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Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: The Cellar (2022) Genre: Horror Length: 94 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Epic Pictures, Hail Mary Pictures, Savage
Productions, Wrong Men North, RLJE Films, Shudder, Wildcard Distribution, Front
Row Filmed Entertainment Director: Brendan Muldowney Writer: Brendan Muldowney Actors: Elisha Cuthbert, Eoin Macken,
Aaron Monaghan, Abby Fitz, Andrew Bennett, Chris McHallem, Dylan Fitzmaurice
Brady, Marie Mullen, Michael-David McKernan, Seán Doyle, Steve Gunn, Tara Lee IMDb Blurb: Keira Woods' daughter
mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house. She soon discovers
there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will
have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.
Selina’s Point of View: At the start of the film, The Cellar seemed like it would be a bit
basic. Just about any haunted house-style flick could have started the exact
same way. Many have.
I got excited when it seemed as though there might be a little something more
underneath. What had originally felt like a paint-by-numbers horror suddenly
seemed to be sliding down a mystery/thriller route. I was here for it. If it
had kept going at that, I would have been much happier with the final product.
That said, it still wasn’t that bad.
The ending of the film was up my alley. It was foreboding. I’ve always been a
fan of that kind of down ending. Even now when I tend to lean more towards
escapism.
There were some unique puzzles, and the focus of the plot did stray from
expectations a little. Some of that intrigue was lost on me because I can read
a very little bit of Hebrew. As a result, I did see approximately where it was
going. People without that ability might get sucked in a bit easier, though.
I do think that they did a great job by not showing too much of the creature
involved. In fact, I wish they’d kept that up, even through the ending. Leaving
that kind of thing up to the imagination brings tension up so much higher.
The Cellar wound up being an
acceptable, if mostly ordinary, horror film. I wish it had taken some of the other
roads I saw as options, but it’s still alright for casual viewing.
Cat’s Point of View: One of the odd bits of knowledge not many realize about
Louisiana is that basements, or cellars as the case may be for this movie, are
extremely rare in residences. We’re so close to sea level and the water table
is so high that it’s generally not structurally feasible without prohibitive
expense. That being said, I generally view these subterranean spaces
with a mixture of awe and trepidation. They’re just foreign to me and only
exist in large commercial buildings and places like my college campus. (That’s
where the laundry room was in my dorm building. Fun, right? No. Scary.) When I saw there was going to be a new horror movie with the
title of The Cellar, I was already
intrigued before I even saw the trailer. Sign me up.
I wasn’t entirely familiar with writer and director Brendan
Muldowney’s (Savage, Love Eternal,
Pilgrimage) work, however, I am a fan of Elisha Cuthbert (24, Goon: Last of the Enforcers, The Ranch)
and Eoin Macken (The Forest, Nightflyers,
La Brea) so The Cellar already
had something going in its favor. When you add in the Ireland setting, that was
just icing on the cake. The fastest way to harness my rapt attention is to speak to
me in any sort of Gaelic accent. I digress. Trailers all too often give away too much these days. It’s
one of my biggest pet peeves. I’m on the fence about whether or not that happened
with The Cellar. The sneak peek reveals
quite a bit but without all of the context so the viewer might not realize. I
suppose it would give a decent litmus test as to whether or not someone might
enjoy the production, itself. If you watch and like the trailer – you might
just like the expanded version of the story. The opposite could also be true.
I loved the eerie and suspenseful atmosphere that built
within The Cellar. The background
score wove me into each scene with a tapestry of sound. There was even a piece
of music during the end credits that will haunt me much like some of the
soundtrack from The Omen (1976)
franchise. The house used as the primary setting was also fascinating, and
I really enjoyed how it played a part in the larger story. I’ve always been
enamored of hidden rooms and secret passages within houses like that. There are a few of the usual tropes one would expect from a
movie such as The Cellar, but they weren’t
over-used. The jump-scares were even kept to a minimum. I was also a fan of the
fact that they didn’t shy away from technology or modern concepts such as
social media.
