The Watermen

We got a signed copy of the movie from a local convention. I had heard about the behaviors and opinions of the people who live out in Guinea, and I was intrigued that they turned them into these psychopathic freaks. We definitely wanted to support local film makers and that's the extent of my interest in this film. I expected the campiness, bad acting, low budget, confusing plots, and excessive gore. The rape and torture was a little much for my taste. But if you like the wrong turns, the hills have eyes, and Texas chainsaw type movies, it will hit the spot but you have to be able to work past all the amateur aspects of it. It's pretty gorey. Like hostile. Like the saws. It's very disturbing. I won't watch it again. I just wanted to support the local film makers.

must be something an intellectual challenge for a producer of a horror film to bring something new to the genre table . Imagine the screenplay of THE WATERMEN in development

" Hmmm . Horny teenagers in peril . How we going to bring a new angle to this premise ? "

" I know . Let's make it as unpleasant as possible and set it on a remote boat yard ? "

Hardly an original idea setting it in a boatyard but one thing the producers have done in way of qualified success is to make the film as unpleasant as possible .. I've seen a lot of horror films that more often than not have bored me rigid . Not so with THE WATERMEN . It's a slasher flick crossed with torture porn and while the torture is very graphic the operative word from the phrase " torture porn " isn't " torture " but " porn " . . By accident or design director Mark L Lockhart seems to linger a bit too long on the bodies of the female characters as they're physically abused by the watermen of the title . . The on screen violence is genuinely shocking and brutal so much so that I was tempted to switch off a few times . If the agenda of this film is to disturb and alienate the audience then it's mission accomplished but my own opinion is that even a horror film should have an element of morals and entertainment value and THE WATERMEN has none of these important things

This thriller starts in medias res, as a girl is being hunter at night in the swamp by a couple of hulking goons in fishermen's attire. After she meets her fate, we are introduced to six fine pieces of trash Americana leisuring in a posh villa. The 3 girls look right out of a bikini-happy euro-dance music video and the 3 guys, who use "Dude" at the beginning of each sentence, probably hit the gym 3 times a day. This fine group of clueless bourgeoisie get ready for a fishing trip (duh ?) in the middle of the sea.

Before they embark, they stop by some kind of store run by an old fisherman that sells them "special" bait. Turns out the bait if made of human flesh, as the 6 airheads will soon discover.

To its credit, this movie is slickly directed and photographed. Nocturnal swamp scenes could have easily turned into one giant black screen with dialogue in any other B-movie, but the director of photography knew what he was doing. It all looks quite professional.

It's all the more sorry that there's not a single novel idea in the movie that could save it from instant disposability. Clichés abound, and quite cringe-worthy ones, I'll tell you : one of the girls, who didn't know what she was getting into, is actually the lead's former girlfriend, of course they fall in love again, everybody gets drunk before the drama begins, the first ones to die are the hottest and dumbest but they still show their tits, the villains talk some kind of Russian, the main goon comes back from the dead so often that you feel like you're watching another "Friday the 13th" installment, the male lead drops his shirt for completely out-of-place action sequences, there's a baton-of-fire fight that looks more like capoeira than a real fight for survival, and I forget some.

This movie's been done before a hundred times (and the director must have seen all hundred) spanning the whole gamut of Hollywood genres : survival, action, romance, stoner comedy... Still, it's done professionally, and past the 1st 40 minutes, it moves fast enough that an undemanding audience will have its fun, as did I. And it doesn't hurt that the whole cast (male & female) is goddamn gorgeous and not shy of dropping their tops.

I have a chance last Saturday to watch it and man i regret it big time..being slasher freak i like these kind of movies even if they have low ratings but this was something beyond bearable...The thing which annoys you most is the main leads acting.They uttering dialogs without even a little bit of expression and soon you will realize that you are watching a teen comedy rather then a horror movie.I think the makers of this after watching turisates,ferryman and storm warning,mix them and end result is this film.If you want to spoil your Saturday night then this is a treat for you and if you don't then stay away form this.One word..HORRIBLE.

Having seen the trailer for this film, I thought it looked quite promising, I was pulled in by the fact that Jason Mewes was in it and am a fan of the Jay and Silent Bob films. What a disappointment throughout, hammy acting and a poorly thought out story line make for a long drawn out waste of an hour and a half. Jason Mewes tries his best to revive the Jay character that he is famous for, but fails dismally. It is almost embarrassing to watch as he does it. I wouldn't even recommend this film as a last resort, pure drivel! The only thing I found mildly enjoying was finding the story flaws, of which there are many.