Les faucheurs

I heard, before I saw this movie, that it was supposedly very much like Dark City. This alone made me actually see it, as Dark City is one of my favourite movies and, in my opinion, not known enough considering how many have borrowed from it aftwerwards.

The idea seemed interesting - One man dies over and over again, only to wake up in a new life. Screams DarkCity right there, but I will have to say that I don't think that's a bad thing.

The first 15 minutes, or so, had me at the edge of my seat, and yes, the first half of the movie is quite brilliant. But when our hero started to figure things out (with a little help from Michael Feast, who always is a joy to watch) the plot started to blur and I found myself playing "spot the movie" instead of paying too much attention to whether poor Ian would make it or not. Because Dario Piana has borrowed a lot. Not that I'm actually bothered by it. In fact, if he had managed to tie it all together in the end, it would have been a beautiful lovechild of Dark City and Jacob's Ladder (and other movies).

But sadly, in the end, the swan became a duckling again, ad it's a shame as this movie had so much potential to be something that I personally would have really enjoyed.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie, and there are some quite disturbing scenes. It simply feels like they had a lot of grand ideas that they, had no idea what to do with when the clock started to count down towards the end credits.

Even so, The Deaths of Ian Stone is a good second movie from Piara and I'm excited to see what he'll come up with in the future.

Hey wait a minute a low budget horror film thats actually pretty good. Despite bumpy start this is a good film about a guy who is being killed again and again, each time jumping into a new life. I don't want to say more since the film is solving the puzzle as to what's going on. This is a good story that seems like an extended episode of one of the better horror anthology series, while it probably could be trimmed down a bit, the film is mostly a solid little thriller that puts the story and characters first instead of the effects. Yes there are effects, but they aren't over used nor are they over done. if you like good, pulpy horror stories give this a try.

First of all, IMDb, please refrain from using kids comments and reviews as the default. TheatreX doesn't know what he's talking about but I guess it creates controversy and creates more reviews like this one so... Anyhow, on with the review.

No, it's not some ground breaking plot device (love conquers all). But come on, even Lucas said Star Wars was nothing more than a Western shot in space. No, it's not some special effects extravaganza like Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark. No, it's not going to win any Academy Awards. But, jeez, at least it has a story that makes sense. There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men were raved about by critics and viewers alike but I found both films to be mediocre at best. My friends and I took shots every time Tommy Lee sat down to jaw jack or read the newspaper and I can assure you we were drunk as skunks in no time. So much for public taste.

This film itself certainly doesn't bring anything new to the genre but it takes what's available and executes it in pretty good fashion. I expected a lot of blood and gore and bad acting right from the beginning but was pleasantly surprised to find neither. The plot and storyline unfold slowly and despite what others say, including TheatreX, nothing goes downhill after that fact. It's as good as anything else you'll see on the big screen and not a bad way to spend some time curled up with your girl in a pitch black room some weekend. Grats to Stan Winston for the production and effects and Dario Piana for the direction. I'll rent the others for sure.

Like Lost, and Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the Deaths of Ian Stone does a great job of building up a mysterious story and loads of questions, but sadly doesn't really follow through at the end.

Ian Stone is a ice hockey player that gets hunted down and killed by a strange monster. The next day, he's an office worker who's girlfriend turns into a monster and kills him. The day after that, he's a taxi driver who gets stalked by monsters. The only constant is a blonde girl who turns up in every incarnation. Who is killing him every day and why? And who is the blonde girl?

This was all good stuff up to a point, but when things start being explained, it all becomes a bit ho-hum. Not a bad film, mind, the creatures are pretty good creations, and there's plenty of tension, but I think the film makers were looking towards creating a Clive Barker-like worlds-within-worlds mythology. It didn't quite work. For some reason the baddies all dress like Matrix people. Didn't quite get that bit either.

It's okay, just don't get yourself too excited when watching the first half.

In England, Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) finds himself trapped in a weird situation: everyday, he meets the same persons in the most different situation, including Medea (Jaimie Murray) and Jenny (Christina Cole); around 5 PM, the watches stop and Ian is haunted by creepy beings with claws and has a painful death, waking again in another life. When an old man meets him and tells that he must protect Jenny to resurrect again, Ian begins to unravel a great mystery.

"The Deaths of Ian Stone" has a promising and intriguing beginning that recalls "Groundhog Day", "12:01" and "The Matrix", with the lead character awaking every day in a different reality after dying. Unfortunately the explanation of the Harvesters is weak and very disappointing. There are many points that deserve better clarification, like why the existence of parallel lives? Or how can the realities change and how could Ian return to the initial life if he died? With a better development of the story, resolving the flaws in the screenplay, this movie could be excellent. But it entertains and is original and my vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Prisioneiro da Morte" ("Prisoner of the Death")