We've become accustomed in expecting a sub-par B-grade film when Bruce Willis (PLEASE retire!) is cast, but this one is by far one of the worst.
I get that director Mike Burns and writer Bill Lawrence are newb filmmakers, but this felt like a failed high school drama class production.
The dialogue was atrocious. Literally the entire first half of the film could've been cut down to 10 mins max. The scenes were too long, and/or unnecessary, and most were just plain ridiculous. There was a hefty lack of logic, with major plot and technical issues, and you'll find yourself either laughing or cringing at most scenes.
The pacing was horrible, and with the majority of the story being cheesy af, the normally comfortable 95 min runtime felt like 3+ hours. You'll be tempted to fast forward much of the film, and trust me, you wont miss much. Only the last 15 mins of the film felt like an adequate film production with good continuity in the scenes, and some decent drama and suspense, albeit predictable.
And what was Burns thinking with probably the worst cinematography I've seen in a long time? Were blue and earth-tones the only color filter palette choices? There's a scene when Willis arrives and greets his niece at the cabin, and all that stands out is her bright blue jeans in the entire scene. And the constant distant shots of the skyline, valleys and hills got very tiring fast.
The acting for the most part was bad and unconvincing - I'm sure in part due to Burns' inexperience in directing his cast, and Willis was his usual drab "I'm only here for the paycheck". Only Jaime King's performance was good and convincing throughout, and she basically carried the entire film.
The only decent component in this production was the score, which although still the typical B-film loud and overbearing score, it at least was somewhat fitting and wasn't playing through-out the entire 95 mins. But then again, this is Burns' main field of expertise in the film industry - music director, so had he messed that up, he'd have some 'splaining to do. The soundtrack was also fairly decent, although it played in many scenes that didn't really need loud country/rock music playing in the background.
It's a very generous 3/10 from me, mostly for King's performance, and also cutting the newb filmmakers some slack. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes.
