Appartement 17 - L'antre de l'enfer

I came across this film by accident on tv tonight, and knew nothing at all about it beforehand. So my expectations of it were totally non-existent. Always a great state of mind to have when watching a film.

I enjoyed it a lot. It had a fair amount of groovy unexpectedness to it, and some smart moments of humour. Yes, it is a COMIC thriller (something which I was surprised to find missing on these hallowed pages). If you didn't see humour in this film then you just couldn't have been paying attention. Even the title is a psychology pun.

I don't know much of what Chad Lowe had done before this, but I thought he played a fine part. As did Amanda Plummer and R Lee Ermey (seemingly destined to play 'military guy' forever but he does it so well).

Tobe Hooper's direction was pretty smart for the most part. I did think the comparison between the people in the complex and rats in a maze was a bit overplayed. But that be a minor quibble.

Overall it's well worth watching.

Excellent flic; sold as a "drama" by Showtime, was a comedy CLEARLY. The question is; do you get it? Definitely worthwhile, you MUST check it out! Excellent characters and plot.

Vero & Tony

What can i say?? I stumbled across this movie whilst rummaging through the ex-rental,half off bin at my local video store.and thank the lord i did. This movie is the most surreal,brilliantly shot i've seen a long time.Granted..there is no plot but who in the hell cares?? For those of you that do..student takes over the running of a small apartment complex (see what they did there?) and all manner of odd things happen.thats basically it..oh,and supermodel Tyra Banks is in in..and does a lot of wrestling with another chick..and..well..thats it!! but see it..you wont regret it!! and if you need more persuading it was directed by the legend that is TOBE HOOPER!!

While the storyline is certainly unique, it isn't enough to be more than something to pass the time if you have nothing better to do. The acting is mediocre, which is disappointing considering the calibre of the cast. To his benefit, Chad Lowe delivers his lines with the sense of humor that is required to pull this movie off. Its not the worst movie ever made, but its close. If there is nothing else left on the shelf at your local video store and you insist on watching something, then this movie is for you. True Chad Lowe fans will enjoy it merely for the fact that he is in 90% of the scenes.

Pretty funny, weird and enjoyable. It seemed like it was going to be terrible at first because it was quite obviously a made for TV production, but quickly won me over. It managers to be light-heartedly quirky without being obnoxious or cheesy in an annoying way, and lots of genuine laughs. Too bad there is no quality release of the film.