As is the trend in a large number of straight-to-video horror features lately, Death Factory follows the Full Moon Pictures formula by the numbers:  young people in an isolated location are killed off one by one by a killer of some kind.  In this case, six college kids head to an abandoned chemical factory where they encounter a “creature” who might be the victim of a chemical spill some years back.

In keeping with the tradition of movies distributed by Brain Damage, there’s a pre-movie host segment where a horror host (who I think might be head honcho Darrin Ramage) talks about the movie we’re about to watch.  He offers up the backstory to the flick, but oddly enough is outside of a factory that looks nothing like the one in the movie (which we never actually get a good look at from the outside anyway during the flick).  It’s just sort of an odd way to open things up.

After the obligatory opening kills (which tie in nicely to a Ron Jeremy cameo later on), we meet our cast of victims…er, I mean characters.  While the actors do a solid job, it’s once again a case of “why are these people hanging out together?” Maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t buying the lesbian latina who fancies switchblades hanging out with the metal head and the virgin and the African American couple.  But the cast makes the best of things, and before too long they’re in the factory facing their fates.

(Nitpick:  why would any sane woman wear a white dress to an abandoned factory?)

Once the movie gets into gear, Death Factory is actually one of the better micro horror features I’ve seen.  The acting is surprisingly good, and writer/director Brad Sykes does a fine job behind the camera.  Tiffany Shepis plays the creature, whose look reminds me of a punk chick who got into her mother’s sewing kit.  There’s a moment after the discovery that “they’re not alone” where I thought Death Factory might buck the trend - the entire cast gathers together.  But in the very next scene they’re deciding to split up again, and everything else falls into place.  There’s even a “twist” ending that isn’t exactly unexpected, and a dragged-out coda that actually knocked this down a half star rating for me.

Sykes does a decent job of keeping things moving in what appears to be a tight location - no million dollar sets designed for camera moves here.  The lighting, although dark at times, sets the mood well.  The camera shots tell the story well, and the gore effects are top-notch.  There’s plenty of blood all around, but some of the death scenes actually go on too long for my tastes.

A nice addition to the DVD are some very frank interviews with the cast and crew, especially producer Dave Sterling who tells it like it is (to actors asking about accomodations:  “Bathrooms?  They’re all over - there’s a bush over there”).  The bonus features alone make this worth watching, especially Tiffany Shepis’s interviews with the rest of the cast.

While Death Factory follows the horror recipe equivalent to chocolate chips to a tee, in the end the cookies taste just fine.

Three and a half stars.