7 Below (2012)

Number Rolled: 65

Movie Name/Year: 7 Below (2012)

Tagline: Secrets of the past never die.

Genre: Thriller

Length: 92 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Vitamin A Films, Barking Fish Entertainment, Efish Entertainment, PalmStar Media, Silver Moonlight Productions

Executive Producer: Michael Bassick, Kevin Scott Frakes, Terry Hilliard, Aaron Johnson, Rob Purvis, Tom Reilly, Lise Romanoff, Raj Brinder Singh, Peggy Taylor

Director: Kevin Carraway

Writer: Kevin Carraway, Lawrence Sara

Actors: Matt Barr, Rebecca Da Costa, Luke Goss, Ving Rhames, Val Kilmer, Bonnie Somerville, Christian Baha, Jennifer Trier, Kaleigh Howland, Silvio Wolf Busch, Kylie Pfingsten, Brianna Lee Johnson, Corey Reilly

A group of people are on their way to a resort when things go wrong. Their van crashes off the side of the road just as the weather begins to turn bad. Luckily, there’s a man nearby willing to help them out.

Selina’s Point of View:

I was so bored while watching I began to play trope bingo.

Everyone knows I have no problem with recipe films. Some of them can be quite creative, actually. After all, an apple pie is made from a recipe and can still be yummy.

This film, however, was terrible.

The plot was weak and only supported by tropes, there was no actual substance added. On top of that, even with the shallow script and story, the actors couldn’t make me care in the slightest.

I wouldn’t watch this film again if somebody paid me.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’ve been on a bit of a horror/thriller kick lately. When I saw that this film had not only Ving Rhames (Lilo & Stitch, Money Fight, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation) and Val Kilmer (Alexander, MacGruber, Planes), but also Matt Barr (The House Bunny, One Tree Hill, Parkland); I was sold.

There have been tales about murder houses before, though this particular take on that concept was interesting. I think it lost something in the execution, however.  It may have partially been the writing.

Something was off about the family in the beginning, so it somewhat set the tone for things to feel ‘off’ through the rest. There were some plot holes here and there – specifically about the weather, and some of the segments in the woods.

The acting was hit or miss. Rhames’ character, Jack, was very creepy and I enjoyed his performance. However, the doctor, played by Christian Baha (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Savages), was awkwardly portrayed. I honestly forgot he was in the movie when he was off screen.  Rebecca Da Costa (Freerunner, Breaking at the Edge, The Bag Man) was another that gave a slightly stilted performance.

I don’t think this was Kilmer’s best role but I think he did alright with what he was given to work with. Aside from Rhames, I enjoyed Matt Barr’s performance. His delivery felt more natural than most of the others. While this project, overall, was a bit lackluster; I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming projects that he has in development.

I don’t think that the film quite lived up to my expectations, though it wasn’t utterly horrible.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 5%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 1.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 3/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2.5/5

Movie Trailer: