Silent Hill

Rated: R (for strong horror violence and gore, disturbing images, and some language)
Runtime: 127 minutes
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Jodelle Ferland

Cinematic video game adaptations are usually puerile, unnecessary efforts. Considering its brethren – Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Doom, House of the Dead, Bloodrayne, Mortal Kombat, to name a few – Silent Hill should be an utterly dismal failure. Critics and fans thus far seem torn on the flick. I hear the studio didn’t screen it for critics and that they aren’t the happiest with the final cut. So being the opinionated movie dork that I am, I’ll cast my vote… not only is Silent Hill the best video game adaptation I’ve seen, it’s the ONLY one deserving of merit. As a horror film, it’s brilliant.

The story to Silent Hill isn’t hard to grasp. Rose (Radha Mitchell) and her husband Chris (Sean Bean) are worried about their daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland). And rightly so as she randomly sleepwalks towards cliffs and repeats the name of a town lost in a fire years ago - Silent Hill. Rose takes Sharon to the West Virginian ghost town in an effort to alleviate her ailment. After veering off the main road, crashing through a fenced barricade, outrunning a lady cop named Cybill (Laurie Holden), and simultaneously scaring the crap out of her daughter, Rose swerves to miss a little girl wandering in the road and wrecks.

Rose awakens to find herself on the town’s border, immersed in fog with ashes constantly raining down, and Sharon is gone. Once in town, Rose finds herself in an alley when suddenly a siren wails in the distance, and the whole town disappears into darkness. With only a lighter to see by, she stumbles upon a disemboweled figure tied to a fence. This is the least of her problems, as what can only be described as the mournful, reanimated charred remains of children who still burn as they scream and lurch forward with a sort-of disfigured limp swarm in around her. From here, things go really bad, kick-starting this hellish nightmare which awkwardly cuts between Rose and Cybill searching for Sharon, and Chris searching for his family.

Director Christophe Gans, who helmed the breathtaking Brotherhood of the Wolf, proves he’s got an unsurpassed talent for visual finesse. The images he splashes on screen are equally horrific and gorgeous. There are a moderate amount of computer effects, but less than you might think and Gans, more than most directors, knows how to utilize these as a tool to enhance his film. The cinematography is near perfect, and often emulates a third-person omniscience reminiscent of the video game. And though people seem to think at 127-minutes the flick is too long, I thought the pacing (despite dragging some in act two) was excellent, wasting little time.

The whole flick looks amazing. The score is exactly as it sounds in the video game, which works very well – it’s quite haunting. And the sound design is harrowingly good – the creatures’ screams will make your skin cringe.

The script was penned by Roger Avery, who wrote/directed a morbidly guilty pleasure of mine, Rules of Attraction. The story is rather faithful to the games, with a few changes/exclusions. My biggest complaint is Avery’s dialogue is stiff and unrealistic. And there are moments that are purely expository. I remember playing the video game when it first came out for Playstation, and it freaked me out enough that I think I peed a little. The movie, while less scary, as you don’t have control over the characters, did manage to capture that essence.

To enjoy Silent Hill you almost have to take a leap of faith. You’ll know in the first 10 minutes if you’ll like it. I’ll admit, the movie at times favors style over substance, but it works. It’s extremely atmospheric in its repeatedly unsettling sequences - this is the stuff nightmares are made of. If you could manifest your worst dreams into unexplained, disturbingly lush visuals, you’d have Silent Hill. Characters, while unrealistic, behave slightly off-kilter. The underdevelopment of the characters and their motivations add to this dreamlike quality.

This is not a flick for kids or date night. I didn’t particularly think the movie was scary, just very messed up (and delightfully so). No expense is spared on the gore. Blood gushes in all directions in one of the most shocking climaxes to squeak into a studio picture in years. I would love to talk about the movie more, but it’ll be more enjoyable the less you know. See it now. I can’t wait for the sequel.

My Rating: A–

Wolf Creek – DVD review

Rated: UNRATED (for strong gruesome violence, and for language)
Runtime: 104 minutes (unrated cut)
Written and Directed by: Greg McLean
Starring: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips

When Wolf Creek hit theaters in 2005 my attention was piqued for two reasons: it looked like a horror movie that actually might be scary, and it was released on Christmas Day (marketing genius… I’m only half kidding). Much to my dismay I never got the chance to see it theatrically. Yay for DVD. Now we have the “unrated” cut, my continual guilty pleasure of a marketing scheme. Having seen it, I have to admit, this is one gem of a horror flick.

