Reaper

Danny Trejo is an actor I have long admired. From his smaller roles in masterpieces like "Heat" to his long-deserved go as a leading man in the campy but fun "Machete" films, he is a screen presence who is simultaneously intimidating but also somewhat relatable. Usually, he is relegated to playing a thug, criminal, ex-con, or just general bad guy, and rarely is he given the chance to pull in the audience emotionally. Rather, he's just the comic relief or the action set- piece.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I came across "Reaper" the other day and found that while he is still playing someone on the bad side of the law (a drug dealer, in this case), he is actually given the opportunity to be a compassionate, sympathetic, and ultimately heroic leading man. Hooray! Here, he is the only one in a band of criminals who are being terrorized by a supernatural force at a creepy motel is who not just self-motivated but also trying to help out the other two young baddies as well. He's the only one who doesn't try to take advantage of the main hitchhiker, and he gets a beautiful scene where he relays to her his regrets about his lost marriage, the child who doesn't see him anymore, and the life he wishes he had a chance to relive. He offers the most substance in a film which is otherwise lacking in it, and he delivers easily one of the best performances of his career.

That makes "Reaper" a MUST SEE for any true Trejo fan. The film itself starts off rocky and takes too long to introduce Trejo himself, but once it does, it gets rolling pretty nicely. The other two veteran actors, Jones and Busey, are in barely there roles but give some credit to the two young actors (hitchhiker and drug mule) for holding their own and helping Trejo carry the film.

While the film is far from perfect, it finally affords Trejo a role he deserves. As for the titular "reaper" monster, forget about him! The real force here is Trejo, and "Reaper" is his show.

There seem to be a lot of false reviews for this movie. I enjoy b-grade movies of all types, especially horror movies. I have watched and enjoyed countless B-grade movies that most other people find appalling. I even enjoy watching Danny Trejo strut his stuff in many cheesy movies.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this movie at all and would struggle to even call it a B-grade movie. It falls firmly into the C-grade pile of movies which have no redeeming qualities and are not even in the so bad it's funny category. I am very disappointed that I was fooled into watching this movie and wasting time that could have been spent watching something else. For some reason, I kept watching the movie hoping something good would happen, but it just got worse.

Unless you are associated with the making of this film, you will not like it. Let me just reiterate that - YOU WILL NOT ENJOY THIS MOVIE. You've been warned.

Firstly the box art is completely misleading, everything there is basically wrong as neither Trejo or Jones end up being the Reaper and the old cabin just isn't in the film so it's probably just a stock photo. Probably not the actresses fault but the main female character was cringie and awkward, CONSTANTLY pretending to be sexual towards creepy old men for some reason. You'd think the scene is over and then she'd get real close, whisper something in the sleazy guys ear move back and then do it again... And again... And again. Supporting cast Danny Trejo and Vinnie Jones do their best to try make something of the movie but in the end its an extremely disappointing 84 minutes of boredom.

Review: This movie wasn't worth the paper that it was written on. It took over an hour for anything to really happen and even then it wasn't that great. The acting was really bad from the leading lady, who just went around stealing anything that she could get her hands on, and the storyline was ridiculous. I really don't know how the hitchhiker got away with half the things she was doing and the whole Reaper concept was bloody stupid. Personally, I just lost interest after a while and I just couldn't wait until they all got killed off. Terrible!

Round-Up: The poster looked promising, but this is yet another movie were the people on the poster wasn't really in the movie that much. Vinnie Jones only had a couple of scenes and Danny Trejo doesn't come into the movie until the last half an hour. Although both actors are on the poster facing each other, they don't even have any scenes together so that must have just been a selling point. Anyway, there isn't anything good to say about the film so my recommendation is not to bother wasting your time.

I recommend this movie to people who are into there cheap thrillers about a girl who goes around stealing from people who would give her a lift and ending up in a hotel were there is a Reaper looking fellow killing people in a hotel. 1/10

I enjoyed it for what it was and who really listens to the "intellectualized" critics these days any way - for horror or any other genre. Many times they critique to hear themselves talk or be relevant - not to really review the movie for its entertainment value. I can name so many movies that critics loved and movie goers hated.

Bottomline: Its about suspense and thrill which you will enjoy - if you are a Halloween Movie fan. Halloween movies weren't about the blood and horror. They were about the guy who hears a noise outside and decides to check it out when the audience knows there is a killer on the loose.

So from one movie lover to another: The Reaper is all that with good B Actors and unknown Actors. Was it entertaining? Yes. And that is all that matters. Go see it.