ininotores

I was expecting to switch off the movie within minutes of watching it... as it looked like an old 80s horror flick. Yes it *is* a horror flick of more than a decade ago. The special effects are dated and no doubt unimpressive by today's standards. The main actors, I barely know. However the movie isn't that crap. I didn't turn it off and instead it kept me watching all the way till the end. What this movie has are some good (though sometimes cheesy) lines, plot development, and very importantly, pace. It is fast-paced, and things don't take forever to happen. They just happen so fast! For what the special effects technology lacked in those days, the actual murder scenes showing the remains of dead persons (and there aren't that many in this movie) are not realistic or scary. Instead, most of the murders are shown as "suggestions" of what gruesome stuff might have happened to the victims - loads of blood splattering about, the look of terror on their faces before they met their maker, the frantic but failed attempts to escape, etc. - those scenes were what made the movie more realistic and gory. Also I stayed on to the end because the main characters were interesting to watch - they all had like very distinct, strong personalities - not always likable or pleasant people, but a bit eccentric, quirky, rude, irritating at times. And there is a bit of mystery about what that horrible "thing" really is and what caused it to be that way... and you'll know if you watch till the end. Anyways, not too bad a film for a late night staying in.I wouldn't recommend purchasing it though, but if you can watch it for free, its not too bad.

At first I thought wow, Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, 2 big names. Might be good. I was a bit disappointed. Aniston's character is very flat and one-dimensional in the movie - very forgettable. Clive's acting is convincing, but the plot sucks. The villain (Vincent Cassel) looked pathetic and hardly scary. Even though he commits lots of violent acts in the movie, he really doesn't inspire fear in me. He actually looked more convincing dressed up as an office colleague of Clive Owen's in one particular scene, than when he's dressed as a street thug. Perhaps its because he's a bit too skinny and his skin is too good, perhaps its because his facial features looking more like a 17th century European aristocrat than some Chicago street thug. I think he'd probably do better acting as a psycho-killer rather than a professional thug.

By the end of the movie, I was really unimpressed. Yes the plot didn't really turn out like anyone had suspected, but its more of a "oh right, so what?" feeling I had, rather than a "oh my god. I can't believe it" feeling. By then I was just waiting, sitting there, hoping that something good - something really good - better come along soon, because I've not even gotten excited yet. But it never happened - and I never got excited or scared once throughout the whole movie.

I really wouldn't pay to watch this at the cinema - it would be like when I watched SWAT at the movies a few years ago. It feels like my money would be better spent elsewhere. Probably okay to watch this at home if you didn't have to pay like full price to rent this - if this movie was in the bargain bins somewhere in the video store.

First off, I almost could not believe that Christian Bale lost that much weight to play the part. It looked like 2 completely different men. That's a lot of dedication put into the acting - I think. Secondly, I really didn't expect to be drawn into the movie quite as much as I did. The atmosphere throughout was dark, gray, chilling, never quite knowing what to expect in the next scene. I found myself trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together alongside Trevor, as weird thing after weird thing happened. The sense of hallucination from a severe lack of sleep is very well-portrayed here, and you can sense Trevor's frustration as images seem to fade as quick as they appear, and he feels he's losing his grip on what's real and what's not real. Its a bit like a horror movie, except there are no real ghosts in this show, just "ghosts of his past"...

And when the show comes to its conclusion, it all makes sense, and you also feel (as Trevor must feel at the end of the show) a great sense of respite... though the movie did seem rather sad too as I realised what was really happening, at the end. I felt sad for Trevor's life.