The story centers on Kristy, Ben and Liz, three friends trekking through the Australian outback on their way to Wolf Creek National Park, the site of a meteor landing. When their car breaks down and they find themselves stranded (as per usual in the genre), help arrives in the form of a grizzled Aussie named Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), who seems like the love-child of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Dundee and Leatherface. Of course they accept his help and end up back at his campsite, only to wake up bound, gagged, and prepped for torture. From here the movie plunges headfirst into hell as the kids grasp for a chance to stay alive, only to be repeatedly thwarted by their bloodthirsty aggressor.

At a glance, Wolf Creek is like a hundred other films in the genre. But it carries a few qualities that elevate it from the crowd. It bears the increasingly prevalent “based on true events” moniker, but this story feels believable, taken from similar cases in Australia. At first the movie starts really slow, but once it hits nightmare territory, the terror is genuinely harrowing and merciless. Mick’s character is so grounded, yet disturbingly unstable that it beckons reality. He’s utterly unforgiving and uncompromising, a brilliant and altogether frightening performance from Jarratt.

The cinematography is lush and breathtakingly scenic as it captures the Australian outback (the location becomes a character for the story, reminiscent of how the Bates Motel did in Psycho). The colors are vibrant at first, when we first meet our travelers, then the visuals shift, becoming cold and desaturated as the life drains from the film – not revolutionary, but quite appropriate.

Writer/director Greg McLean offers a well-crafted horror story that’s not breathtakingly original, but unflinchingly honest. His dialogue and characters aren’t anything to write home about, save Mick. But his direction is dreadfully perceptive. Considering his dramatic approach to the material and the visual portrayal alone, I’d say he’s a talent to watch. He takes moments to linger on the characters’ suffering and ultimate reaction to situations in such a way it forces humanity back into the picture.

Considering all the above, it goes without saying the violence is rather uncomfortable to watch, which considering the story, is necessary and furthermore required. There aren’t any commercially viable moments to make horror fans clap when blood is spilt. Just writhing, pleading victims who you’d like to see escape.

The DVD is overall a decent release. You have your choice of rated and unrated versions (5 minutes difference), both containing the theatrical trailer, a pointless deleted scene, commentary with McLean, executive producer Matt Hearn and the female leads, and a surprisingly in-depth and entertaining 50-minute “making-of.”

I can’t grade this movie as perfect. There are some pacing issues, the characters aren’t all worth developing, the story lacks originality and feels at times disjointed (no pun intended). But for an independent flick budgeted around $1.5 million, Wolf Creek is pretty impressive, achieving much more than most of its high-cost Hollywood counterparts. And people are taking notice – it did well at Sundance, and even the cover boasts positive quotes from two of my favorite maverick filmmakers, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. If you’ve got a strong stomach and crave a thrill ride into a nightmarish hell, this is definitely your ticket.

My Rating: B +

Crash – DVD review

Rated: R (for language, sexual content and some violence)
Runtime: 113 minutes (theatrical version), 115 minutes (director’s cut)
Directed by: Paul Haggis
Written by: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendon Frasier, Ryan Phillipe, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner

Crash is the kind of film that comes along every so often and creates a stir in all things cinematic that year. It may strike a viewer as a profound work of art, something shrieking originality and deserving of unanimous accolades. It may strike another as pretentious, a blundering, self-righteous experiment that’s been tried and proves unnecessary. It’s that film that sneaks up come awards time.

Awards have literally fallen out of the sky for this movie. Three Oscars in the bag, including Picture and Screenplay, Crash was released early in 2005, way before Oscar sweeps – which according to unwritten law should’ve left it overlooked by the Academy. But somehow it built up steam, and much to the surprise of the film community (and this reviewer), trumped the critics’ so-called darling for Best Picture, Brokeback Mountain. So is it that good?

I thought Crash looked intriguing from the get-go, and it actually exceeded my expectations as I found myself in love with this film. I’m trying to stay off the bandwagon here. There’s a lot of heated love-hate debate over the film. Critics (and general opinion) seem to regard it as either the best film of the year, or the worst piece of unintelligible cinema ever to unjustly creep into the Oscar race. The clashing of judgment is something I attribute to the film’s goal – to provoke a response.

