Spike

I LOVED IT! I really did. Started as a typical horror film with a small group of friends stranded then we meet Spike! I mean yes, it is a just another slasher film but one that surprised me. The characters were typical fodder and that's alright in my book.

So glad I bought the DVD! Wondering if it ever came out on blu ray.

Spike is one of those films that does not look like much at first glance but once you watch you become entranced by its wonder and majesty. Robert Beaucage weaves a dark tale that is scary, moving and ultimately tragic; it's like a fairy tale combined with a slasher. The characters are portrayed wonderfully, especially Edward Gusts as Spike, a man with the body of a monster but a heart as big as the earth itself. Sarah Livingston as the Girl is a mixture of beauty and strength as she fights to save her boyfriend from a creature torn by love and lust. even the music is dreamlike in its horror; The Marvelous little toy is used to creepy effect here and its truly unsettling when it plays. Spike is a sight to behold

I saw Spike this weekend at Shriekfest at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles. Having been peripherally involved in low budget movie productions, I know how difficult it can be to bring the collective creative efforts of writers, directors, actors and editors to fruition. While I applaud the apparent intent and ideas of the film-maker Mr. Beaucage, I found the finished movie to be awkward, tiresome and ultimately so frustratingly bad that I can not in good conscience recommend it to anyone. I really wanted to like this film. On the positive side, the creature design and effects were very well done and the actual camera work was good. Unfortunately, this was not enough to make the movie work. Every so often there was a glimmer of non-awfulness, but mostly the wooden performances, asinine plot and the excruciating dialogue combined to make the movie very hard to sit through. It was neither fun nor involving. Some reviewers have compared Spike to a David Lynch or Guillermo del Toro movie. That is unfortunate, since it implies that Mr. Beaucage has created interesting characters and a plot worth contemplating. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Ultimately, Spike was so annoying, it wasn't even possible for me to enjoy it as a bad movie.

Was just talking about this film, so i thought i'd check out how it was doing on IMDb... i was one of the 'unlucky' folk to choose it at The Edinburgh film fest, i'm horrified to hear anyone suggest it had anything going for it. It as one of the most turgid films i've ever sat through... no-one on the way out of the cinema was saying anything good about it, one gentleman asked me and my friends what we thought as he was in shock at how bad, and to be frank, up it's own ars* the film was!

Please those who have given it so much praise, be honest with yourselves and the readers of IMDb reviews, this film stank big time!

i gave it 1 out of 10 for the sheer genius of the director/writer convincing anyone to make this movie... Just awful...

The cover for 'Spike' looked really appetising. The premise sounded great, being apparently indebted to 'Beauty and the Beast' (a favourite, story and the 1946 and Disney films). It looked good, this was not something that looked cheap. There are quite a number of good and more first-time director films, so there is certainly no bias against debut directors. These outweighed the low rating and mixed to negative (on here) reviews here.

Seeing 'Spike for myself', am going to have to regrettably side, or should that be agree, with those that disliked it and am really sorry about that. Didn't think it was that bad to warrant the lowest possible number of stars, there are far worse films out there and didn't find it one of those beyond redemption films (have thankfully been seeing less of those now), but if there is one thing that really frustrates me when watching something it's when good potential is wasted when strictly speaking it shouldn't be. That applies with 'Spike'.

Lets begin with the saving graces. On the visual side, the advertising doesn't lie as 'Spike' does look good. Especially the photography which is both atmospheric and dreamlike, making for one of the best-looking modest-to-low budget films seen recently and in a while and that is me being serious.

Also thought the acting was better than average, with an initially intimidating but deeply felt performance from Edward Gusts worth singling out. 'Spike' starts off well, the first 10-15 minutes did intrigue and entice me.

However, 'Spike' is primarily let down by an often interminably sluggish pace and a story that after a promising start is far too stretched out (too little story content for a feature-length film) and not always easy to follow. The romantic element doesn't charm or move enough, although the actors were not bad at all on their own their chemistry didn't come to life for me. Didn't feel an awful lot of dark suspense and 'Spike' left me cold on an emotional level, a big problem because 'Beauty and the Beauty' is a very moving story.

While successful on the visual side of things, the direction showed inexperience on the momentum and character interaction. When there was dialogue it was pretty banal and awkward, while the music was completely inappropriate and like it was meant for a different film.

Summing up, disappointing but with a few merits. 3/10