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Soldier of War
by John Adams

The woods are a beautiful, fascinating and, at times, terrifying place. You never quite know what's in there. It's not just in fictional stories, all sorts of hidden areas, creatures, and killers have been discovered hiding within the thick foliage of trees. Horror movies have obviously utilized this concept in a multitude of ways. It's just so perfect for scare-fodder. This is certainly the case with Soldier of War, a new film that I have recently checked out. Let me tell you about it.

Soldier of War begins with two young friends who are hanging out and walking around the forest. After finding a strange door leading into a hidden bunker, the boys decide to investigate. However, this turns out to be a fateful decision, leading to a release of relentless violence and destruction. But what has been released? What does it want? And how many lives will be splayed out at its feet? As forensics and cops work together, more and more pressure mounts to put a stop to whatever is causing the horrible murders plaguing the area. And plenty of blood will be shed before it's all over. And one thing is clear: whomever is responsible is strategically skilled at what they are doing.

The movie makes the wise decision of keeping the monster in the dark at first, little by little showing its shape and form. In full-shape I will call the culprit a little underwhelming, but nothing too disappointing. I won't spoil it, but the overall background of the killer is clever and pretty unique in a few ways. I appreciated how quickly the film got the ball rolling and didn't waste any time. There are plenty of movies that are well served by a slow burn, finally reaching a fever pitch that makes the wait more than worth it. With Soldier of War however, it was the right move to not spend too much time getting on with it. We get the setup and instantly jump into the meat of the story. The killings are satisfying and mostly onscreen. They are comprised of a collection of explosions, stabbings, evisceration, and decapitations. The effects are more than competent and plenty of gleeful blood and guts paint the screen which is always fun.

A subplot of the film that becomes more relevant as the film progresses involves an older man who insists that he knows what is going on with these slayings and eventually joins the attempt to put a stop to it all. This added a nice touch of fluidity to the story and kept it from treading water too much. It doesn't end up amounting to a big outcome in my opinion, but everything that proceeded was fun enough so it didn't really matter to me.

All in all, I was happy with the end result of Soldier of War. It wasn't wildly original, but what was on the screen was quite entertaining and had more than a few decent kills. It has an interesting concept and plays out in a competent and mostly engaging way. It's shot well and never got dull for me so I say give it a watch. And be careful out there. You never know what you might find.

Horror Metal Sounds received a screener of this film in exchange for review. Soldier of War, also known as Aux, is available now on VOD from Uncork’d Entertainment.

P.J. Griffin, HMS

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