Crash is at its heart, a poignant human drama focusing on the interactions of several key characters in L.A. who respond in varying degrees of racial prejudice to the world around them. They intertwine and connect in ways that feel genuine, a glimpse at the strangers we meet in our daily life. The thing here is that all the thoughts that go unspoken, however inappropriate or cruel, are brought center stage in the dialogue. Characters sling racial slurs at one another and condemn other cultures while verbally uplifting their own, all the while counteracting their plight by propagating the very stereotypes in themselves they’re claiming are unfounded. Such as two black characters claiming racism as a white woman clings to her husband at the sight of them, saying she has no reason to be afraid… then they pull guns and carjack her.

Crash is equal parts offensive and insightful. It becomes a sort of dramatic sociological examination at the way we as people really think and feel about one another, and how what we say might not line up with that, despite what we intend.

The story finds redemption in a profound sense of hope, that we as people crave a connection to one another, and sometimes build up walls, putting distance between us and the world until it swells to a climax where we crave the touch of another so badly we literally crash into one another (as pointed out in Don Cheadle’s opening dialogue). When all is said and done, it’s really a beautifully poignant, intricate weave of vignettes that leaves several emotional and intellectual nerves touched. This is the little independent flick that could, and heralds something profound and exciting.

The script is brilliant, with rich characters and resounding dialogue. Director/co-writer Paul Haggis (who wrote Million Dollar Baby) delivers a solid film that from a technical perspective is amazing. The camerawork, lighting, and general staging of scenes is excellent. As a director, he doesn’t give everything in the way of uniqueness or bravado, but he really knows how to balance multiple storylines, and has a skilled focus when it comes to characters. His influences are apparent, as often I recollected P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia, or Robert Altman’s Short Cuts. I think he’s got better films ahead of him, but this one earns him credibility.

The acting is near-flawless on all counts. It’s an ensemble character piece and everyone is great, so I won’t go into specifics other than to say Matt Dillon and Terrence Howard are forces to be reckoned with.

This is the second incarnation of Crash on DVD. The first had very little in the way of bonus material, but now we have a loaded 2-disc set with several featurettes, deleted scenes (that are rightfully excised), music montages, interviews and the like. The key marketing for this release is that it’s a director’s cut. Honestly there’s hardly any difference from the theatrical version. Just a few extended bits of dialogue or a reaction glance here and there. If you already own it, you could probably pass on this release. If you don’t, snag it – it’s a nice set.

Crash is a movie that will get you to react, love it or hate it. It’s the kind of film you discuss afterwards with friends or the next day with co-workers. On a side note, I hear it’s being adapted to a TV series, which is among the dumber ideas I’ve heard as of late. Definitely worthy of praise in my opinion, you wouldn’t be scathed if you bought it on a whim to see what all the fuss is about.

My Rating: A–

Where the Truth Lies – DVD review

Rated: Unrated, originally NC-17 (for strong sexuality, nudity, drug use and language)
Runtime: 108 minutes
Written and Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman

Where the Truth Lies is a movie that slipped onto DVD recently under the radar. By that I mean it never played theatrically anywhere around here, mainly because it was stamped with the dreaded NC-17 rating – a cinematic kiss of death at the box office, as most theaters won’t play anything above an R. Now that the “Unrated Theatrical Edition” is out on DVD, I sort of had to check it out, since any movie that garners controversy piques my interest. What I expected and what I discovered were utterly different.

The story haphazardly follows Karen O’Connor (Alison Lohman), a journalist chronicling the rise and fall of Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth), a comedic duo best known for their hosting of polio telethons. Mysteriously, a girl is found dead in their hotel room, after which their partnership comes to an abrupt end. Karen proceeds to uncover the truth, all the while enjoying torrid affairs in what shapes up to be a stoic, mildly provocative erotic thriller.

All in all, Where the Truth Lies is a disappointment. Directed by Atom Egoyan (Exotica, Ararat), this sultry tale of sex, deception and murder plays out slightly akin to a movie of the week meets Red Shoe Diaries with high production value. The script, adapted from Rupert Holmes’ novel, is amateurish and unfolds with little fervor or concern – a trite story with a predictable “twist” ending.

