Survival Skills

Great unique indie with a strong performance at the center. The blending of a dark story with it's gimmicky take on a cheesy 80s training video works surprisingly well thanks to smart direction and a strong script. It definitely could have went off the rails and might be divisive for some, but for the right audience it's a real treat.

A wasted opportunity, that falls way short of the mark!

I loved the premise...hated everything else.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just wasn't right. I believe this could of been a great film, if they'd kept the same plot, but just executed it differently. Mainly, I don't feel that it needed to be set in the 80's...it could of quite easily be set in the present day. I had to watch a training DVD for a job I started last year, so it's not like they stopped making them in the 80's. Also, they could of incorporated today's tech into the storyline to improve it a bit...mobile phones etc. And for a film supposedly 'following a cop on his duties for a year', it sure is boring (even for Middletown). He could of quite easily just have been a pen pusher from social services.

The good = The premise

The bad = The execution, the 80's aesthetic, the cast, the narrator, not a single likeable character, scenes dragged on for far too long, man claiming to be 30 looking nearer 50, girl claiming to be 16 looking nearer her mid-20's, the 'Stepford wife', the lead character's annoying 'C-3P0' voice, the lack of direction, the list goes on.

This could of been so much better if they'd made some simple adjustments to what they already had, for example: in the 'comedic' scenes (most of which fall flat), the lead says "AB"...but if he had said "ABC" instead, it would of been funnier. It's like they start to go somewhere with an idea, but only go halfway and stop...leaving the viewer unsatisfied and unfulfilled. They same applies to the 'action' scenes...characters do 'XY', but if they had done 'XYZ' instead, the scene would of been better. Some might say that would make the film too predictable, but I'd much rather watch a predictable film that I enjoy, than an unpredictable one that I don't.

Maybe I'm missing the whole point of the movie, but the purpose of leaving a review, is to let others know what 'MY EXPERIENCE' of the film was. That is what I've done.

Summary: Interesting idea, poorly executed. Just about watchable, wouldn't recommend.

This film begins as a spoof of training videos on VHS. The movie uses this device quite well, including rewinds, freeze frames and fast forward. You can also see the degeneration of the tape throughout.

We start with Jim on his first day as a police officer, as he taught the basic principles of his job. When an early assignment gets him involved in a domestic dispute, Jim finds himself becoming too involved.

What begins as a light-hearted satire of the training films we've all seen, begins to turn dark as Jim finds himself going seriously off script. What is real and what is part of the video become blurred.

Stacy Keech is the on-screen and off-screen narrator of this story, gradually becoming more involved and aware.