In the new world the 13th child of the 13th child will be born man and beast.
“Dark Haul”, also known as “Monster Truck” is loosely based, and I mean really loosely based on the tale of the “Jersey Devil”, which in itself is folklore. It concerns a religious sect that believes there is a curse placed on the 13th child of the 13th child in a family. The prophecy is ambiguous so for centuries it is unclear what it actually means. At birth there are two children born. One is a male hideous monster and one is an almost normal looking girl except she has a tail. The sect fears that they could herald the end of days so they are imprisoned for centuries. Apparently they don’t die. The boy monster is put in a cage and the girl kept by the sect because she has a connection to her brother and can keep him calm. It appears that one or both of them can transfer thought waves and make people do things and see things that aren’t real all to create violence. They call the effect a halo.
After centuries it is determined that the cage the boy is in can not keep him confined so he is to be transferred to another hallowed place. All the while the sister is trying to let her brother escape from his cage. The sect puts the monster in an 18 wheeler and on the way to the hallowed ground all hell breaks loose.
It is a dark tale with lots of blood and bodies. The CGI is ok but the monster isn’t seen very much and mostly toward the end of the movie. The plot is good but the characters are confusing. No one is actually a good guy. It’s meant to be mysterious, and it is, but it’s easy to lose your way if you don’t pay attention. Keep in mind it is a SYFY channel movie so the budget for special effects is smaller than the blockbusters. The movie is fast paced and full of action. The bodies pile up left and right. It’s actually a good movie for low budget “B” horror and if you lose your way, just enjoy the action.