by Michael Pickle, MoreHorror.com

My next installment of Hidden Horror Gems is the ultra-creepy, low-budget, inventive and visual horror shocker from first time director David Gregory. Plague Town, from Dark Sky Films, is one of my favorite and most watched horror films in recent years for many reasons.

A healthy balance of gothic atmosphere, well structured, original and fresh musical score, well crafted and striking shots, great special effects and naturally effective sound effects make for a pitch perfect bombardment of the senses. The best you are likely to see on such a meager budget.

Plague Town is set up perfectly by an opening scene in which a priest comes to a modest cottage to deliver a baby and tries to shoot it when it comes out deformed. In present day; a family, who immediately appears dysfunctional, are vacationing in Ireland and get dropped off in the middle of nowhere in an attempt to explore some local ruins.

Jerry (David Lombard) has taken his two daughters, Molly (Josslyn DeCrosta) and Jessica (Erica Rhodes), on a sort of family bonding trip to get to know his fiance Annette (Lindsay Goranson). The situation is awkward enough, but complicated by the presence of Jessica's new English boyfriend Robin (James Warke).

When they miss the bus back to town; things turn from bad to worse. What is first whispers and eyes watching from the woods is discovered to be a community of deformed, sadistic and murderous children. While the children play their deadly games, the parents stalk visitors and capture them in hopes of cleansing their bloodline so their children will stop being born so damned deformed and murderous.

Plague Town is a perfect example of a film that tries to do too much for it's meager budget and it actually works. Impressive visuals are more impacting when set by a good pace, maddening tension and creepiness that is almost always followed by an intensely exciting and gory pay-off. Excellent, organic and inventive make-up effects as well as the equally effective musical score are used both sparingly and in abundance, depending on the scene, and it always works.

The acting is only occasionally recognizable as amateur, but the writing is good enough to endear you to the characters without being too talky. Add the fact that the top of someone's head is severed, another is hung from a tree by his eye sockets and others are made to endure being savagely beaten with hubcaps, branches and tiny little fists (among other things)and you got yourselves one hell of an exciting low budget horror gem for the ages.

This DVD will forever sit at the top of my collection and displayed for anyone who dares to ask me to recommend a movie to watch. Every horror fan should see this at least once. If for nothing else, but the enigmatic and disturbingly sensual Rosemary who graces the cover or the awesome song "Discotraxx" from English electronic band LADYTRON on the soundtrack.