Spike

I was in the first audience to see this film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. As the film is still listed as being in post production I assume that it may not have been the final version that we saw.

There are some great ideas behind it, and there are things that have been done very well in this movie.

The editing did seem a bit clumsy at the start of the film, and I thought the pacing was maybe a bit slow, but these aren't huge complaints, mostly it was good once it got going. I think the main thing which did this film a disservice was the music. Totally the wrong music for the film in my opinion. Hopefully this is just because we saw an early version though and this will be sorted out before the film is distributed more widely!

I hate to criticise as they have made a film, which is more than I've done! So, well done! It's certainly original and worth a watch. I look forward to a more polished version appearing with improved music!

I saw Spike this weekend at Shriekfest at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles. Having been peripherally involved in low budget movie productions, I know how difficult it can be to bring the collective creative efforts of writers, directors, actors and editors to fruition. While I applaud the apparent intent and ideas of the film-maker Mr. Beaucage, I found the finished movie to be awkward, tiresome and ultimately so frustratingly bad that I can not in good conscience recommend it to anyone. I really wanted to like this film. On the positive side, the creature design and effects were very well done and the actual camera work was good. Unfortunately, this was not enough to make the movie work. Every so often there was a glimmer of non-awfulness, but mostly the wooden performances, asinine plot and the excruciating dialogue combined to make the movie very hard to sit through. It was neither fun nor involving. Some reviewers have compared Spike to a David Lynch or Guillermo del Toro movie. That is unfortunate, since it implies that Mr. Beaucage has created interesting characters and a plot worth contemplating. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Ultimately, Spike was so annoying, it wasn't even possible for me to enjoy it as a bad movie.

Spike is one of those films that does not look like much at first glance but once you watch you become entranced by its wonder and majesty. Robert Beaucage weaves a dark tale that is scary, moving and ultimately tragic; it's like a fairy tale combined with a slasher. The characters are portrayed wonderfully, especially Edward Gusts as Spike, a man with the body of a monster but a heart as big as the earth itself. Sarah Livingston as the Girl is a mixture of beauty and strength as she fights to save her boyfriend from a creature torn by love and lust. even the music is dreamlike in its horror; The Marvelous little toy is used to creepy effect here and its truly unsettling when it plays. Spike is a sight to behold

The cover for 'Spike' looked really appetising. The premise sounded great, being apparently indebted to 'Beauty and the Beast' (a favourite, story and the 1946 and Disney films). It looked good, this was not something that looked cheap. There are quite a number of good and more first-time director films, so there is certainly no bias against debut directors. These outweighed the low rating and mixed to negative (on here) reviews here.

Seeing 'Spike for myself', am going to have to regrettably side, or should that be agree, with those that disliked it and am really sorry about that. Didn't think it was that bad to warrant the lowest possible number of stars, there are far worse films out there and didn't find it one of those beyond redemption films (have thankfully been seeing less of those now), but if there is one thing that really frustrates me when watching something it's when good potential is wasted when strictly speaking it shouldn't be. That applies with 'Spike'.

Lets begin with the saving graces. On the visual side, the advertising doesn't lie as 'Spike' does look good. Especially the photography which is both atmospheric and dreamlike, making for one of the best-looking modest-to-low budget films seen recently and in a while and that is me being serious.

Also thought the acting was better than average, with an initially intimidating but deeply felt performance from Edward Gusts worth singling out. 'Spike' starts off well, the first 10-15 minutes did intrigue and entice me.

However, 'Spike' is primarily let down by an often interminably sluggish pace and a story that after a promising start is far too stretched out (too little story content for a feature-length film) and not always easy to follow. The romantic element doesn't charm or move enough, although the actors were not bad at all on their own their chemistry didn't come to life for me. Didn't feel an awful lot of dark suspense and 'Spike' left me cold on an emotional level, a big problem because 'Beauty and the Beauty' is a very moving story.

While successful on the visual side of things, the direction showed inexperience on the momentum and character interaction. When there was dialogue it was pretty banal and awkward, while the music was completely inappropriate and like it was meant for a different film.

Summing up, disappointing but with a few merits. 3/10

SPIKE is a love story with a tragic, spiny mutant in it. It's sort of a cross between BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS with a bit more blood.

There are enjoyable female characters, including a tough, resourceful woman with medical training. There's also a man who spends most of his screen time on his back, bleeding.

As for the "monster" himself, he's an emotional wreck, unable to get past the love of his life.

Is SPIKE sappy? Yes. Does it drag on quite a bit in places? Yes. Is it a complete catastrophe? No, not entirely. Both the beginning and the ending are enjoyable enough. It's the movie's midsection that bogs down in longwinded silliness. If this had been shortened or even excised, this film would have been far more entertaining.

The thorny suit of the main character is pretty cool, though...