The Helpers

Heading off on a road-trip, a group of friends get stranded near a roadside motel and decide to stay the night only to awake in the morning tied up and being forced to undergo grueling, brutal tortures for a past revenge and must find a way to battle their captors to escape alive.

For the most part, this one wasn't all that great. What really tends to work well here for this one is the fact that there's quite a nicely believable and enjoyable first half which really dispels the notion of the upcoming horror quite nicely as there's a lot of fun to be had here. The shots of them sitting around partying and hanging out at the motel before it all goes down, and it makes for some rather cool times with their ability to keep this section of the film quite interesting. When it leads into the series of tortures and other tactics committed against the group, that does make for a somewhat more enjoyable time here with some rather fun and exciting tortures throughout here which are much more prominently based on actual tortures being imposed on them which makes for a rather decent time here. With them really running through some solid tortures in the various rooms as in them being tied up to trucks or strapped into chairs above bathtubs filled with water holding a live wire above it, the ideas behind them are kinda cruel and makes for some chilling moments as there's a nice sense of twisted brutality to their madness which is rather fun to watch and sets up the finale nicely as there's plenty of fun chasing and brawling occurring throughout that makes for quite a fun and really enjoyable time throughout here. These, though, are all that really work for this one since way too much of it isn't all that appealing and features a multitude of big flaws. The main issue to be found here is the fact that there's just absolutely nothing about the villains that makes them someone to be feared or scared of, being the usual assortment of wackos that are simply in the position of power through drugging everyone and it really seems like a situation where it would be quite easy to get the upper hand on them if an actual, honest attempt at putting them away were tried, and as they go for the tormenting and torture route this doesn't get any better. As a main genre this is simply old and tiresome which really just makes for a rather overdone and quite bland outing here as there's just not a whole lot of interest here generated from that plot line. Then to top if off there's the utter gall of the film to try to tie in their actions with the backstory delivered by them which is so utterly obnoxious, condescending and truly pathetic that it never once comes across as anything but a total joke. Based on such a lame reasoning in the first place at wanting to find revenge on the guilty party only for that to be the tie into the simply most ridiculous manner of carrying it out which has no need to ever be attempted here truly turns this whole part of the film into quite the pain to get through trying to rationalize the true nature of what's going on which is quite pathetic. This here makes this one such an utterly torturous watch that it really overcomes many of it's positives otherwise.

Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity.

This movie honestly could've been way better in my opinion (the story line) but geez, it was messed up. The main issue in the movie for me was the actors/actresses. Worst acting I've ever seen in a movie, most scenes felt super awkward and like they were about to forget their lines. Also most of the characters would not show any emotion while they talked which made it even more hilarious- lol. Only giving this a 3/10 because I liked the story line.. at first. It went downhill after first 20 minutes.

No pun intended - I mean you may already know where this is going. Just the title Helpers ... you know how it is meant and what you can expect ... well more or less, because there are quite some extreme scenes in this. So not for the faint hearted to say the least.

But I doubt someone who is into romantic movies, will watch this. I would assume someone would warn them ... maybe me? So yes, be aware of what you watch. That being said, the movie has highs and lows. It seems to much fun, until it changes gears ... and then it is only ugly ... which I assume you either "like" or find disgusting. Some ideas were interesting, but it is really hard to watch ... especially because it seems to be done without reason ... until it is revealed there might be a reason ... just so the end credits (bonus scene) tells us otherwise ... what is it? Ah well ... do we really care?

Poor acting and a horrible script. They tried to fill the huge holes in the story with an explanation that was unintentionally hilarious. On the bright side a few good scares. But better watch Vacancy. The original is in this case a lot better than this cheap ripp off.

NO VACANCY AKA THE HELPERS is a horror film in which every scene makes you feel like you have seen something like this before. Perhaps the most original aspect of it is that it attempts (in its earlier parts, at least) to combine elements of found footage with normal story-telling, but curiously, the camera angles under "normal mode" are chosen such that it feels even more like found-footage, and so when it switches modes, it becomes a little confusing.

What really does this movie in, however, is not the lack of originality or botched handling of different modes of story-telling, but the barrage of implausibilities from start to end.

The seven(!) friends do not get even a little suspicious that they are being offered free food, drinks and board? Really? And then, when the killings start, they don't avail themselves of the many objects lying around to defend themselves? The plot twist was better than having no twist at all, but it was still underwhelming, in part, again, because it seemed so implausible. And what was up with the epilogue? Is this now about the undead?

Several scenes were filmed in a way that made it obvious how the film tried to manipulate the audience into a sense of dread. Of course, many movies, and especially horror films, try to manipulate the audience into experiencing certain emotions. The art lies in doing it in a way that the audience does not notice it. In that regard, the film failed, too.

Finally, there is an unevenness in the movie which I think makes it difficult fo the film to find its audience: the earlier killings have a strong torture porn feel, whereas the later ones are more reminiscent of standard action-thriller movies.

All in all, quite a forgettable film.