At the same time, The
Cellar didn’t dive too far down the rabbit hole. The story remained focused
so that it didn’t have loose ends lying about when the credits rolled. I didn’t
see that ending coming. That was a pleasant, if unsettling, surprise. Overall, The Cellar
met my expectations for this flavor of horror movie. The Cellar will
release to theaters as well as streaming on Shudder starting Friday, April 15th.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic
Score – 32% Rotten Tomatoes Audience
Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.1/10 Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – PG-13 Trust the Dice: Selina’s
Rating – 3/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s
Rating – 3.5/5 Movie Trailer:
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: For the Sake of Vicious (2021) Genre: Action, Horror, Mystery Length: 80 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Federgreen Entertainment, Latefox Pictures, Raven
Banner Entertainment, Epic Pictures, Falcon Films, Wild Duck Productions Directors: Gabriel Carrer, Reese Eveneshen Writers: Gabriel Carrer, Reese Eveneshen Actors: Adam Ewings, Boris Milinkovich,
Colin Paradine, Dorian Allen, Erin Stuart, James Fler, Lora Burke, Nick Smyth,
Nick Spartan, T.J. Kennedy IMDb Blurb: An overworked nurse returns home
to find a maniac hiding out with a bruised and beaten hostage. When an
unexpected wave of violent intruders descends upon her home, it becomes a fight
for survival.
Cat’s Point of View: I just had a kneejerk reaction when I saw the RottenTomatoes
critic score given to For the Sake of Vicious.
What? Seriously – did they watch the same movie I did? It just goes to show you
can never tell what makes the critics happy. I was sure that they were going to
rip this movie a new one. The joke’s on me, I guess.
I digress… As you can probably already tell, I wasn’t the biggest fan
of For the Sake of Vicious. There was
very little character development and only flashes of a real story. What it did
have in spades was absolutely brutal hyperviolence. There were too many
questions and not enough answers. This wasn’t really a mystery – it was more of
a conundrum, and a vexing one at that.
I’m also a little perplexed why a Halloween movie was
released in late spring. It makes me wonder if they didn’t have faith in the
film standing up to other genre films related to the season. Personally, I don’t
care what time of year I partake Halloween-y things in. When you add it in with everything
else, it just gives me pause to consider the thought process there. After reading the trivia available on IMDb, I’m a bit sad about
some of the elements that landed on the cutting room floor, so to speak. I
think some of those concepts might have rounded out the production a little
better and allowed at least some things to make more sense. Alas, it is what it
is.
I’m not one to completely rip something to shreds without
giving some counterpoint of positive feedback, however. For the Sake of Vicious did deliver some really brutal fight
sequences. I believed what they were selling and the practical effects were
good overall. Kudos to the principal cast for doing their own stunts. Unfortunately, I require a little more story to go with my
violence. For the Sake of Vicious isn’t
the worst movie out there, but it is not one I would likely recommend.
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Lucky (2021) Genre: Horror, Thriller Length: 83 min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Epic Pictures Group Director: Natasha Kermani Writer: Brea Grant Actors: Brea Grant, Hunter C. Smith, Kristina Klebe, Kausar
Mohammed, Dhruv Uday Singh, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Leith M. Burke, Anzor Alem,
Larry Cedar, Nikea Gamby-Turner, Susan Kemp, Jesse Merlin, Tara Perry, Shelly
Skandrani, Chase Williamson, Grace Yee Blurb from IMDb: A suburban woman fights to
be believed as she finds herself stalked by a threatening figure who returns to
her house night after night. When she can't get help from those around her, she
is forced to take matters into her own hands.
Selina’s Point of View: Oof. There’s a
lot to unpack here. Lucky is part of the ‘social thriller’
sub-genre. It’s built and molded around the terror that engulfs an entire group
of people. In this case, women. Throughout the
film, the main character, played brilliantly by Brea Grant (After Midnight,
Eastsiders, The Stylist), gets put in a terrifying situation night after
night. It’s made obvious that the officers don’t believe her, she’s constantly
asked about her husband and whether or not she has a history of mental illness,
she’s seen as weak and/or out of her mind for her fear. The victim blaming runs
exceptionally deep.
Every response a
character has to her is based on her female status. Even her job just labels
her as ‘lucky’ for succeeding. I think every woman
who sees this film is going to see at least a little bit of truth. We’ve all
heard the same kind of stuff the main character hears: “Well, were you paying
attention?” “What does your husband think?” “It’s just how the world works.” So
forth, and so on. The movie even delves
into why women don’t always help other women. It’s a cold-hearted, but
accurate, viewpoint.
