Unbelievable goofs, but somewhat enjoyable
I'm not exactly sure why I picked this from all the Netflix horror movies, I had never heard of it and the cast looked unknown (with the exception of Kevin Pollak). Sometimes these turn out quite good, but this one didn't really. It was somewhat enjoyable thriller, but there are goofs and stylistic choices that drop the score (a lot).
I'm gonna go straight to the bad stuff. The script and what you'll see on screen don't really match. There are flashbacks of events that seem to happen somewhere between 50s and 70s. The style of this movie looks as if it's from the 90s. Yet the movie is made just a few years ago, so you're not really sure when it takes place. People appearing in the flashbacks and current time age differently. Two people, who are younger and older in flashbacks, appear the other way around in current time. So it's really confusing, I don't know what they were thinking, it's mind boggling. Some people don't seem to have aged at all in a good 20-40 years.
The movie has a big 90's vibe to it, saturated colors, filters, TV series style lighting. Even the cast looks 90's. Kind of like a bigger budget porn movie. Quite weird comparison, but that's what I was thinking a few times. The cast looks like they'd be on a reality show rather than being believable cops - or something, there was something lackluster and even campy in the styling. There's also a strong L.A. feel to it - in a bad way. Kind of like the "Melrose Place" cast had a get together and they made a serial killer movie.
All of the above aside, the story is somewhat gripping and the acting is quite good. Camera work is OK, editing is OK.
People have been mentioning movies like Seven, Silence of the Lambs in their reviews. There is a serial killer, but these movies have absolutely nothing in common apart from that. This could be an extended episode of any cop/crime series from L.A. It's not really horror, there's a few gory scenes, but other than that it's your common crime series stuff.
I'm giving three, because something kept me watching and even enjoying a bit. I'm still not quite sure why I kept watching.
I'm gonna go straight to the bad stuff. The script and what you'll see on screen don't really match. There are flashbacks of events that seem to happen somewhere between 50s and 70s. The style of this movie looks as if it's from the 90s. Yet the movie is made just a few years ago, so you're not really sure when it takes place. People appearing in the flashbacks and current time age differently. Two people, who are younger and older in flashbacks, appear the other way around in current time. So it's really confusing, I don't know what they were thinking, it's mind boggling. Some people don't seem to have aged at all in a good 20-40 years.
The movie has a big 90's vibe to it, saturated colors, filters, TV series style lighting. Even the cast looks 90's. Kind of like a bigger budget porn movie. Quite weird comparison, but that's what I was thinking a few times. The cast looks like they'd be on a reality show rather than being believable cops - or something, there was something lackluster and even campy in the styling. There's also a strong L.A. feel to it - in a bad way. Kind of like the "Melrose Place" cast had a get together and they made a serial killer movie.
All of the above aside, the story is somewhat gripping and the acting is quite good. Camera work is OK, editing is OK.
People have been mentioning movies like Seven, Silence of the Lambs in their reviews. There is a serial killer, but these movies have absolutely nothing in common apart from that. This could be an extended episode of any cop/crime series from L.A. It's not really horror, there's a few gory scenes, but other than that it's your common crime series stuff.
I'm giving three, because something kept me watching and even enjoying a bit. I'm still not quite sure why I kept watching.
- rlaine
- Jan 5, 2014