Wreckage

I'm always amazed when an actor who seems to be doing bigger things shows up in a movie that went straight to video. Usually this is because the movie is horrible, or because the studio thinks nobody would be interested. That or they dump it in five theaters and give it a DVD release two weeks later. Anyways, today's example is 2010's "Wreckage" features Aaron Paul from the excellent AMC series "Breaking Bad." Here, he proves to be the best thing about this otherwise forgettable exercise.

The plot deals with four friends-Jake (Mike Erwin), Rick (Paul), Jake's wife to be Kate (Cameron Richardson) and Rick's pregnant girlfriend Jessica (Kelly Kruger) end up in an abandoned junkyard. When Rick's stupidity get's Kate injured, Jake goes out for help-only to find Kate and Rick missing, and Jessica a dead, bloody pulp. When new arrivals-including the nephew of the man who owns the Junkyard (Scoot McNairy) join in, they all find themselves being stalked by a masked killer.

As I said, the best thing about "Wreckage" is Paul. Here, he plays Rick as a man whose not exactly all that right in the head, making for an interesting character. Unfortunately, he's the only interesting character. Everyone else is either really dumb or ultimately expendable for the killer to get his thing done. Also, if you are hoping for gory kills, then you are in for a disappointment. Many of them take place off screen, which in this case is a big no-no. Movies like this usually rely on at least some gore, and this is a slasher that's virtually bloodless. The direction by John Mallory Asher* is also a dud, mostly feeling more like a generic modern day television movie than something that you should be excited fore. Add a lame twist ending and a body count that's way too low, and you have a waste of time.

I can't even imagine the most indiscriminate of horror fans buying most of this, as it's a movie that manages to be both a paint-by-numbers stalk-n-slash flick and uneventful, nearly gore free waste of time. Watch something better, or read a book instead.

*Asher is mostly known for being in the USA TV series "Weird Science", which yes, was based around the John Hughes movie, and for being in the Clint Eastwood movie "Space Cowboys." His only other genre credit is the TV movie "The Haunted", and he also directed the 2005 Jenny McCarthy bomb "Dirty Love.

It's a 2010 slasher-style mediocre horror movie. It's like taking place in a different universe. There are 10 people in the movie. 9 of them are really stupid. The lead girl is a little smarter. There are cops who ask meaningless questions and have an attitude that is mind-blowing.

As for the movie, the car of 4 friends breaks down in a deserted place. And they go to a nearby junkyard to find a fan belt for the car. For some reason, they can't find a belt in the car. One of them has a gun with him. He also has fun shooting left and right. Meanwhile, he shoots the other young man's fiancee. The young man runs into town and brings the police and ambulance. This time, the 3 people staying there disappear. They are looking for these.

There is no sex or nudity in the movie.

WRECKAGE is an extremely low budget slasher film notable for its unusual setting: almost the entire movie takes place in a scrapyard, where a group of stranded teenagers are being bumped off one by one by a mysterious killer wearing a welding mask. It's as derivative as it sounds, with the only originality coming from the various methods of death employed by the villain.

Sadly the low budget nature of the production is more than apparent in the general lack of scope and the predictability that hangs over everything. It feels like nobody's heart was in it, ranging from the actors to the director. The best thing about the film is Scoot McNairy (MONSTERS) playing a genuinely funny comedy relief redneck role, but the rest of the cast are entirely ho-hum. The gore effects are acceptable rather than memorable and the twist ending is one you'll see coming a mile off.

Where do the friends come from? They weren't in the car during the race. They just appear on the side of the road. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul)still a good actor.

Wreckage is one of these wannabe-slasher films that is ridden with the clichés of its more successful predecessors, and whilst its not ashamed to try and emulate films such as Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street etc., this is a worthy B-Movie effort that deserves more recognition. Frankly, it was utterly ridiculous but, at a mere 83 minutes, it was entertaining while it lasted.

Without giving away any spoilers, the film follows a group of young people who compete in a local drag race. When their car breaks down, they make the decision to go to an old and decrepit scrapyard to get the parts they need to fix their car. However, all is not as it seems as a serial killer is on the loose, with intent to kill them one by one- will they survive?

This movie was clearly made on a tiny budget, and it shows. The sound quality on the film is awful and the script could have been improved. One example of the poor script is when the group decide to make the one-mile trip to the scrapyard by foot; they set off in the afternoon sunlight but, when they arrive after the relatively short walk it is pitch black. This is a major blooper and the film continues in similar stead, with a contrived plot which gets more and more wild as the film continues. There's little in the way of character development and any slasher-movie-aficionado will find it hard to see past the corny clichés featured in the movie.

However, if your able to leave your intelligence at home and enjoy the film for what it is, there are many positives. For instance Scoot Mcnairy (notable for his performance in the groundbreaking Monsters) who plays the hillbilly part-owner of the scrapyard shines and provides welcome comic relief. In addition to this, I was genuinely surprised by the finales twist and this wraps things up nicely.All the characters are likable and the film never stalls, with something always going on to keep the interest going.

This film isn't perfect and is far below other slasher movies. But it does its job as an enjoyable B-Movie: its fun, entertaining and the twist will leave you shocked. Oh yes, and look out for Scoot McNairy; i'm sure he has a big career ahead of him.This film is definitely not the car crash its title suggests...