See No Evil (DVD) (2006)

And then, the powerslam!

It's all about the past. Like how, before he became a professional wrestler called Kane, Glen Thomas Jacobs used to be a very nice and decent looking junior high school teacher. Or how, before he made his first feature film, director Gregory Dark used to direct pornographic films before producing music videos for the likes of Snoop Dogg. The past comes back to haunt us all the time, in other words, and it is no less true for the characters in See No Evil: there's the policeman haunted by his narrow escape not so long ago from a giant hook-wielding serial killer, the delinquent charges of the policeman are haunted by their past of crimes and misdemeanors while they are stuck cleaning up an aged motel as part of a reform programme, and the gigantic crazed hook-wielding serial killer himself is haunted by memories of his childhood as he haunts the motel's secret passages, as well as being haunted by a huge bullet wound at the back of his head, courtesy of the policeman who through a stroke of luck (good for the killer, bad for the policeman) is at the motel with his charges.

Goodness knows how bad or naughty these convicts can really be if they're allowed to clean up a motel as part of their reformation, but surely the awful way they behave to each other is supposed to make audiences relish and look forward to their eventual exits from the film, courtesy of the giant crazed killer. I'm not going to pretend that this film even works as a slasher flick, because surely you're reading this review now with a copy of the DVD in your hand because KANE is the killer.

Nobody expects Kane to be Anthony Perkins, so I'll just cut to the chase: does Kane dispatch his victims in a style that is deserving of his pro wrestler status and legendary name? The answer is somewhere in between - Kane performs chokeholds, bodyslams, flings victims casually into walls, which is always a good thing. However, when he resorts to his weapons, the effect of seeing KANE kill is much lessened. I got some fun out of Kane's eye fetish and collection methods, and the flashback sequences - while not starring Kane - are pretty entertaining even though no one would claim that they were written with psychological insight.

See No Evil is the kind of DVD that you'd put on one night when you invite your friends over to watch Wrestlemania 35 and need something to watch before the show starts. It may not be as well-produced as movies of The Rock, but it is just as enjoyable. Worth renting for the entertainment and novelty value, and worth a buy if you're into collecting DVDs starring your favourite WWE superstars.

First published at incinemas on 2 March 2007