Inverted

Why was this movie made? Who was it intended for? What was the actual POINT?

Honestly, what a stupid film. I don't give 1s often, but I could find no redeeming value in this dumb thing. Generally, an homage is a loving tribute with similarities to the original and typically some knowing, humorous wink to the audience that yeah, we know you get that we're just showing our affection for the original.

"Inverted" is-and I'm making the logical assumption here-a throwback to 70s horror exploitation movies. You know, the kind Rodriguez and Tarantino are so fond of. You expect splatter, cheapness, ridiculous script, dumb plot, bad acting, sex stuff. But you expect the homage to intentionally emphasize these things-not to take it particularly seriously. And here's where "Inverted" goes really wrong. Because it's like the director started off with the idea of an homage...then had the bad idea of merging it into a "serious" film.

It had the splatter, cheapness, ridiculous script, dumb plot, bad acting and sex stuff. But the bad acting wasn't tongue-in-cheek-we-KNOW-we're acting bad but it's supposed to sound like that. It was just seriously BAD ACTING. Just terrible. The sex stuff was beyond what would be shown in the 70s. The entire plot wasn't just dumb, but stupid nonsense. And although this clocks in at just over 90 minutes, it drags on for so long it makes "Heaven's Gate" feel brief. I cannot believe I managed to watch the whole putrid thing-although "watched" might be a slight stretch since I started looking at my phone within the first 10minutes-but I knew I wanted to write a review since there was only one other when I saw it and I felt it deserved more. To warn you not to waste your time. Because that's all it is.

Why was this film made? Dunno. How did it get funding? Dunno. Should this director continue in his line of work? I wouldn't recommend it.

Okay, so let's get this straight:

A cult kidnaps people and pushes them into violent sitations to join a cult they weren't even trying to join? I get that making a film requires a lot of work, but this was a nonsensical premise. If they're not trying to be in the cult, what is the point of putting them through these ordeals? All it needed to be was a cult kidnapping that hits all the right beats for an exploitation film.

The dialogue was physically painful and was just a string of bad cliches. It doesn't have to be high art, but try a little harder. Even the old splatter flicks of the 70s put more work into their dialogue. The only highlight of the film was soundtrack and even then it wasn't mixed in properly. The rest of the audio was a mess.

Before anyone says I missed the point, the director may as well have stepped into frame, "Eh? Right? Cheesy 70's style!" Visually, it was more or less what what it was paying homage to, but it lacked any the substance.

I couldn't even watch it ironically.

Full disclosure - I am the composer for the music of this film. I wanted to give my view, opinion and thoughts for this movie.

I enjoyed the characters in the film. Similar to Saw in which the victims are chosen and abducted due to their opinions and or occupations. They are put together and forced to fight each other to survive, but also have to work and band together to escape.

The kill scenes are brutal, gritty and mostly practical FX. Not full of gore, but balanced.

Is this an Oscar academy worthy film? No. But is it entertaining and worth a watch? Absolutely.

The second film from a young actor and writer who was able to pull this off from dream to reality is a feat in itself.

Don't hold high expectations for a true independent low budget film and enjoy it for what it is. A fun, crazy wild satanic grindhouse film done by people who love to do what they do.