Extracted (2012)

Number Rolled: 38

Movie Name/Year: Extracted (2012)

Genre: Thriller

Length: 89 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Nir Paniry

Writer: Nir Paniry, Gabriel Cowan, John Suits

Actors: Sasha Roiz, Jenny Mollen, Dominic Bogart, Richard Riehle, Nick Jameson, Rodney Eastman, Frank Ashmore, Brad Culver, Ty Simpkins, Sara Tomko, Augie Duke, Mattie Grace Campos

Tom is a scientist working on something big. That thing he is working on is a machine that allows someone to take a trip into another person’s memories. After he’s strong-armed to use the machine, before it’s ready, for something it’s not meant for, he winds up stuck in the mind of a killer.

This is the most confusing review I’ve had to write so far. Netflix believed I would absolutely love this movie, and it was right. The longer I contemplate exactly what I just saw, the more I get out of it and the more I enjoy it. I’m certain it would get even better upon a second viewing. However, for my overall score, I find it hard to ignore that I was really bored throughout the first 75% of this movie. To put it short, this was the most amazing boring thriller I’ve ever seen.

I’ll tell you a secret. I have trouble with beginnings. I write dark fantasy and the problem I always find with writing is the first chapter. I look at a blank page and I know that if I don’t make those first few lines as interesting as possible, people aren’t going to read more than that. There’s a reason the abbreviation “TL:DR” is a thing. I look at a blank page and I get intimidated. It’s for that reason that I tend to over-think the start of a book and wind up having to rewrite it twenty times before it makes any kind of sense while remaining interesting. My theory is that the writers of this movie had the same issue. The beginning feels forced and it’s very difficult to make the rest flow correctly when that’s the case.

With that in mind, the ending of this movie was insane. In fact, it’s the ending that makes me remember the movie fondly. Not because of twists or anything like that, simply because everything finally fell into place. The writing caught up with itself and the direction took a believable turn.

When it comes right down to it, this was Nir Paniry’s first full length film and I think he made less mistakes than some of the big names out there did their first time. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4.3/5

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 44%

Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5

P.S. TL:DR means Too Long: Didn’t Read

Movie Trailer: