I watched this movie not really knowing what to expect. I checked some of the reviews which seem up and down, but there were several comments about the bad reviews were by those only watching for a little bit and not seeing it all the way through. This peeked my curiosity.
I can see both sides as the first 30 minutes or so seemed to be just kind of following a journey without a clear cut path. It wasn't that it was bad, I just didn't know where it was going. I think that if I stopped there, I probably would not have liked it either. After seeing it all the way through, the path became clear and I see why it went that route.
After the first death, the entire tone of the movie changes from a frat-boyish/bullying comedy to something much more dark and serious. I think this may be the problem with some people not liking this movie because they did not quite get this far in. It is a movie within a movie, but also seems to be a comedy that gets covered up by a dark drama.
In the opening scene, there is a guy shown in the booth who we know is some kind of bad guy and then we see him drag someone off. As this happens, the voice over narrates about how a serial killer can be anyone and there are some great images of "death tools." After that, we sort of forget that part existed, which I think must have been intentional since it came back to play later.
We learn what a jerk Lane is because he is violent and against all authority. I think the acting was pretty good. Maybe a bit over the top during a few moments early on, but still believable and well done. Lane likes to hear himself talk and doesn't care who he offends. We are meant to hate Lane and I think the actor does a good job of making that happen.
"Brenda" from the original Hills Have Eyes is in it as herself, which is cool for the horror world, but I haven't seen the original film yet. The comments they make in the movie about that movie do make me want to see it though.
The girls are all attractive and all do a pretty good job with the acting too. The locations are fairly simple so they probably didn't spend a lot of money but it doesn't scream low budget at all. Most everything seemed fairly appropriate.
A few cool visual effects look pretty good too including one with a guy getting hit by a truck and Lane almost getting hit by a train. For me, this is where the movie started to pick up and really engage my interest. I wanted to see more of the deaths happen on screen, but figured they didn't show for budget reasons.
Part of the film is wondering if karma would come back to get Lane, which plays into the twist at the end. I honestly did not think this film was going to be smart enough to have any kind of twist, which is why when it hit, I was caught off-guard (even though I had read there was one). The movie instantly became so much smarter than I ever imagined and everything made sense, including the way the deaths were filmed.
I probably would have rated this film a 5, but the ending hit me so hard that it brought everything together and actually made me smile. If you are looking to see a straight up horror movie, it's not this one, but if you want to see something sneakily smarter, you may enjoy it. I give it a 7. Not a perfect movie, but a good one and worth a look.
I can see both sides as the first 30 minutes or so seemed to be just kind of following a journey without a clear cut path. It wasn't that it was bad, I just didn't know where it was going. I think that if I stopped there, I probably would not have liked it either. After seeing it all the way through, the path became clear and I see why it went that route.
After the first death, the entire tone of the movie changes from a frat-boyish/bullying comedy to something much more dark and serious. I think this may be the problem with some people not liking this movie because they did not quite get this far in. It is a movie within a movie, but also seems to be a comedy that gets covered up by a dark drama.
In the opening scene, there is a guy shown in the booth who we know is some kind of bad guy and then we see him drag someone off. As this happens, the voice over narrates about how a serial killer can be anyone and there are some great images of "death tools." After that, we sort of forget that part existed, which I think must have been intentional since it came back to play later.
We learn what a jerk Lane is because he is violent and against all authority. I think the acting was pretty good. Maybe a bit over the top during a few moments early on, but still believable and well done. Lane likes to hear himself talk and doesn't care who he offends. We are meant to hate Lane and I think the actor does a good job of making that happen.
"Brenda" from the original Hills Have Eyes is in it as herself, which is cool for the horror world, but I haven't seen the original film yet. The comments they make in the movie about that movie do make me want to see it though.
The girls are all attractive and all do a pretty good job with the acting too. The locations are fairly simple so they probably didn't spend a lot of money but it doesn't scream low budget at all. Most everything seemed fairly appropriate.
A few cool visual effects look pretty good too including one with a guy getting hit by a truck and Lane almost getting hit by a train. For me, this is where the movie started to pick up and really engage my interest. I wanted to see more of the deaths happen on screen, but figured they didn't show for budget reasons.
Part of the film is wondering if karma would come back to get Lane, which plays into the twist at the end. I honestly did not think this film was going to be smart enough to have any kind of twist, which is why when it hit, I was caught off-guard (even though I had read there was one). The movie instantly became so much smarter than I ever imagined and everything made sense, including the way the deaths were filmed.
I probably would have rated this film a 5, but the ending hit me so hard that it brought everything together and actually made me smile. If you are looking to see a straight up horror movie, it's not this one, but if you want to see something sneakily smarter, you may enjoy it. I give it a 7. Not a perfect movie, but a good one and worth a look.