Originally titled "13" (after the unused floor that they're stuck in) the film is the effort from first-time director Kit Ryan, and tells the story of a man named Ritchie (Stephen Dorff) who's in debt with the Russian mob after they helped his mother immigrate from Russia and start a new life. A professional thief, Ritchie now has one last job to do for the mob before he's finally set free from the debt, but it'll also prove to be his hardest task yet. Teamed up with a couple goofy brothers, the trio are sent to steal a golden cross from the penthouse of a Russian skyscraper. After successfully obtaining the cross, the trigger-happy older brother makes a scene in the elevator after some people refuse to get off, which eventually alerts security and forces the elevator the stop on the unused 13th floor.

Now the theives have a group of hostages to take care of as they attempt to negotiate with the police via a two-way radio. Little do they know that the person on the other end of the radio is one of two twin psychopathic serial killers (one of which believes he's the reincarnation of Russian ruler "Ivan the Terrible") that make short use of the hostages and would-be thieves. Fans of the UK horror-comedy Severance will likely take a shining to this, as two films are similar in gore and comedic aspects, although this film goes a step further by delivering over-the-top characters and gore sequences. The movie is pretty fun from the start, from the interesting and goofy characters that you either love or hate, to the ridiculous dancing lead killer that has rigged the floor with traps, and uses a variety of ancient weapons to dice up his victims.

The only problem I have with the flick is where most of the film is taken place -- the unused 13th floor -- as it gets a little tiresome seeing the lead characters constantly running from one corner to the other (that all look the same), and sometimes looking far too much like a movie set than it should. It also seemed like they could have done a better job in terms of traps, since we really only get one main trap, which wasn't all that great to begin with either. However, this can be overlooked since there was a lot of time for character development, and managed to deliver a good amount of gore-candy for us fans.

OVERALL: This is a relatively unheard of over-the-top gore-filled horror comedy that not only has comedy that works, but fun characters that you can root for as well. Worth a check whenever it gets a US release.

REVIEW:
Okay this was just a bloody great movie! Literarily. Horror comedies have a tendency to either be terrific or be absolutely terrible, and Botched is the best horror comedy since Severance. It's clever, it's gory, it's extremely funny and I loved every single second of it. Stephen Dorff, all is forgiven and forgotten after "Alone in The Dark". Dorff plays a professional thief who has just been hired to steal a golden cross together with two no-good brothers by his side. At first this seemed like an action-thriller, a good one at that, but still an action-thriller, but once the thieves hit the elevator button, all hell breaks loose.

A bunch of people enter the elevator and refuse to get out and therefore become hostage. The elevator then hits floor number thirteen and everyone exists thinking that the guards have stopped the elevator. But that's not the case at all. They soon find out that there's a raving madman living on this floor, killing anyone in his way. The tables have turned and Ritchie soon has a bunch of maniacal hostages, a deranged psychopath and two backstabbing brothers to worry about. Man this movie has everything doesn't it?

Due to all the clever twists and turns in the movie, we get to root for every single character in here. We get to seem them at their strongest, at their weakest and at their goofiest. You can't help but to fall in love with each and everyone of them. The acting is also just right for a campy horror comedy like this and the entire cast comes out on top. I was also surprised to see how much effort that seemed to have gone into this movie as every little detail seems to have been thoroughly thought through.

Nevertheless, Botched isn't a movie for everyone because while I personally couldn't stop laughing, not everyone has my sense of humour. But if you liked movies like Severance and Shaun Of The Dead, you will definitely get a kick out of this brilliant horror comedy. This was wickedly funny and insanely gory and delivered everything one could ask for from a horror comedy. One of the best movies of the year, so don't miss this one guys, it's an instant cult classic.

GORE:
I don't want to spoil too much but we get a head cut off, peeled of skin, an impalement, a body chopped in half, a hand chopped off, and a whole lot more. This was an insane blood-bath.

SOUNDTRACK:
Brilliant score combining Russian polka with cheesy 80s pop music and some groovy techno beats. I loved it.

BOTTOM LINE:
An outstanding horror comedy with wits and gore, this is one DVD that I know I will be wearing out quickly as I'm an instant fan. This one will go to the history as one of the best horror comedies ever. I loved every second of it so be sure to check this one out. It can all ready be purchased on DVD in Australia and Germany.