Search - The Brotherhood 3: Young Demons on DVD

What happened?

01/19/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I saw the first two Brotherhood films and enjoyed the attempt of homoeroticism and some of the efects. This one is awful. I actually had to pour three drinks to get through it. The one underware shot is in the shower. Who takes a shower with their underware on?Overall it was long, boring and stupid with none of the campiness or freshness of the first two. Don't waste your money."

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greyhound1954 | Dallas, TX | 09/09/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Pass this one by, it's not even worth renting...I regret to report that there is only one homoerotic scene, in which a gym bunny showers in his briefs, the camera gazing longingly at his muscles. Everyone else, male and female, keeps his/her clothes on. Cut-rate special effects, non-threatening villain, fair to poor acting, etc."

This one could kill the franchise.

greyhound1954 | 09/12/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The other reviewers summed it up pretty well.Rather than a third "Brotherhood" film this one comes off more like a film students attempt to blend Nightmare on Elm Street with Friday the 13th. However it contains no imagination,no FX,no gore,the plot is an after thought, and the cast saddled with this script and lighting comes off wooden.The first two may not have been art but at least they were interesting,I was really tempted to just fast foward through this waste of time."

The Brotherhood Series Nods Off

interested_observer | San Francisco, CA USA | 09/06/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

""Voodoo Academy", "The Frightening" and first two "Brotherhood" films took occult horror themes and used casts including several scantily clad young men to help David DeCoteau build a niche oriented toward women and gay male audiences. "The Brotherhood III: Young Demons" has less plot, sympathetic characters, and skin display than its predecessors.The story line is something like this. Lex (played engagingly by Kristopher Turner) leads an unauthorized role-playing game at school after it closes Friday nights. The participants dress up in costumes with weapons to seek a prize planted beforehand. The one finding the prize is the winner. Participants may pretend-kill each other. Lex hides away throughout with a microphone and broadcasts taunts and clues to the players. The game is meant to be fun.This Friday's game is different. On Thursday night, two of Lex's henchmen plant the prize (a Necklace of Anubis) and various scary props and booby traps. A masked, robed, Darth Vader-like figure stalks the two oblivious henchmen. At school on Friday, Lex's archaeologist brother, Ramsey (played by Paul Andrich), gives Lex a find, a codex on magic, written by the Magi using excellently printed Egyptian hieroglyphics. Fascinated, Lex later leafs through the book, which subjects him to undefined forces, giving him the knowledge that his two henchmen will not be participants in tonight's game. Offsetting this, one of the female players has invited a football jock date to play. Lex will manage four men and two women in tonight's game. This time, it will be "for keeps".The bulk of the movie seems taken up with players walking slowly through school corridors filled with fog. Stalking the players are the masked figure and the figure's assistants. (Since the filming was in a snowy Manitoba, I'm not sure where the audience thinks the fog comes from.) No matter how scared or motivated the characters are, few move faster than a brisk walk. There are lots of slo-mo, loud heart beat sounds (Was this the end of "The Tell-Tale Heart"?), and ernest prowling. No one seemed very directed to find the prize or even to know much about what the prize was. Sound effects substitute for suspense. Plotting is thin.For this audience, the camera does linger on one showering male participant and does glance at one shirtless henchman. The other characters all remain demure. This is a smaller offering than for "Voodoo Academy", "The Frightening", and the first two "Brotherhood" movies.The resolution is quick and leaves some holes. The mask comes off, and there is some reference to the magic of the era of Pharaoh Ramses II. One wonders for whom the henchmen really work.The Full Screen presentation is appropriate for ogling and not needed for any material landscapes or widescreen shots.The soundtrack is suspense-supportive, not tuneful. There are lots of lightning storms, giving strobe effects. The compositions and camera work are usually all right. The makeup and blood effects are much more realistic than in "The Frightening".The DVD has the movie's trailer and offers Spanish subtitles. There is no commentary track (a shame, since David DeCoteau makes good ones), outtakes, deleted scenes, nor a making-of.Although the acting is mediocre overall, Kristopher Turner has the looks, voice, and talent to deserve another opportunity in a better film.I'm hoping Brotherhood IV has a better plot, more sympathetic characters, and more eye-candy. The series concept has promise and needs better execution, despite the low budget."