This is a film that I got the chance to see thanks to a friend of mine recommending me to the writer/director/co-star of this film, James L. Edwards. He reached directly, asking if I'd be interested in watching for review. Now I know of Edwards from earlier works that are on my list to check out. I also saw him on another podcast from a friend, Mr. Parka. I was honored to be asked so I wanted to check this out.
Synopsis: revenge, torture, murder... and you just might learn something.
We have a simple story here that is effective. Laurel Edmonds (Sasha Graham) has a set up for a new trivia show called Trivial. It looks to be in a garage that has been minimally dressed up. Chuck (Douglas Esper) is running a laptop and is doing the announcing for it. This show pits two people against each other, doing trivia. The problem though, for every wrong answer there is a stiff punishment. The story is also told in 5 Chapters.
The first game has Dean Mathers (Edwards) against Chris Haim (Adam Scott Clevenger). Dean is a misogynistic guy who hits on Laurel, causing her to roll her eyes. He is vulgar in doing it. Chris is harboring secrets of his own that get revealed as this game goes on. I'll also include more of the rules here. The punishment is that Laurel cuts your face into a Glasgow smile. Three wrong answers and she kills you.
Dean survives the first game and he then gets a new opponent. Each contestant has issues that they're hiding. As each game plays out, there could be a pattern here as to why these people were selected. It is the final game where we see a true connection between Laurel and one of the contestants as well.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. I went lighter with the recap since there isn't the deepest story here. That isn't an issue for me though since there are things that get developed with each game and with the contestants that we meet. If anything, I do have a slight gripe that could be tightened up. It isn't a huge issue though. I did want to say that. It just would elevate it slightly for me as a story person.
Now that I've set that up, let me delve into what works here. This is working with a small budget. You see that in the sets that are used. This reminded me of Saw. We have two contestants waking up and not knowing how they got there. We even get flashes of how Dean was taken. Despite how cheap this set looks, there is charm there. Laurel isn't rich. This is also a game of revenge that she is playing, without much going into the planning so it adds appeal to what we're getting for me. Each person that is forced to play has things in their past so that also made me think of Saw. I wouldn't call this a rip-off, just feels inspired.
Let's then shift to what is the best part here and it falls in filmmaking. The effects here exceeded my expectations for the budget. What I like is that they don't go over the top. That preserves realism. They know what they can do and make it look real enough. I'll also credit the cinematography and framing to capture that. There's another thing here that I love and it is with the editing. There is old game show footage used in the opening credits. We'll also shift over to intercuts of this footage and there are times where it almost seems like the host is talking to our contestants. That was expertly done. I was impressed. I'll also credit the soundtrack as it is simple yet effective to build tension. The techniques used here were top notch. If I do have a gripe, this just runs a bit too long and gets repetitive.
I'll then finish out with the acting performances. Graham carries this film since she is the through line for the game. She looks like she's not only having a blast, but there is a creepiness that she brings. There is one scene were see what she's doing as it wears on her, but then from that moment, it seems like she has completely cracked from reality. That impressed me. I also thought that Edwards has a fun role. He's such a jerk here, but it made me smile. He's truly the only contestant that is deplorable from the start. I start to feel bad for him the longer he goes, which is odd due to a reveal. I'll also credit Drew Fortier, Tim Novotny, Rick Jermain, Clevenger and Andrea Carlson Knight as other contestants. Esper along with the rest of the cast also helped to round this out for what was needed.
In conclusion, this is a minimalist film that had me hooked from the opening 'game'. It is impressive to see what Edwards did with the budget. The setting of the trivia game is minimal, but there's charm there with knowing the story. This is well made with the effects, editing, soundtrack along with the cinematography and framing to help bring this to life. Graham's performance is amazing along with Edwards and the rest of the cast to push her to where she ends up. If you like a bit of a gory, independent horror film around a game of trivia where your life's on the line, I'd recommend this one.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