The cinematography is decent, hinting at avant-garde. The film harbors a genuine, seedy film noir quality, but preys too heavily on clichés and results in unoriginality (though there’s an air of intrigue despite the melodrama). And the movie’s chock-full of sex, seemingly fitting to the story but nevertheless bordering on softcore porn (the R-rated version is one minute shorter).

The film has multiple narrations throughout from Lanny and Karen, offering internalized explanations of what characters are feeling and what really happened, so the audience doesn’t have to think. Both are unnecessary, offering little other than to over-explain events and elaborate on what position Bacon’s character prefers when with the opposite sex.

Bacon is wholly unsympathetic in his pervasive philandering and disposing of female conquests. But there rings an unstable emotional worth in his portrayal that feels real. By far, his is the standout performance. Firth is effective to an extent, but entirely miscast for this type of film, often coming across awkward and unenthusiastic. Lohman’s performance is flat and uninspired to a fault. Every line she delivered bugged me. As a leading lady caught in the middle of this dark a tale, she shines with too much innocence and constantly looks bewildered, like a deer in headlights.

The DVD is just a step above bare-bones. There are trailers for other Sony releases, deleted scenes (rightfully so, I might add), and a pathetic five-minute “making-of” that’s nothing more than random behind the scenes footage incoherently cut together. No commentary, no other time for you to waste.

I wouldn’t count Where the Truth Lies among the worst choices of rentals, but I wouldn’t consider it a prime pick either. It simply is. I was mildly entertained, given Egoyan’s curious direction and Bacon’s honest performance, but I simultaneously thought the whole thing was laughable. Check it out at your own risk.

My Rating: D+

Memoirs of a Geisha – DVD review

Rated: PG-13 (for mature subject matter and some sexual content)
Runtime: 145 minutes
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Written by: Robin Swicord (based on the book by Arthur Golden)
Starring: Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Watanabe

This week I’m taking a look at another DVD release, something that’s worth your time and inexplicably never played at our local theater: Memoirs of a Geisha.

This is the story of Chiyo (Ziyi Zhang), who as a young girl is sold to become a geisha – not a stripper or prostitute as some think, but a refined girl trained in the art of dance, conversation and the like who’s presence is hired to entertain the male population. Chiyo has rare, startlingly hypnotic blue eyes, which only enhance her natural beauty. This fuels jealousy and competition by the head geisha of the house, Hatsumomo. One day on the streets, still a young girl, Chiyo encounters the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), and succumbs to a schoolgirl crush that will never lose hold over her. She vows to find and woo him once she’s older. Chiyo grows to become the most renowned geisha in all the land, having many men fall under her spell. The story progresses to a sort of Japanese historical commentary as World War II begins and geishas fall to the brink of extinction. But the love between Chiyo and the Chairman exists as a sort of exotic Cinderella tale, framing all events in this intriguing, lush epic.

I will admit that a story centered on a young girl who meets a middle-aged man old enough to be her father and grows up to fall in love with him is a wee-tad creepy. But unconventional as it may be, the love here is genuine. And it’s painted in such a light that it’s honestly sweet and wholesome. The focus is on her life, and this love is a big part of it.

Marshall’s direction is bold, with a keen, dramatic flair and a welcome sense of artistry. Having helmed the Oscar-winning Chicago, it’s obvious his visual bravado is apt, painting the frame with a myriad of colors, framing each moment of the story as a photograph that would hang in an art gallery. The script manages to condense a very hefty tale into one coherent thread, spanning Chiyo’s complex life and the historical significance of geishas in Japan pre-World War II. I haven’t read the book, but my wife tells me this is a good adaptation.

Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers) is the standout star here. Her performance might be the best I’ve seen. She plays Chiyo with a genuine devotion, and it’s obvious she cares for this character and had fun playing her.

The visuals in this flick are its strongest point. The art direction and design are breathtaking. And the cinematography is brilliant and intricate, with a vibrant color scheme and grandiose movements – it won an Oscar, and deservedly so.

The DVD is available in both fullscreen and widescreen versions. Due to reasons above, make sure you get the widescreen version – to miss nearly 50% of the visual aspect of this film would ruin it. The 2-disc set also includes two commentary tracks, one from Marshall and co-producer John DeLuca, and a separate production track. Then there are 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes giving insight to the look, design, score, and choreography of the film.