It’s hard to
watch, but also impossible to look away from. It’s so powerful that is sticks
with you long after the credits pass. It definitely left me with a ton to think
about. The problem is
that it is extremely heavy-handed with the message. It will make sense to
people who understand the issue… but it does make the film less attractive to
the people who need the lessons most. I don’t think it should have been changed
for those people, but I do think it’s a crying shame that it probably won’t
change minds.
Lucky
is to sexism what Get
Out (2017) is to racism. I highly
recommend this movie, but it’s not something you should see if you’re expecting
a mindless slasher flick. That’s not what this is. If you’re anxious
to see Lucky, it debuts to Shudder on March 4.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 91% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – 76/100 Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.0/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Hulu, Hoopla Movie Name/Year: The Man Who Killed Hitler and
Then the Bigfoot (2019) Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Length: 98 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Epic Pictures Releasing, Epic Pictures, Title Media,
Transformer, Capelight Pictures, Eagle Films, Mares Filmes, RLJ Entertainment,
Sparky Pictures Director: Robert D. Krzykowski Writer: Robert D. Krzykowski Actors: Aidan Turner, Sam Elliott,
Caitlin FitzGerald, Larry Miller, Mark Steger, Anastasia Tsikhanava, Nikolai
Tsankov , Ron
Livingston, Rizwan Manji Blurb from IMDb: A legendary American war
veteran is recruited to hunt a mythical creature.
Cat’s Point of View:
This movie confused me. From the title, The
Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, I expected some sort of campy
B-movie romp with Nazi-punching and creature fun. What I experienced was a
flight of folklore fantasy that leaned further into drama than anything else.
Then, of course, my own WWII veteran ties didn’t help me pull out of the
melancholy reflection aspect of the story at all. I’ll get to that in a minute. At first, the film felt a little disjointed for me and too
slow. Then, as it progressed, I feel like I understood the ebb and flow of it a
bit better. The flashback sequences interrupted the titular character’s life
much like they interrupted the story of his ‘current-day’ existence. Time also
seemed to drag on for him as he lived a solitary life of regret and
self-isolation. The audience gets to experience a bit of this as well. It might
be a bit off-putting for anyone hoping for more upbeat pacing.
I have to give the production team kudos for casting Sam
Elliott (The Good Dinosaur, The Ranch, A
Star is Born) as Calvin Barr the elder and Aidan Turner (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The
Secret Scripture, Poldark) as his younger self. I could listen to Elliott
read the phone book and just be blissful – it’s even better when he has some
good scenes to chew through. I completely bought their dual portrayal of the
same man in different eras. For those that can stick it out to the end of the story,
there is a nice book-ended feeling to the film’s resolution. It’s far deeper
than I expected it to be. If there was supposed to be more humor in it, I’m
afraid it was lost on me. Of course, Elliott plays an excellent straight-man in
comedic terms… there just was a glaring absence of anyone as his foil.
The overall feel to the movie actually had me in tears. I’ve
mentioned before that my grandfathers were both WWII veterans. While I’m not sure
what my paternal grandfather’s role was in the Army, my maternal Grandfather
was an officer that ran afoul of a landmine in Germany and survived. We didn’t
realize until after his passing that he was also in military intelligence. It
got me to thinking about whether or not there were things that happened that he
might have regretted – considering the nastiness of war in general. All in all,
it took me to a maudlin place and colored my experience with the movie. This film was well done and certainly defied expectations. I
can’t see myself watching it a second time, but I wouldn’t steer anyone away
from experiencing it. Just remember to take it with a grain of salt that it won’t
be what one would expect from a title like this.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score –75% Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 50% Metascore – 51/100 Metacritic
User Score – 5.0/10 IMDB
Score – 5.7/10 Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – PG-13 Movie Trailer:
Tagline: One
night. One town. Ten chilling stories.
