Pod

I decided to put this on after watching Darling on Netflix and subsequently looking up more from Mickey Keating as I really enjoyed that offering. 5 minutes into this movie I was hooked, and stayed that way until the end. The only reason I wouldn't rate this film higher is because it isn't very ambitious, but what it aims for it does pretty well. This is a B movie, and I don't want to say any more than that because I don't want to spoil it. In fact I'm angry at Netflix because the images on the film's page contain spoilers, I recommend going into it knowing absolutely nothing. Lauren Ashley Carter is really good in the film, yes her character is extremely wildly emotional which some may find annoying, but I found her very entertaining. If you go into this expecting a decent B movie with a simple plot then you should be satisfied, there is certainly emphasis here on style and atmosphere, the story won't impress you as its one we've seen countless times before but it does what it sets out to do and delivers a little bit of suspense, mystery and horror on a low budget and at under 80 minutes it's brisk and easy to watch.

Although the acting and character development in this film are very good, I was left at the end with too many unanswered questions and unexplained plot holes. It's always difficult to realistically display mental health disorders in a sympathetic and factual way and this title managed to cover such an emotive subject in a sensitive way, which was quite impressive. However, the storyline isn't a strong one and does little to explain who the characters really are, let alone how or why they make the choices they do. People are introduced and never explained, leaving you feeling that you have no idea where people have appeared from or what their motives are. I understand that sometimes as a viewer you have to 'Put the pieces of the puzzle together yourself' but it constantly seemed as if a lot of the pieces were missing and there was no way to see the whole picture. Overall, this movie was rather disappointing and missed the opportunity to create a great atmosphere as well as subjecting us to a rather strange and badly thought out narrative.

Brian Morvant kills it in this one as 'Martin', a stereotypical ex-military madman suffering from full-on psychosis and maybe aliens.

All of the acting is pretty great, the story plods a little and there is some weird editing but it's a solid indie movie.

Entertaining, kept me intrigued with the mystery, and despite what appears to be a very low budget the film is equal to or better than many high budget films. Character development was good, maybe very good and definitely, better than average for thriller/horror genre. Few special effects, but very well done. Great atmosphere throughout. Ending follows the classic horror model- too bad and a let down.

Family reunion can be awkward, but these siblings take it to the next level. Nearly the entire script consists of bantering and screaming. It's quite the shame since the premise shows a glimpse of isolation that could've been better utilized for sci-fi or horror, instead we are presented an exhausting spectacle of dysfunctional family more than the actual mystery.

This is a small cast, with only three leads. Marty is the secluded brother and his siblings are worried about him. This leads to a long verbal standoff, arguing whether Marty is delusional or not. There's a lot of yelling and cursing involved, and one can't help but wonder if they could resolve the issue with better communication skill and whether the excessive shouting is merely padding to prolong the already short runtime.

After a while the loud screaming becomes numbing, and the thriller aspect doesn't get going until much later. It displays the hint of eerie atmosphere, although it doesn't manifest seamlessly and as usual shaky cam is expected. If it had more refined screenplay that focused on the mystery rather than family squabble as though they were in a cheap reality show, it could've been decent.

Scarce on the thrill and heavy on the cursing, Pod is a much tiresome and less horrifying affair than it could've been.