Almost Human

Its an independent film with decent acting that wasn't painful to watch. Each actor lent a very good performance. However, the female lead (in comparison to the other actors) seemed as if she wasn't sure how to act, react or even was familiar with her lines; that was a bit distracting.

The movie kept me in suspense, despite random predictability. The directing/cinematography was immersing me into its world, while some shots I felt were too rushed or unnecessary.

It is worth a watch just to see something familiar done a little differently.

First of all, the beginning off the movie captured my attention but sadly the interest started to dwindle and found myself wanting the film to finish.

Flaws, quite a few of them and the continuity? looked as though the crew couldn't care much about it!

As for the acting; I do say it wasn't bad at all but there were times when I thought "how stupid can people be". You can tell they did this to either get the audience a little angry or tensed. I personally kept shaking my head and repeated the word "stupid"

Finally, it reminded me more of slasher movies. Lots of blood and murders. There didn't seem to be a real story behind it all. The why's and how's were missing and what's going to happen next, most of you may figure it out half way through the film.

Nothing exciting here to watch.

Almost Human comes across as a patchwork quilt of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Terminator, Alien and most notably the works of the legend John Carpenter. Unfortunately, the movie is not good enough to rise above these influences and become an entity of it's own. It has some amazing sequences of gore and violence with practical effects being used in place of horrible CGI. There is also some genuine suspense and dread which shows the director has some skill and could come up with some gems in the future.

However, the movie is badly hampered by some terrible acting and writing. Maybe if Begos had a better writer on board, he could have made a much better film. The actors swear for no reason and it comes across as stilted. They are okay when they are acting scared but when it comes to the dramatic stuff, they are found wanting. Begos has quite a lot of dramatic stuff for a slasher sci-fi flick and so this flaw is magnified that much.

Another thing this movie lacks is a sense of humour which Carpenter's films had. The movie plays it's premise too straight without a hint of satire. Sometimes, it comes off but in this case ,the bad writing and acting sticks out like a sore thumb.

All in all, Almost Human is a halfway-decent stab(*he he*) at a Slasher flick. Begos evidences some directorial talent and with his next film, he will hopefully improve his writing skills and come up with a very good film.

Mark Fisher disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of blue light almost two years ago. His friend Seth Hampton was the last to see him alive. Now a string of grisly, violent murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back, and something evil is inside of him.

The film has some shortcomings, and these can largely be attributed to the independent, low budget status of the film. The filming does not look quite as professional as it could, and the acting is good but not necessarily great. But these things should be expected and not judged too harshly.

Overall, the film is effective and gets across what it is trying to present. Others have called it a cross between "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "The Thing", which is true. But it is not a ripoff of either of these and a new vision in its own right.

Nothing subtle occurs in this movie. It starts in a rush, resets for the opening credits, and then the killing spree begins (with a little pro forma explanation from Seth along the way). Seth and Jen don't remember what happened the night Mark disappeared, but they know it feels really weird, and now two years later they're feeling weird again. While they're feeling weird, Mark is back and killing everyone he runs across.

The story is quite linear, without an ounce of nuance: Mark disappears, he's back, and Seth and Jen are on a collision course with Mark. There's lots of bloody gunshots, stabbings, and other gruesome action. The action is good, more brutal than scary, though the director certainly wanted a bigger special effects budget to show the violence more explicitly. When Mark attacks Jen, there's a jump-the-shark development where the attack gets especially weird. There's not much character development, the acting is pretty wooden, no grander themes or allegory, no subplots or side characters--just a straightforward story with lots of brutal action. (And one rather comical scene: How long does it take to load a rifle?!) The movie is as entertaining as a car crash, just don't expect any deeper meaning.