User Reviews

Cookers is a tidy low-budget number, an excellent foray into the world of Meth addiction. Two cookers, Dorena and Hector, disappear into the wilderness with the idea to cook up a batch of high-grade meth, sell it at a huge price, and spend the rest of their lives on permanent vacation. The problem is, the cookers can't keep their fingers -- and noses -- out of the goods. As they continue to cook, they continue to use, staying up for days at a time. Paranoia, hallucinations, and petty squabbles ensue. The story pretty much demands that you buy into their addiction, otherwise it's just going to fall apart. Brad Hunt's performance as the constantly-tweaking Hector really sells the entire movie, his twitching, nervous, Meth-fueled paranoia realistically portrayed.

There are a few minor problems, however. Dorena's backstory is a little, shall we say, TYPICAL, which is kind of odd considering how well the script is otherwise. Also, the film tends to lose steam as it reaches its ultimate conclusion, as if the writer couldn't think of an appropriate way to end the film. I will note, however, that Hector's demise is horrifying, especially considering his state-of-mind at the time. And other than a few poorly-executed special effects sequences -- which could have easily been replaced with more of that bump-in-the-night suspense the film relies on most of the time -- there's really nothing to complain about, technically speaking. The film looks great despite its limited budget, though you can't go in expecting this to look like a slick Hollywood production. No, the film wears its budget on its sleeve, something you'll have to overlook if this type of thing is a problem for you. Let me put it this way: If you dug Session 9, then Cookers shouldn't be a problem.

The guy at the video store gave me a heads-up in terms of what to expect, and I'll repeat it here: "It's basically just three actors, one camera, and one house. I think the Blair Witch Project had a bigger budget, though it works on the same level." If that doesn't tell you what you're in for, then I don't know what else to do for you.

Cookers could have fumbled the ball, especially considering its subject matter. But instead of using stereotypical images, situations, and characters to dress a by-the-numbers horror film, the director has chosen to insert these tragic figures in the middle of a realistic situation, something a lot of Internet reviewers seem to have a problem with. Though the following statement may give away a bit too much, I'm of the belief that the things in my head are far more terrifying than anything in the real world, supernatural or not. Was I expecting a big pay-off? Not really. The film ended as it should, I think, with the viewer coming down from a serious mindf*ck and stepping into the sunlight for the first time in days. My hats off to everyone involved. Fine work, indeed.

Cookers, is a little flawed, but highly recommended. Keep in mind, however, that it's not strictly a horror movie. Horrifying, yes. Horror, no.

But don't let that stop you from seeing it.

Anyone that's spent any time around tweakers will fully relate to COOKERS. I was expecting a really cheezy SOV bore-fest, but instead got a pretty damn solid mix of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM meets THE AMITYVILLE HORROR that pretty much works on all levels. For a relatively no-budget, unknown film - COOKERS surprised and impressed me...

Hector and Dorena are a couple of white-trash meth-heads who are running from some thugs that they ripped off. They hole up in an abandoned house to set up a lab to cook up a whole rack o' crank. Hector's dim-witted pal Merle joins the fun to help out - and a good bit of the film is watching Hector and Dorena smoke, snort, and slam about 400 ounces of meth while Merle drinks beer and smokes a bit himself. Eventually we find that the house is haunted - add to this the increasing paranoia as Hector and Dorena's drug use escalate to ridiculous proportions - and you have a pretty tense horror film that'll make you wish you had an 8-ball handy...

Seriously though - there are a lot of plus-sides to this film. The performances by the three leads are all strong and believable. The actor's who played Hector and Dorena were either addicts at one time, or REALLY did their homework - they were spot-on as a couple of skeezed out speed-freaks. Their performances rival any other actor playing the role of an addict that I've ever seen. The storyline was interesting and the mounting sense of tension was well handled. The only gripes I have were that there were a few cheezy CGI scenes that were ineffective an actually brought the realism of the situations down a notch, and there were a few spots that tended to drag a little bit - but COOKERS is the type of film where the good aspects definitely outweigh the bad. The ending was also downbeat and dark, and I dug that a lot too. I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone lookin' for a haunted house story with a "twist", and a strong message - Don't do a bunch of crank in a haunted house...I got that message loud and clear...8.5/10