Preservation

Really I would rate this movie at about a 5.5 or 6 but I felt compelled to level out the strangely low ratings for this flick.

This is a solid movie. Good acting, well paced, artfully shot. Was it all that original? No, not really. It deserves to be compared to films like "Eden Lake" and "The King of the Mountain" as the plot is startlingly similar. Sure, both of those are far better - more disturbing (to say the least) and ahead of their time in terms of plot - but I also can't complain about a single thing in this movie.

So if you expect to be blown out of the water, this isn't your jam. If you require horror to be gory or over the top, look elsewhere. But if you're avoiding a research paper (or three) and need a good horror movie to break up the dreck which so often populates this wonderful genre of ours then this isn't time wasted.

If you decide to see "Preservation", there is a strong likelihood that you'll find the plot familiar. That's because it dates all the way back to 1924, with Richard Connell's story "The Most Dangerous Game". A few years later, the story would be brought to the big screen in the classic story by the same name, starring Joel McCrea and Leslie Banks. Since then, the story has been re-written time and time again--appearing in television shows (such as "Get Smart", believe it or not) and various movies. So, you cannot exactly give this film many points when it comes to originality.

Like the old story, someone likes hunting. But instead of animals, their quarry is people. The only huge difference here is that you really don't know who the killer or killers are until the end of the film--whereas in the original story is was some twisted Russian aristocrat. Otherwise, the three victims spend more than half the film on the run--trying to avoid being someone's trophy. There really isn't a whole lot more to the story than this.

On the plus side, the film is very tense. Some of the acting is pretty good and despite a small budget, the movie looks good. I also liked the identity of the hunters--this was an interesting twist. On the negative, the film isn't exactly fun to watch. After all, folks are getting butchered and there isn't a whole lot of subtlety about it. I also was irked by a cliché that I often see in films---someone disables their attacker and instead of finishing off the killer, they almost immediately turn their back on them so that they can be murdered. I don't know about you, but if someone is trying to kill me, I don't beat them up and then turn my back unless I am 110% sure that they are truly dead. Overall, I don't consider it a bad nor a good film but there isn't enough about it that would have me recommend you go see it. If you hate violent films, there's also another reason to avoid this one.

I saw promise in this film. In the future, I'd like to see these actors and filmmakers do a more challenging project--something with more originality and which allow them to expand on their skills.

OK, teens as killers who communicate with one another only via text and violence. I can dig that. (One reviewer complains about how the heavy handed "messaging" of having them text when they're sitting right next to each other, but I've seen that happen, so I think that's a fair comment on our techno-generation.) But the character development of the three main protagonists is incredibly weak and the first two kills are ridiculous as protagonists, including a combat-hardened veteran who manages to best an armed and towered sniper with a stick lashed to his hand, decide to turn their backs on their antagonists without verifying that they are actually incapacitated or weaponless. WTF! Also, once we see the size of the teens in question (one of them a wheezing asthmatic), the idea that they could go mano a mano in physical combat as they do with two big strapping grown men (did I mention that one of them is a combat veteran?) is also absurd. If you're gonna make your killers beanpole teens, you'd better give them better strategies for killing grown men who see them coming than hand to hand combat and playing possum, if you want to keep any credibility as a thriller. Too bad, because the movie does have some good scenes--the lead killer almost drowning one of the other killers to make him not run home to mom, his face vibrating with sadistic delight behind his skull face mask, is effectively chilling. A little more thought given to the script and the choreography of the kills could have improved this flick a lot.

Preservation is in my opinion, this generation's version of The Most Dangerous Game.

When the film starts it introduces us to the three main characters: Sean (Pablo Schreiber) a war veteran with dark past, his brother Mike (Aaron Staton) and his RN wife Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) who has a secret of her own. The start up is a nice setup for the weekend, a hunting trip (in an abandoned state park). When Wit finds out that a so-called couples weekend with her husband turns itself on its head as Mike joins the party, tensions begin to arise. Mike and Wit are having martial problems and its apparent more so when Sean enters the picture.

The two brothers seem to have a kind of love/hate relationship. As the day continues, tensions seem to rise as Mike continues to ignore his wife and stay focused on Sean and his work phone. Wit and Sean, as the night goes on seem to develop somewhat tense friendship which unbeknowst to them Mike is witnessing. By this time, night has fallen and personas and characterization has developed amongst our leads. The night ends with the three going to bed by the light of the campfire. This is where the story takes a turn....

*On a personal note, I was NOT expecting this turn of events - my initial idea of this script was way off base as I went into this blind regarding the premise*

A major turn of events happens during the night which isn't unveiled until morning, when our leads wake up and all of their personal belongings have been taken! I am talking about everything (including the tent they were sleeping in). This alone in my opinion is a good set-up for psychological horror as the direction is bizarre yet occasionally eerie. This chain of events turns everyone on everyone as they are yet unaware of the actual horror that will befall them. The actions that take place after I will admit some are typical clichés that are seen from most "stupid people" in "most horror films", but that doesn't take away from the tension that picks up. The three realize that unknown and unseen assailants are hunting them with their own weapons as well as using the "need to survive" against them as they begin to run out of time.

The first half of the film is a somewhat character study as well as a philosophy of the appreciation of nature. The climax of the film and the unveiling of the assailants (especially how they are acclimated to the violence) is shocking and almost realistic in realtime.

This film has been referred to as a sorta "You're Next" kinda film, but I don't see how. Granted the film may have several plot holes and some scenes may have been executed (pun intended) with something more in mind, but dammit this was a damn fun film and had several moments of tension. I'd recommend watching this film and I myself will be adding this to my collection.

Wasn't expecting much going into this one but was pleasantly surprised. It's well shot, the acting is solid, and the story (while not very original) is interesting enough to keep you watching. It combines aspects of a lot of other horror movies and molds them into one pretty watchable romp in the woods.

I saw someone mention that the protagonists are unlikeable, I would have to disagree with this. The two brothers aren't exactly the greatest people in the world but they were realistic characters imo and I found myself rooting for them despite some of the vulgar stuff that was said by them. I really like how they portrayed the antagonists as well.

"Preservation" is a pretty decent horror flick, it's not super original or overly gory but it does manage to be entertaining through out and provide some pretty tense scenes. I suggest checking it out if you enjoy horror films, we get mostly crap nowadays so when a decent flick comes around it is worth it to check it out.

6/10