The Deaths of Ian Stone

Hey wait a minute a low budget horror film thats actually pretty good. Despite bumpy start this is a good film about a guy who is being killed again and again, each time jumping into a new life. I don't want to say more since the film is solving the puzzle as to what's going on. This is a good story that seems like an extended episode of one of the better horror anthology series, while it probably could be trimmed down a bit, the film is mostly a solid little thriller that puts the story and characters first instead of the effects. Yes there are effects, but they aren't over used nor are they over done. if you like good, pulpy horror stories give this a try.

The premise made this look like a distant cousin of movies like Groundhog Day, only that it's more bizarre, and containing an element of gore. Imagine if you wake up but find yourself living a different life from before you slept, not just repeating the last 24 hours. And each iteration actually ends in death, where you feel pain, and knowingly being hunted down. Then you rinse and repeat, with little recollection and little opportunity to figure things out before you get hit again.

Sounds interesting, right? But The Deaths of Ian Stone wasted the premise, and became a very boring movie despite the tense build up. It kept you guessing, until slowly you realize a whole host of clichés start to creep in, especially those pertaining to speeding up the narrative and to provide wholesale, verbatim explanation on things to come. Showing you is not enough, the characters have to blabber repeatedly, and you start to roll your eyes when they beat around the bush for no good reason.

Ian Stone, the titular character, is played by Mike Vogel. A teenage ice hockey jock, things start to go bump for him when he realizes that time will start to freeze, and he finds himself getting thrust forward in time, but not before suffering immense pain from creative death. The only constant that keeps him sane, is the presence of girlfriend Jenny (Christina Cole), who seem to not recognize him in his moment of awareness, as he tries hard to figure out the whos and the whys.

The posters plastered suggest creatures spawned from the imagination of Stan Winston Studio, but to give credit to the plot, it contains something a little more. While you can find little fault with the special effects and Harvester creature design, you will probably laugh at the laziness in costuming, where total rip offs from the Matrix Trilogy were adapted from, with the tight Trinity styled Lycra spandex coming on screen, with the characters' hair slicked back and shades to boot as well.

Of course the theme of love is central to the story (i.e. if you have no theme, you can always fall back on love), as an emotion so powerful it can move mountains and oceans, and with new love come jealousy and envy from those around you, especially from the ones who hold the candle. As mentioned, the movie had promise and an explanation for the strange, but the delivery is suspect, and unfortunately, quite boring. After the first few iterations, you know the idea well has run dry with generic killings, and a whole amalgamation of tools being used concurrently just to inflict pain, but done off-screen. The fight sequences too are terribly bad, with lacklustre punches being thrown around, while brandishing those nicely shaped bladed hands.

The Deaths of Ian Stone is nice to look at at first, but slowly the flaws start to surface, and soon enough you'll realize just how flimsy everything had been put together. Should Harvesters be real, they could feed on the audience's collective fear of the dreadfulness the movie is heading towards. And they will be well fed.

Ian Stone wakes up day after day, only to be killed again and again. He is followed by a group of murderers who disguise themselves, often as important people in his life. And one woman keeps re-appearing that he must protect at all cost: but why is she so important and why do the killers want him dead?

I have seen this film compared to a variety of movies, including "Donnie Darko" (which seems to be a bit of a stretch). My impression was of "Dark City" and to a lesser degree "The Other Side". Regardless, this film does seem to remind people of other films -- which is strange once you realize how completely different this film is from pretty much every other horror film out there.

The downfall of this movie is the fact you are unclear about what is going on and why it is going on, at least at first. Sure, it's not as confusing as trying to read Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" but you will have to have an open mind to get into this, something that many horror fans might not be willing to do. (I freely admit that as much as I love thinking films, some days I just want to see teenagers die in the woods.)

Even after you finally "get it" there remains some mystery. A lot of questions go unanswered that a good audio commentary or a sequel would need to clear up. I'm not sure I'd want to spend much time with either one, though... this film had very little lasting power for me and even less re-watchability. It's deep, romantic and nihilistic to a degree (which I like) but also a bit too dense to become a fan favorite. Yet, as my title says, it really ranks high in the pantheon of Horrorfest options.

I have to praise the special effects and the scenes of "torture". Both were well-done, and not in any way derivative of the other films that I've been subjected to over the past few years. If this film is to be called "low budget" or "independent" (and I believe it is both) then it is setting a standard for others to follow. 2008's Horrorfest will have to release some gems.

I guess I'm suggesting you see this film. I think you'll like it, and even if you never watch it a second time, I think the experience will be worthwhile. All the actors put on a good show as they reappear in multiple worlds (the main character's heroin scene is amazing) and they deserve full credit for carrying this picture.

this was a promising idea but ended up having no decent basis to back it up. half baked, half full, half cooked, it was actually less than half a movie and I wish I'd skipped through it cos there were long bits that contributed nothing to the story and just slowed the whole thing down.

The screen looked good, obviously a reasonable budget and they must have had some $$$ for those liverpool street locations but why waste all that if you haven't got your story together, if you've got major plot holes and a yarn that the actors can't deliver convincingly (I'm avoiding saying the actors were bad, but they were)

Anyway I wish I hadn't wasted my time watching this, and my advice to you is don't do likewise. Ultimately not worth it.

This film interested me as it was a new concept, a man dying and keep coming back each day in a new life. I cant be bothered to write the ins and outs of the film but overall it was an interesting but non scary story. It was well shot and overall well done.

Bad points - the brown haired lady started off well along with the first 40 minutes of the film, but towards the end i think the strength of the film was lost through some of the acting, and costume designs an almost matrix wanna-be with that one, you'll see what i mean if you watch it. So you really have to take with a pinch of salt and go with the flow of it.

Overall it is a good film, at times can be a bit corny but for a fairly unknown film in the UK even though it was made here, was a gripping and engaging film however not consistent throughout sadly.

Never the less if you come across it watch its entertaining and different 7/10