Genre: Comedy,
Horror
Length: 97
minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies:
Epic Pictures Group, Film Entertainment Services
Producer: Jace
Anderson, Michael Arter, Shaked Berenson, Charles Arthur Berg, Axelle Carolyn, Tada
Chae, Patrick Ewald, Sarah Gyldenvand, Mike Mendez, Vanessa Menendez, Mike De
Trana
Director: Darren
Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky
McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Paul Solet
Writer: Axelle
Carolyn, Dave Parker, Clint Sears, Greg Commons, Lucky McKee, Molly Millions, Billy
Jackson, John Skipp, Andrew Kasch, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, Neil Marshall
Actors: Adrienne
Barbeau, Hunter Smit, Cameron Easton, Caroline Williams, Robert Rusler, Clare Kramer,
Greg Grunberg, Daniel DiMaggio, Austin Falk, Madison Iseman, Barry Bostwick,
Marcus Eckert, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Ben Stillwell, Adrianne Curry, Adam
Pascal, John F. Beach, Tiffany Shepis, Casey Ruggieri, Trent Haaga, Marnie
McKendry, Rebekah McKendry, Alex Essoe, Bianca Rose Miller, Lin Shaye, Liesel
Hanson, V Nixie, Barbara Crampton, Lisa Marie, Marc Senter, Pollyanna McIntosh,
Lilly Von Woodenshoe, Ben Woolf, Mo Meinhart, Keir Gilchrist, Gracie Gillam,
Dana Gould, James Duval, Jennifer Wenger, John Landis, Jose Pable Cantillo, Sam
Witwer, Kristina Klebe, Pat Healy, Greg McLean, John Savage
Blurb from Netflix:
Ten horror shorts set in one suburban town capture the insanity of Halloween,
from trick-or-treating aliens to kidnappers in way over their heads.
Selina’s Point of View:
I didn’t love this one. It wasn’t BAD, but it was definitely
a low note to end our October on.
We figured we’d end out our Chills and Thrills month with
something undeniably about Halloween, so I was looking forward to seeing Tales of Halloween. I just found myself
not getting into it.
There was something very juvenile about all ten of the
stories shown throughout this anthology film. Not in a way that I think kids
should be watching it, either – there’s a LOT of gore. None of the stories felt
all that well thought out or deep. The ‘scares’ were like bootleg Goosebumps (1995-1998) scares.
It had a campy edge and some familiar faces, though. There
are also a couple of segments that were definitely better than most
If you’re looking for something just to play in the
background of a party or something, this works.
That said, if you’re looking to truly be terrified – look
somewhere else. Tales of Halloween
won’t meet that need.
Cat’s Point of View:
On the surface this seems like a
loosely framed horror anthology. It doesn’t stop there, though. If you peel
back the layers a bit, there’s a whole web of connections in this love letter
to the horror genre.
Are these horror shorts the best
instances of horror cinema I’ve ever seen? No – but that doesn’t matter as
much. The total film project was enjoyable as a whole. It’s the sum of the
parts, as it were.
Let’s just look at the elements
that set this anthology apart for me.
All of these stories are tied
together with the silken voice of a radio DJ and the commonality of the same
suburban neighborhood on Halloween night. Characters weave in and out of the
various tales to illustrate just how connected these killer scenarios are. Some
of the appearances are quick! Watch out that you don’t miss them. One thing you
can’t miss, though, is the voice of that DJ. She might sound familiar to horror
fans. That would be because none other than Adrienne Barbeau (Argo, Sons of
Anarchy, Death House) gave her voice to the trick or treat airwaves. She
played the radio DJ in The Fog (1980). It was one of the very
first horror movies I ever saw, and it left a lasting impression.
This is going to be a recurring
thing. I wasn’t kidding when I said this feature was a love letter. There’s
homage to so many horror classics sprinkled liberally throughout. Not only
that, but there are nods to more modern offerings to the genre as well.
I was a little giddy when I
realized none other than Brad Majors, himself, played Mr. Abbadon in The
Night Billy Raised Hell segment. If you just asked ‘who?’ – shame on
you. Someone needs to draw a lipstick ‘V’ on your forehead. I’m talking about
Barry Bostwick (Cougar Town, November Rule, Hellen Heller vs. Nightwolves).
