Morbid

Plot

A group of friends at a Halloween party play a Japanese board game called Morbid - where answers to the game could mean the difference between life and death.

Cast

Zero familiarity with anyone involved, and most were truly awful

Verdict

There's a sub-genre of horror I love, namely where people are thrown into a deadly game. Whether it be Cube, Circle, The Human Race, Would You Rather or one of countless others. I was excited for Morbid as it's another one, but boy it's not on the same level.

The first thing you notice is how cheap it all feels, the cast come across as untrained, the effects are pretty much non-existent, the kills are some of the worst I've seen in a long while and the plot is random imagery with absolutely no coherence.

I watched it with the missus and we both were in awe at the absolute mess we were witnessing.

I don't know what can be said other than I recommend it, as something to avoid.

Rants

Anyone seen Circle? That was a hell of a film, can be found on Netflix I believe or at least it can in the UK I think. Another movie with a bunch of people who wake up in a strange place and are forced to play a game of death where there can only be one winner. Full of moral and ethical choices it's fascinating, entertaining and one that keeps you thinking long after. Basically it's everything Morbid is not.

Breakdown

All feels cheap Terrible kills Plot is dreadful.

This is not as bad as some of the reviews would lead you to believe. The movie is low budget but doesnt look all that cheap.

The problem lies in the pretty crappy direction and really bad acting.

That sounds like a lot to bring the rating down, but certainly not to a one.

Yes, some of it is downright stupid and because of the poor direction it becomes rather tedious as the action proceeds, but it's an OK watch if you're not doing anything else for an hour plus.

The movie is sort of set up like an anthology flick with separate sorties involving each of the girls. It needs nudity to sustain the interest.

I found this a fairly decent movie. Granted the actresses did lack some kind of emotion and feeling, but giving them the benefit of the doubt, I think they made the movie work with the overall feel of it, and all actors have to start somewhere right?

The concept of the game itself is a really clever and original idea. I think if they had just a slightly higher budget it could have been depicted in a more graphic matter, considering the context of the game itself.

Definitely something that can be re-made into something that could rival Ouija if the budget is high enough. Id love to see a remake with few known faces to see how much of a good film it could actually be.

To get the blindingly obvious out of the way first: the acting is awful. It is so incredibly bad that I thought it was meant to be "tongue in cheek," but the longer the film wore on, the more it seemed that this wasn't the case. The "actors" all have the same bland, emotionless attitude, it is so bad I still can't entirely believe it wasn't intentional.

The bad effects, costume and props could be excused if this was either a parody film or a low budget horror where you can still tell an effort was made, but in this case the terrible acting and lazy ending just make the cheap props stand out even more - the whole thing seems careless and lacklustre.

The storyline itself is interesting, the overlapping experiences of the girls intertwining with one another is a nice concept that could have been explored further, but it's like the ending that should have tied it all together is just...absent. It just ends, leaving the whole thing as a poorly executed mess.

I stuck with it because I thought it must just be a really slow burn film with a payoff at the end, but no. Turns out it's just a waste of time. Do yourself a favour, watch something else. Time is irreplaceable, this film certainly is not.

Was this a film student's project? God, it is awful. The acting is absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic. See your friend get slaughtered? No reaction at all. The writing is some of the worst I have ever had to suffer through. The FX are amateurish: severed hand is OBVIOUSLY rubber. I mean, it is really, really bad. Do not waste your time.