The real reason to pick up this disc is the movie itself. It’s a well-crafted epic that was unjustly overlooked at the Oscars this year. Definitely a film of significant merit, I’d go so far as to say it’s worth buying even if you haven’t seen it.

My Rating: A –

16 Blocks

Rated: PG-13 (for violence, intense sequences of action, and some strong language)
Runtime: 105 minutes
Directed by: Richard Donner
Written by: Richard Wenk
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse

In 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a worn cop with a bum leg and a migration towards liquor stores. He is assigned to escort convict/witness Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) 16 blocks to the courthouse by 10 AM for his testimony against a slew of corrupt cops. After a run-in with ex-partner Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosley finds himself protecting Bunker from the cops he’s testifying against, thus kick-starting a mildly entertaining cat-and-mouse thriller.

The premise is cool enough – the hero having to cross a seemingly small distance in a short amount of time despite constant obstacles. But the problems aren’t cataclysmic enough to sustain a feature-length film. As it lacked theatricality, it almost felt like a movie of the week, or an extended, less gritty episode of The Shield or NYPD Blue.

16 Blocks starts at a snail’s pace, but once the action begins, picks up speed. Then it regresses and sticks at a lackluster momentum till the final reel, at times proving rather boring.

The redeeming quality is the characters. Def (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Italian Job) plays Bunker with a delightful charm. His side story of finding redemption for his criminal acts in opening a bakery to make birthday cakes for children is at first corny, but ultimately entertaining. His nonstop chatter is often whimsical and offers comic relief that doesn’t revel in immaturity, as supporting roles in cop flicks often do. Willis is effective, but not incredibly dynamic here. His physique is grizzled and very fatigued – a cop who’s seen too much and lacks conviction. Seeing him in this makes me wonder if he could again play John McClane if they ever get around to making Die Hard 4. Of additional note is Morse (The Green Mile, The Rock). Def is the charismatic standout, Willis is the stereotype, but Morse is the most believable.

Richard Donner (the Lethal Weapon series, The Goonies, Superman) directs with an average effort, stepping up from his last cinematic tragedy, Timeline. There are moments of cinematic significance, but they’re few and far between. The flick is shot mostly handheld and calls too much attention to the unrestrained, documentary-like quality. Richard Wenk’s script is riddled with effective humor (courtesy of Def), but the dialogue is stiff and unoriginal. While the concept is intriguing, the story unfolds quite tediously. A slight twist is added in the final act – an attempt to elevate the plot’s straightforwardness that just goes through the motions.

I didn’t hate 16 Blocks by any means. It’s definitely better than flicks in the genre I’ve seen over the years (Dark Blue and the more recent Freedomland, for example). But I just don’t see much of a reason to care about what’s on screen here. Wait and rent it for Def’s inspired performance, and then watch the first two Lethal Weapons to remind yourself that Donner can make decent entertainment.

My Rating: C

Failure to Launch

Rated: PG-13 (for sexual content, partial nudity and language)
Runtime: 97 minutes
Directed by: Tom Dey
Written by: Tom J. Astle & Matt Ember
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Zooey Deschanel

Romantic comedies are one of the most tried and exhausted genres in the realm of cinema. It’s not often that you see an original spin on the boy meets girl story, as it’s all been said before.

In Failure to Launch, we’re given the story of Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a 35-year old teenager afraid of commitment, intentionally scaring away girlfriends by bringing them home to the realization he still lives with his parents. Tripp’s setup is pretty sweet, actually – he has a decent job, he doesn’t pay rent, his mom cleans up after him, does his laundry, cooks his food… basically his only responsibilities are to go biking, rock climbing, or paintballing with his friends, and pick up girls. Enter Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), a professional mediator of sorts, who is hired by Tripp’s parents to seduce their son into leaving the nest for good.

The premise is funny enough, but not adequate to sustain a feature-length flick. The story is utterly predictable, with characters that often ring one-dimensional. There’s a storyline involving Tripp and his nephew that doesn’t quite gel into the narrative, and the supporting characters aren’t incredibly unique or developed.