He’s been in quite a few things in recent times but will be forever
immortalized in the Halloween staple, Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
Modern horror staple, Lin Shaye (Big
Ass Spider!, The Signal, The Black Room) is the hostess of the Halloween
party in the Grim Grinning Ghostsegment. While she’s highly
recognizable due to the extreme popularity of the Insidious (2010)
franchise, her IMDb credits go all the way back to 1975 and include some titles
from the 1980’s horror heyday. The Critters(1986) franchise is but
one example.
I had a bit of a geek-out when I
saw the Phantom-masked man at her party. Mick Garris (Masters of Horror,
Fear Itself, Post Mortem with Mick Garris), with his luxurious long white
locks, is the directorial mind (and sometimes writer) behind some of my
favorite movies of all time. He’s currently a consulting producer and guest
on AMC Visionaries: Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018), which
I’m really enjoying. He just also happened to be the writer for Critters
2 (1988) – which is one of the only 3 movies I’ve ever walked out of.
This one wasn’t voluntary, though. My mom hadn’t really seen what it was about
when she agreed to take me. After the Easter Bunny scene, she pulled the plug.
That aside, he’s also brought us Hocus Pocus (1993) and The
Stand (1994), just to name a couple.
I can keep going… the cameos from
the genre are numerous.
The man that is responsible for the
brilliance that is Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983), and An
American Werewolf in London (1981) has a small role, as well. John
Landis (Parasomnia, Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader, Into the Dark) is
even reportedly listed as the executive producer for the announced remake of
the latter.
If you’re a fan of The
Walking Dead (2010-), you might notice Jadis of the Heaps as one of
the leads in the Ding Dong segment. Pollyanna McIntosh (Land
of the Lost, Filth, Let Us Prey) looks like she really had fun with that
part.
I’d have to say that the production
team casted the perfect ‘modern horror’ neighbor in the This Means
War segment. James Duval (American Idiots, Hercules Reborn, It
Watches) plays one of my favorite characters from SLC Punk! (1998)
& Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 (2016). His persona in this film
isn’t all that far from his character John the Mod, either. (Especially when
you take into consideration the death metal element in the sequel.)
Okay, okay. I could run down this
rabbit trail all night. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface in listing
recognizable faces; and I won’t even go into the references. Spoilers! Though,
if you watch this movie and don’t think you caught all of them; you can find
some listed in IMDb’s trivia section for this listing.
I’d have to say that the primary
theme of the anthology is old vs. new horror. We have the people and references
to classic horror – but then there’s also recognizable people from more modern
fare. (There’s even some apparent direct ties to a SYFY network TV movie some
of the cast share in common.) It goes further, though.
The theme of telling scary stories
is one nod to the classical side of horror; whereas turning tropes on their
head is a more modern take on things.
Some of the segments are more
successful than others, but as a whole, this is an excellent choice for a few
good laughs, and maybe even a jump scare or so on Halloween night. The good
thing about the anthology framework is that you are more likely to get caught
with a doorbell from trick-or-treaters in between segments!
Tagline: On
Judgement Day, hell shall inherit the Earth.
Genre: Horror
Length: 93
minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies:
Mifal Hapais, Epic Pictures Group, Paz Films
Producer: Shaked
Berenson, Patrick Ewald, Uri Levanon, Rotem Levim, Nir Miretzky, Doron Paz,
Yoav Paz, Borid Zeleny
Director: Doron
Paz, Yoav Paz
Writer: Doron
Paz, Yoav Paz
Actors: Yael
Grobglas, Yon Tumarkin, Danielle Jadelyn, Tom Graziani, Howard Rypp, Yoav Koresh,
Ori Zaltzman, Fares Hananya, Itsko Yampulski, Danny Zahavi
Blurb from Netflix:
Two vacationing Americans join and anthropology student on a tour of Jerusalem,
arriving just as a terrifying biblical apocalypse begins to unfold.
Selina’s Point of View:
When this movie came out it absolutely made my list of what
to look out for that month. Despite the shaky cam in the trailer, it looked
like a solid zombie flick.
We added it to our queue as soon as it hit Netflix and I’m
thrilled that it didn’t take forever to roll it. There are movies on our list
that I’ve been dying to see for ages. Some are even from before Cat joined
Trust the Dice. I’ll eventually break down and watch a few of them even if they
aren’t rolled, but I like to keep myself ready for a first impression in case
it comes up for the blog.
