Play Dead

OK I had pretty much guessed the story before hand, but watched anyway to see if it would be a bad acting or a surprise, I have to say on first starting off the w young lads actually had me engaged in their car with topics and play, the acting was solid from the young guy and mortician, unfortunately half way through it does start to feel flat cheesy and nit the best aesthetic settings. They do try to end it on a high note kinda when stories over give it that apocalyptic feel dusk till dawn. The end special effect in a certain scene was laughable but I went with it because it picked bk up. Our protagonist and antagonist carried this thin film with their acting abilities. Without them it would've been a failure. But will probably be good for first time horror watchers.

I know you usually have to suspend some disbelief in horror and sci fi movies, but there are limits, and this movie strains credibility to the limit right out of the gate.

The main character's loser brother is involved in a robbery that goes wrong, and his partner is shot and killed. He realizes there's evidence on the guy's phone that will incriminate him (these are not the brightest bulbs). His sister, who is a medical student, comes up with a "brilliant" idea: she will take propofol to fake her own death, she'll get taken to the morgue, and steal the phone.

Of course, propofol won't do that. There's a good chance it will really kill you, like it did to Michael Jackson, but otherwise you'll be quite obviously alive. Even if they thought she was dead, she was somehow confident that she would be put somewhere where she could easily find the other guy and his phone, rather than, you know, in a drawer that she couldn't get out of. Like they say in the commercial, "When you're in a horror movie, you make bad choices. It's what you do."

Without giving away any spoilers, the "twist" is pretty obvious - and completely unbelievable.

On the other hand, the acting is pretty good, and if you check your brain at the door, it's reasonably entertaining to watch.

For the budget and premise this movie actually is pretty entertaining. Granted there are some pretty bad plot holes around character decisions and a few other things, but I found myself engaged( mostly from the increasing tension and acting.

The lead female does a fantastic job and is able to showcase her range here. I could see her leading a few bigger budget films soon.

The movie overall has some bad scenes (like the first scene) but don't let that put you off. Once it gets going it's pretty entertaining with some solid gore and a few minor twists. I think the production was well executed. I could see shudder or Amazon prime picking this up soon. 6.5/10.

Medical student Chloe Albright (Bailee Madison) has money troubles. Unbeknownst to her, her brother and her boyfriend try to rob a dispensary. It goes badly and the boyfriend gets killed. Chloe has to play dead to sneak into the morgue and retrieve his phone which would lead back to her and her brother. Jerry O'Connell plays the creepy coroner.

On its surface, the premise seems like fine horror fare, but it really doesn't hold water. The attempted robbery would result in an investigation. It's an open case which needs to exonerate the shooter. They would need a much bigger conspiracy to hide a body from a case like this. He's not some forgotten homeless John Doe. The basic premise is problematic. The other problem is the lack the visual ingenuity or horror inventiveness. The filmmaking is weak. Bailee and Jerry do some fine work, but there is nothing much more that. It's a B-horror with problems.

It started out quite well, but then quickly turned into a cliche. There's absolutely nothing surprising or noteworthy, you can pretty much figure out the whole plot and even the twists within the first few minutes of the film.

Suspensewise, it was also quite predictable so honestly my heart rate never increased. I mean, compare to suspense from A Quiet Place or Don't Breathe, this film hardly creates a jitter. It is more of a gross type of film where you see a lot of blood, the cutting up of bodies, than it is about actual psychological thriller and even jump scare.

The only point that is noteworthy is the great performance by Jerry O'connell. The moment he came on the screen, you can feel his command of the movie. However, the most impressive of his performance was when he spoke; strong, articulate, and cerebral.

Overall a bore of a movie that you might share with some friends while eating pizza and stuff.

4/10.