What could have been a sweet and witty tale is watered down by straightforward dialogue and disjointed, sophomoric humor. Every time the movie begins to ground itself in reality, someone gets attacked by an animal. Let me explain: there is a running gag of people being bitten by various “harmless” (and often computer-animated) creatures, including a dolphin, lizard (that laughs), chipmunk and mockingbird (which is at first shot, then receives a funny, but bizarre mouth-to-beak resuscitation from a guy, after which it clamps down on his nose for a bit). I started to wonder if the writers were running short of material and looked to Looney Tunes for inspiration. Yeah it’s good for a cheap laugh, but in the end it falls flat.

For McConaughey (who for some reason commands my cat’s utmost attention whenever he’s on our TV) it is obviously a guilty pleasure playing the childish, libidinous Tripp – he offers a fair amount of charisma to the movie as a whole. Parker is genuinely likable, and feels right at home in this type of tale. Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw are effective as Tripp’s parents, but are extremely underused and generally reserved to awkward glances, brief moments of dramatic poignancy and off-the-cuff comedic nudity.

Tom Dey (Shangai Noon, Showtime) visually offers little to the film, creating a less-than-straightforward flick with haphazard, seemingly futile direction. The editing is dreadful, rife with more continuity errors than I’ve seen in a long time. And the general assembling of the scenes is unstructured and chaotic, resulting in dismal pacing.

Now, all that being said, I’m going to shoot myself in the foot and admit I was entertained. I even chuckled several times, often at the same moments I criticized above. Failure to Launch isn’t a bad romantic comedy. It’s quirky enough to merit a viewing, but go knowing you’ve seen better before and will see better again.

My Rating: C +

The Hills Have Eyes

Rated: R (for strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language)
Runtime: 107 minutes
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Written by: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur
Starring: Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Ted Levine, Emilie de Ravin, Dan Byrd, Vinessa Shaw

There always seems to be good reason to be fearful of psychotic, pickaxe-wielding, inbred hill-dwellers of the hillbilly persuasion in horror movies. Those crazy hermits just live to trap, torture and make ghosts of would-be passers-by. And God love them for it, cause it makes for a good flick.

I’m torn – either the movie industry is tapped out of original horror material, or they’re determined to get the oldies done right. Though they seem to only remake flicks nowadays, I tend to find merit in the follow-up attempts, as they often correct mistakes made on the first stab (pun intended). This should not erase the historic and intrinsic cinematic value of the originals, but rather function as a complimentary companion piece. That being said, open curtain on: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 version).

This revamp of Wes Craven’s 1977 classic breathes new life into what was originally a resonant, effective, but overall dry and imperfect film. That’s not to say I don’t like Craven’s version, I just always thought it was lacking.

This is the story of a family on vacation, passing through abandoned deserts in New Mexico where nuclear bomb testing occurred. The radiation affected certain dwellers in the area, who took on various forms of horrific mutation and settled into the hills, preying on anyone who comes their way (and occasionally feasting on the remains).

The story is simple and the movie is extremely unpretentious. The success lies in the delivery and visuals – the cinematography is dead-on. Alexandre Aja (who helmed my favorite horror delight of last year, High Tension) directs with an astute, affluently energetic flair that showcases his keen eye for visuals and heralds his place as a force to be reckoned with in the genre.

Usually in a film of this sort audiences root for the characters’ demise, and when blood is spilt it elicits a rousing shriek akin to the tune of success at any given sporting event. But here when someone is in danger or bites it, it’s genuinely uncomfortable. You want them to escape. Granted if they do there’s no movie left, but still you hope for the best. And throughout the movie is consistently brutal – there’s no sparing of blood or gore, which should please genre fans.

My problems with the flick lie in several areas. The score is at times unfitting to the images, and borders on clichéd banality. The mutants, while effectively creepy (KNB’s effects are top-notch) are stock characters. I like that they’re given little motivation (despite a trivial “you made us this way with your bombs” speech), but they come across often as too random and pathetic.

Too many characters are killed off in one scene less than half-way through. We’re left with four survivors, one of which you know has to stay alive because she’s an infant (automatic get-out-of-death free card). So the second half drags slower than the first. Add to that an abrupt, trite ending and you have an entertaining, visually lush albeit flawed horror film.

This is more or less what Wrong Turn should have been. If they had spent a little more time on the script, this could have been a modern horror classic (and honestly, should have been). See it for its unabashed brutality if that’s your thing, and for Aja’s visionary filmmaking bravado. For added effect, watch it before your family’s vacation.

My Rating: B –