Anyway, now that I’ve completely gone off track, let’s get
back to the subject at hand.
I liked the use of the ‘google glass’ model in this film.
Instead of a person having their phone, or camcorder, glued to their hand… it
was a pair of prescription google glasses that was doing the recording. That
kind of thing was bound to be used in a movie eventually. It makes more sense
than a freaked out and screaming person remembering to pick up their camera.
Prescription glasses are necessary, putting them on is like muscle memory. Even
scared out of my mind, I’d still reach for my glasses if I wasn’t wearing them.
Right there, the movie made more sense than I had even hoped.
We all know, by now, that I am not the biggest fan of shaky
cam. It makes me dizzy. I don’t even like first person perspective in video
games – though there are a few exceptions.
(Despite the terrible reviews, I’ve been spending a lot of
time playing No Man’s Sky [2016]. The
bad reviews were well earned because they promised shit they didn’t deliver on
and then cut all communication with the gaming community. Still, I love the
stupid game.)
In this film, the first person perspective shaky cam was
actually the right call. I think the entire plot would have lost a lot of its
appeal and horror if we got it in general movie format. The shaky perspective
gave the film a unique quality that heightened every jump scare.
I think it would have made a phenomenal video game. There
were moments that felt more like cut scenes than actual movie scenes.
Personally, that doesn’t bother me. I’m a gamer from back in the day when the
heart of the storyline was told in the cut scenes that followed the boss
battles. Nothing wrong with that kind of thing.
The only real issue I had with the film was the acting.
In a normal movie it’s not unforgivable to be able to tell
the actors are acting. You go into the film knowing it. The thing with any kind
of found footage/shaky cam is that everything the actors do needs to look 100%
candid and natural. It can’t look, or sound, scripted. If the actors fail at
that, it takes away the heart of what shaky cam is used for – to give it that ‘true
story’ feel.
The only actor that accomplished that necessary natural
feel, was Tom Graziani (Tyrant, A Place in
Heaven). Unfortunately, he didn’t play a main character. There’s an issue
when the only actor that pulled off the feel that the movie needed to pull off…
was a supporting background character.
Tom Graziani
Despite the acting issue, I did greatly enjoy the story.
Some of the graphics and the creatures looked rough, but other graphics and
creatures looked really well done. There was a bit of a balance there. None of
the rough edges of the less necessary graphics really pulled me out of it,
though, so it wasn’t a big deal.
If pressed I’d say JeruZalem
was kind of a cross between The Blair
Witch Project (1999) and World War Z (2013).
It was a decent film. I’d watch it again.
Cat’s Point of View:
I remember being a bit intrigued by the trailer for this
movie prior to its release back in January of this year. While it made Selina’s
top 20 list, it didn’t rank on mine. I don’t remember why, to be honest. I do
recall that I wasn’t entirely sold on the “Z” in JeruZalem being all about zombies.
What happens in this movie isn’t your typical hordes of
shamblers scenario. While it does follow some of the zombie outbreak recipe, it
gives a bit of a new twist to it. There was actually a subtle plot in the
subtext that gave me chills.
The movie was a bit of a slow starter. I appreciated the
character development and the care that was taken in setting up the premise for
how the American girls ended up where they did. Unfortunately, that meant that
the real action didn’t happen until late in the movie. The bright side to that,
though, was that when things hit ludicrous speed; it didn’t feel rushed.
I found the international cast interesting and compelling in
their roles. Most of them are relative unknowns – especially stateside. One of
the female leads, however, has broken in to the US television scene. Yael
Grobglas (The Island, Rabies, Reign)
was that singular familiar face for me.
Yael Grobglas
The one thing that kept this movie from having a higher
score is the shaky-cam. I appreciate what the film was doing with the
first-person perspective – it was just sometimes a bit much. If I were one to
get motion sickness from such things, I might’ve been having a real problem. As
it was, I felt a bit dizzy at points. This was my main concern that held me
back from seeing Hardcore Henry
(2015) in the theater. The first-person perspective with that much action going
on? Bring on the barf bags.
All told, this was a surprisingly good movie and I wouldn’t
have any reservation in recommending it for anyone that can stomach all the
shaking.
