Dark Reprieve

Matt and Kate both awaken in an abandoned prison, neither one of them recalling the chain of events that led them there. They don't seem to be alone as they have run-ins with supernatural creatures. Meanwhile Raquel is being interrogated by police detective Marks about a series of unexplained murders. Could she have any connection to the two trapped people? While I applaud the makers of this movie for trying something a bit different in a DTV market populated by interchangeable cardboard cut and paste slasher films, the outcome wasn't the sum of it's parts. The story itself was pretty interesting and, for a DTV release, most of the acting was adequate (some was embarrassingly bad though) But the frequent jump cuts became a tad grating after a while and the ending (which i won't spoil) was so far out of left field that it just about ruined the whole film for me. I'd like to see certain actresses in this movie in other films though.

My Grade: D+

This is a clever movie made on a tight budget, built around an interesting premise revealed at the end. I won't reveal the surprise at the end, but I will say that it reminded me of one of the ideas floating around in Philip K. Dick's "Ubik". In some ways, once the basic situation is explained at the end, the idea was intriguing enough to make me wish the movie had developed it further... because it has a lot of open-ended potential for creating interesting scenarios.

The acting was decent, the casting of everyday-looking actors in the two lead parts ultimately works well for the story.

M. David Mullen, ASC

After reading the last couple of reviews for this movie, I decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise, I should have listened to my first instinct and avoided watching it and wasting an hour and eighteen minutes of my life. The plot of this movie could have actually gone somewhere if it weren't for the two main actors. I'd be lying if I said their acting was half-decent. Their performance was nothing less than amateur and unrealistic. It did not sit well with the plot of the movie, I could not even connect their emotions to the way they spoke in every line. I've seen better actors perform on the street. Great movie title, poor performance.

Saying this movie is awful should be considered offensive to any other movie that people say is awful In the same way that referring to this flick as a bag of crap should be considered offensive to actual bags filled with crap. Shawn Storer is so bad he makes Carrot Top look like Robert DeNiro. The only time I saw his acting worse then this was when he was on trial for trying to blow up an exes car!!! The fact that any of these people are working is a testament to just how bad Canadian cinema has become. Sure we get the odd good one, but having to wade through garbage like this doesn't really make it worth the effort. The cast from this flick should go back to their day jobs working the Fry-O-Later at Burger King

UPDATE

I realize that I've already panned this piece of garbage but I think, being the optimist I am, that I have finally found a way to make this tolerable. If you are indeed forced to watch this by some moron trying to convince you its not abject donkey puke, the you might as well turn it into a drinking game. Drink once whenever A) that bonehead (the offensive words keep getting edited out) Shawn Storer opens his mouth, B)something extraordinarily predictable occurs and C) you question why you're not better spending your time banging your head against the wall and D) you ask why this chick isn't topless, cause thats all that would make her interesting. Finish your drink when A) you see the end coming a mile away and B)you hope that the sweet sweet liquor will purge this useless crap from your short term memory and blissfully allow you to pass out.

You're welcome

This film should be shown at every film school across the country to show what can be done with a small budget, creative idea for a story, some half decent no-name actors and an amazing Director/DP. The film looks gorgeous, the acting is fairly decent, and the twist at the end, while somewhat clichéd, is still handled well. The music/sound I thought was very effective, and first time actress Sarah Jackson is a natural.

For being his first feature director Richard Boddington proved he can deliver. Worth checking out.

R. Heide