Hurt is the type of slasher film that saves its most gruesome scenes for the last 20 minutes or so. The problem is that the time it takes to get there often feels tedious. While the film has a generally satisfying payoff, it may lose viewers once it arrives at its blood-soaked finale.

Directed by Sonny Mallhi, who penned the script with Solomon Gray, Hurt initially feels like it has potential. Its leads, for instance, appear to have some weight and depth, at least at first. Tommy (Andrew Creer) is a soldier home from war. There are just enough scenes to show that he has PTSD and can’t shake whatever he saw. This causes emotional and physical detachment from his wife, Rose (Emily Van Raay), who has wounds of her own stemming from her absentee father. Yet, the inner demons possessing each of these characters are never fully explored. It feels like wasted potential and a missed chance to really deepen these characters. Rose’s sister, Lily (Stephanie Moran), doesn’t serve many purposes, other than the second half when she’s put in danger. She’s the flattest of the three characters.

Trouble finds Tommy and Rose after they visit one of their favorite haunts during Halloween time. A masked killer follows them home, and the second half plays like a cat and mouse game of sorts between Rose and the unknown killer. The haunt scenes are some of the strongest in terms of setting the tone and showcasing some cool special effects. There’s just enough Halloween flair without it ever feeling overdone. This is a film that can be watched during any season. The ending circles back to an execution scene that Rose and Tommy witness at the haunt, and it makes what they observe all the more horrific, even if they’re unaware of what they’re actually seeing.

The kills that eventually happen are quite gruesome, and the ending is a decent finale. The killer plays a sadistic game against Rose. However, what happens in the middle of the film feels painfully slow. There is no real character development, and there’s nothing distinct about the killer, other than a generic mask he steals from Rose, with a rose painted on the cheek. It’s a neat mask, but this slasher offers nothing we haven’t seen before. Further, the middle of the film has so many dimly-lit interior and exterior shots that it’s difficult to see what’s actually happening. At least by the last act, when the tension finally ramps up, this isn’t the case.

Hurt isn’t a slasher film with a high body count. In fact, not much happens for the majority of the movie. At first, the two leads seem interesting, but ultimately their stories are underwhelming, just like the film’s masked baddie. The last act features enough savage scenes to make the wait worth it, but some viewers may tune out before the kills ever occur. The inventive kills that eventually happen aren’t enough to save this bland slasher.

5 Out of 10 Roses