Needle

I've been meaning to write this review since I first watched it at the "CinfestOz" Premiere in Busselton a few months back. After reading some of the highly critical and unfair reviews I thought I would put in my two cents worth. I support any film made in Perth, particularly if they use WA crews. (I work in the industry, but did not work on this film, unfortunately). "Needle", "Blame" and "Wasted on the Young" are three examples of quality WA films that have been made on low budgets.

The DOP on Needle was Steve Windon and its clear his eye has had a huge influence on the look of the film - it looks very slick. Although I believe this was shot on Digital, it looks like they used 35MM cameras.

The story is very fresh. I admit to being wary about watching an Australian "horror movie" as most have been terrible in the past, but this film is a breath of fresh air. I have never seen a film where the killer uses a machine that makes voodoo dolls. Congratulations to the writers for thinking of this new device. Although the film has the same generic elements of a slasher, the characters, locations and story set this as a quality film with some major unique differences.

The film has a slower pace than most frenetic (and usually bad) US slashers and I noted some of the reviewers have criticized the film for this - they couldn't be more wrong! I loved spending time with the characters and when they started to get killed off I did start to feel the tension gradually rising and rising until the climatic end.

I have noted from their website that they are promoting the murder mystery element of Needle and without doubt this is the strongest part of the film. I certainly did not work out the killer until the reveal and this was a great surprise.

Overall my opinion is that this is a good film, well worth watching. I can't wait to see this again when its released in cinemas in Australia!

Some college kid inherits a mysterious box. He checks with specialists and discovers that it's quite valuable and some people are interested in it. It also was used in the past for magic acts.

When the kid's creepy brother appears, with whom he hasn't spoken for years, the box mysteriously disappears. And now, one by one his friends start dying in brutal, gory, and bizarre ways. One of them for example, has his limbs torn and broken without any apparent cause. But we do know what is happening. The killer is using the box, photographs of the victims, blood and wax to create a tiny voodoo doll to dismember and poke with needles.

The brother is also coincidentally a crime scene photographer who for some reason can't wipe a cocky smile off his face no matter what gory scene he's called to.

The kid's friends include a bunch of very attractive girls, one which is interested in him but he's rather shy. Eventually the kid and his brother by chance run into the killer and they find out why the killer is doing it.

Needle has an interesting premise, a good cast, is very gory, and it's frankly quite endearing to see Australians dealing with each other, which is a much more human and kind way than obnoxious bickering American movie characters. In particular the relationship between the kid and his love interest is well done. This movie is quite the opposite of American horror that often is nasty and mean spirited but lacks gore or violence. This movie is good-natured and filled with good people but it sure is gory. Nudity is sorely lacking and so is perhaps a villain, after all you really don't see or know much about him till the very end. The idea of a voodoo doll-creating machine is also pretty interesting. The death scenes are excellent. Overall a recommended horror movie that has an interesting way of blending violence and gore with a fairly gentle tone.

When a student, Ben, inherit a strange box from his dead father he seeks help from friends and from one teacher to find out more about the box. Suddenly his friends start to die mysteriously.

Nice killings voodoo style, but some times the sequence of the story was strange and the acting in my opinion is not that good. On the beginning my suspicions about the killer went in a very different way, and that´s a good thing , you want to get surprised when you watch a movie..

My opinion it´s an ok movie.

Part of what makes us indulge in horror movies is to see death presented to us in a different manner, through a story that compels us. NEEDLE had a wonderful premise with a wonderful little mystery that screenwriters Anthony Egan and John V. Soto (who also directed) could not bring to light.

And that really bothers the heck out of me.

If the pair had really invested in a riveting narrative, this could have comprised the mystery element of the United States based version of THE RING with Clive Barkers HELLRAISER for one potent and unforgettable horror. Instead, after coming up with a wild idea, Egan and Soto clearly didn't know what to do with it. Instead, it became hack-and-slice cinema that offered little stimulation to the senses. By movie's end, the tale had become so old and lame, the climax was abysmal and unsatisfactory. In fact, it cheats the audience and sets up a sequel, though I doubt they'll ever have the chance – unless an intelligent producer with deep pockets comes along and shows them how to do it the right way.

At first, when the lame commercial-hard rock commenced as Ben (Michael Dorman) ran across a college campus, I thought this was going to be typical teen fair. Then the premise was revealed and intrigue set in – only to collapse into typical teen fair. Worst still, Travis Fimmel, who played Ben's older brother, came off as being creepy in one scene, and a determined guy out to solve the mystery in another. Now, this did not leave the audience with an enigmatic character (such as Stellan Skarsgård in INSOMNIA or Ji-tae Yu in NATURAL CITY) but a confusing one. However, seeing how the story imploded into mediocrity, I have little doubt the director had told me to act in this manner. Think of George Lucas directing kids (unless they're stuffed into ewok costumes) and you'll get the idea.

Revenge horrors have become a "give me a break" kind of subgenre, that is a simple and clichéd plot device for writers and directors to use as an excuse to slaughter. NEEDLE reminds us filmmakers need to deliver so much more. And this movie is only worth watching to see how a couple of writers came up with a great idea and didn't know how to make it work.

NEEDLE is a nice slab of revenge-horror with a supernatural edge. It concerns a group of college friends who begin dying in godawful -and quite original- ways, after one of them inherits a mysterious wooden box. The survivors must figure out how to stop the carnage if they want to live.

Just imagine if SAW's Jigsaw was a practitioner of black magic, and you'll have some idea of where this movie goes.

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- The cool-looking box of doom! #2- The way the box works!

Ghoulish stuff indeed.

Watch for John Jarratt as the Coroner...