400 Days

OK. So it's about a science experiment to investigate the effects of prolonged time of isolation of a group in tight space as preparation for space travel, where long periods of no contact with the outside world are expected. Exactly 400 days of said isolation.

They pretty much cast a whole lot of actors from the hit TV series Arrow and The Flash, namely Brandon Routh, Carly Loitz (which I lovingly call 'The Chin'), and Tom Cavanagh.

These actors as well as the endearing premise caused me to watch that movie. And....my hopes pretty much fell apart.

The movie follows a long the typical low budget mystery and 'horror' plots of the 'isolated people' genre. Nothing, and I mean nothing original here with regards to script and direction.

The whole movie gives off the vibes of a Outer Limits episode. The sets feel very cheap. The story leads to nothing. No pay off at all. And at a runtime of 90 minutes it still felt very boring at long periods. Flashbacks try to establish some deeper characterization. But again, no relevance at all for the non-existent character development.

There is only two positive things I can say about the movie. First, the actors try at least a little bit (Brandon Routh and Tom Cavanagh are most often likable, even if they have absolutely nothing to work with from the script). Second, the premise remains interesting. But executed in such a way, it just is a giant case of wasted potential.

As a TV episode or short movie, OK, but with these 90 minutes, you should do something else...watch like 2 Outer Limits episodes.

Despite it not being particularly well received here, '400 Days' intrigued me with its idea and it looked and sounded like an ambitious film. The cast didn't sound like a bad one on paper either. Was really hoping that it would be better than indicated in the reviews, wanting to go against the grain with being so impressed by the idea, and that it would even be good somewhat instead of another waste of potential (having seen quite enough of those recently). Am not trying to be a snob or anything, it is just my genuine thoughts.

'400 Days' sadly was exactly that, a waste of potential. A shame because when it first started it actually pleasantly surprised me, even if the production values were not exactly great. Did actually consider forgiving that, because there have been instances of production values not being great but the film succeeds in most other areas. Then '400 Days' lost its way badly, becoming the complete opposite of what promise the first part showed and with so many problems already covered very well by others. Very frustrating and borderline insulting at its worst. Am actually feeling really bad about saying this.

Beginning with the good things, as said already '400 Days' started off promising. It was compelling and intriguing with an air of tense mystery about it. Parts were well shot and showed a cinematographer using techniques clearly influenced by films that were genre landmarks and ground-breaking.

Also found the cast not too shabby and thought they really tried, doing what they could with material utterly beneath them.

However, the low budget and rushed production does show in the production values. The film looks very drab, the sets are very simplistic, too much of the editing in the latter parts of the film is choppy and some of it even looks unfinished. The music didn't hinder the atmosphere and didn't sound cheap, but would have made much of an impression with more subtle, better balanced and less predictable sound editing. The direction is not incompetent but a case of someone biting off more than they could chew and running before walking.

This is not an example of a film not trying. If anything, '400 Days' tries too hard and one respects the ambition, over-ambition in this case, more than the execution. It does completely fall apart too early, the suspense and any atmosphere completely goes and replaced by sluggish pacing, no surprises and senseless character behaviours that insult the intelligence and makes endear to the character far less to the point you can't. Parts are too expostion-heavy and the dialogue throughout is ham-handed and clunky, especially in these parts which don't say anything and sound like gibberish, and the final act fails to make sense to the point of incoherence. And yes, the worst asset is the ending, abrupt and ambiguous are understatements, in fact it is a complete non-event and with a big truck-load of questions and no answers. It gave the sense that the film was released incomplete.

Overall, initially intriguing but underwhelming at the end of the day. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I must be a masochist because I almost wanted to watch it again to figure out what was going on and if I missed some vital clues to figure out the ending of this low budget fiasco. I like what one reviewer said: Watch Moon it was a lot more interesting . My criteria for a decent movie is that I'll add it to my library and watch it again in the future, I almost felt guilty passing it along in a yard-sale for .50 cents . It really did steal from many other movies: Moon, 2001 Space Odyssey and OMG I even saw a "morlock" from the old Time Machine movie .Really as my son would say : It was just silly. Final analysis: Avoid Like The Plague!!!

If you can't be bothered to write a movie, then you're not allowed to shoot a movie.

A perfectly terribly movie with little, if anything, in the way of redeeming value. From a script that portrays characters acting in completely unbelievable ways to the tired old cliché of "let's all split up"this movie is a complete waste of one's time. Four prospective astronauts who in real life couldn't qualify for Walmart greeters get buried in the ground for a year and when they come out the world has changed. Apparently it has all changed into one giant D- grade horror movie cliché. Poorly written dialog, clichéd characters, and a plot written by Dunning Kruger Inc all add up to a completely wasted portion of your life that you will never... never get back.

There is zero resolution to the movie and every single "horror" moment is telegraphed like a 1900's Western Union operator working overtime. A good chunk of the non-action takes place in a post-apocalyptic dive bar which is where I imagine the director and screen writer likely spent much of their misspent cinematic education.

The only real horror here is how a group of people can spend months (days??) of their time producing such a completely worthless pile of steaming celluloid and still have the temerity to put their names upon the completed work.