright cast but no-one is going to win any awards.Stag Night is a very ordinary horror film that borrows all of it's ideas from better films, while competent Stag Night is forgettable on every level. I wouldn't want to watch it again to be honest.

markboyle323 Add all the right elements to the Horror movie mix....several friends, some girls some guys. Place them into disturbing surroundings that makes them unsettled, Namely: a deserted Subway....works great. Add several more Psycho Homeless people hungry for murder and you have... "Stag Night." I've given this one a "3" but with one minor adjustment it could have been as good as....say..."Wrong Turn." but sadly the Director didn't believe his project was scary enough so the "Shake the Camera" was given the thumbs up....and 'Oh man did they shake it. Just as things were really getting moving I had to turn the DVD off lest I would have spent the remainder of the night throwing up from motion sickness.....Yes it was that bad....hard to make out what the hell you were watching at times.....Directors Alert.....let the "Shake the Camera" style die or your audience may get up and leave.......I sure did.