Les Jeux de la Mort

OK so I admit I was a bit under educated going into this one and found out in my usual prepping that 13 Sins is actually an American remake of a Thai Horror/comedy, 13 Beloved that came out in 2006. I was drawn to it immediately being the huge Ron Perlman fan that I am, I was pleasantly surprised when I started watching and saw another familiar face in Rutina Wesley (True Blood) playing the pregnant fiancée.' there is another familiar face from True Blood as well in the unnamed father in law to Rutina, Tom Bower, who played in several episodes of the series. the film is full of notable character actors, all leading you to expect a great film.

Elliot (Mark Webber) is expecting a promotion to go along with his upcoming nuptials pregnant bride to be Shelby (Rutina). It looks like life is going to be roses for the couple, but looks are often deceiving and upon closer inspection we find the couple is in dire financial straights. The couple is struggling with a wedding pending, baby on the way and Elliots special needs brother, and it looks as though Elliot needs to rescue his destitute father as well.

Upon arriving at work he finds instead of a promotion, his problems are compiled with a pink slip. How can things get worse you ask? Just as it seems all hope is gone for poor Elliot, he gets a mysterious call offering a solution, 13 tasks each more strange and difficult than the last but for every task completed his bank account will grow, but once you start this game there is no turning back! How far would you be willing to go to make ends meet and find your financial freedom?

So to start with there's nothing all that new about this one, but it does offer up some nice little twists as you go. The characters are each interesting in their own right. The cast is fantastic, but not particularly challenged by the story, so although they do well they don't necessarily shine the way I had hoped for.The film has its moments of dark humor, some good action sequences, and interesting kills. The tasks put in front of Elliot will definitely lead to a discussion and some internal battles of conscious for the viewer.

All in all this film is a fun watch, a bit predictable but it it will also more than likely throw you a few curve balls. Its not a film that is going to change cinema history, but its worth a watch for sure. I will eventually add this one to the collection, as I could watch it again, and I do love some of the cast, but its not as fresh as I had hoped for, yet somehow its still interesting enough to be enjoyable and keep you watching.

HeatherOmen TheHorrorNation.net

I think this movie could have done well in theatres if just given even a moderate push. It's a smart horror movie. I know we are so used to getting bombarded with ghost story horror movies, like The Conjuring, Insidious, and Sinister (which are all basically the same movie), that something like 13 Sins couldn't possibly stand out. Right? It's like a horror movie version of The Game, or a horror version of Series 7. Not quite The Running Man. In this version, a man (Webber) is told that he can potentially win 6 million dollars. Of course, he's down on his luck, which is why he was chosen. He's also planning a wedding to his girlfriend (Wesley), and needs to take care of his mentally ill brother (Graye), and potentially his sick father (Bower). So a lot is at stake.

He has to complete 13 tasks. The first is easy. Kill a fly. But the stakes are upped with each new task, and soon he finds himself doing things he never thought possible. What can a man convince himself to do to provide for his family? 13 Sins is an interesting take on something that's already been done before. It does enough different to feel fresh, and not only do you want to know how it ends, you'll be surprised by how it turns out. There's a great twist at the end, and it makes the movie so much better.

Webber is a great lead, and underused in Hollywood. Hopefully more people will see him in this so he can get higher profile roles. It's also a nice departure for Wesley, who usually has to kick ass as Tara in True Blood. It's nice to see her play the sweet girlfriend for once.

It's on Netflix, and it's very much worth a watch. Probably one of the best surprises I've had watching a random film on Netflix that I knew nothing about.

I will start this by saying: YOU need to watch it!

2013 was quite the year for horror and 2014 looks promising also. 13 sins is one of the most intriguing movies I've seen in quite a while, something of a "Identity" that will keep you there, craving for more even getting your mind twisted a little. It was perfect, from start to finish, and I can't believe I didn't hear more about it. Sadly, a lot of good horrors lately remain completely unknown even after they are release and it is quite the shame, but fanatics will always find a way of digging them up.

The cast was good, Mark Webber did an excellent job, Ron Perlman is always good on screen and Pruitt Taylor Vince always offers a dark touch to his films. The plot was not the most original, but not one of those over used subjects either, the execution is the key here. Pretty much everything was done the way it supposed to and all horror fans will have a big smile at the end of it. 13 sins is indeed a good horror!

I will end this by saying: YOU need to watch it!

I will say it now: if you watch this film, don't quit until the 90 minutes have expired. Otherwise you will miss the devilishly clever final twists which are well-foreshadowed. In fact it is textbook screen writing. Fiction writers from all genres should take note - this is how you do it.

However, it's easy to change channels when watching 13 Sins. The low budget and (at times) pedestrian acting make it unremarkable to the eye, and it's tempting to go looking for something better. But stick with it, as what 13 Sins lacks in scale and scope it makes up for with suspense and intelligent twists. If you're very good, you might see it coming. The events of the third act are telegraphed clearly in the first, although you'll have to be smart to put the pieces together. This is where the film succeeds. Mysteries should always give the viewer a chance to solve the puzzle, and while 13 Sins doesn't make it easy, you can certainly do it. In fact I'm laughing out loud at myself for not seeing it coming.

That said, 13 Sins is a flawed film. It's tried to blur the lines between a suspense thriller and horror film. There are some hackneyed horror moments that could have been handled more effectively. A handful of gory scenes were obtuse and unnecessary, and perhaps would have been better if done with more subtlety. This seems to be the fault of the director who is apparently influenced by the style of independent horror-film makers of the 90s and 2000s who don't understand the value of tension. Gore on its own is ineffective. Horror is equal parts what we see and don't see. Case study: the original Alien showed us everywhere the creature could be, and in turn revealed them to be empty, letting our minds wander, letting us experience what the terrified characters were feeling. When the ultimate moment comes, it's done logically, and with nuance and flair. There's no gore on screen that didn't need to be there. All horror writers should study this.

The other problem lies with the film's occasional desire to go beyond it's limitations and try to establish a grander scale. There's an "escape" set piece that falls short of competency because they didn't have the money for good special effects, and it showed. You could have just left it out. An independent film should work around its budget instead of stretching it.

Anyway, out of all the slim pickings of 2014 so far - which is shaping up to be another terrible year for film - this low-budget suspense thriller has actually impressed me. Elliot's (the protagonist's) transformation was mostly plausible, aside from a few nonsense moments. It's sheer intelligence and gripping, relentless pace kept me watching until the bitter end. However, while I have said that the final act is quite good, it is let down by an incompetent epilogue which leaves us with a Downer Ending instead of one which is left open to the audience to interpret.

I recommend it as a rental only, but I DO recommend you see it.

I've always liked psychological thrillers, and though I wasn't particularly blown away, "13 Sins" is a good pick.

The cinematography was rather mediocre and especially monotonous in the beginning, but Mark Webber indeed did a great job - you can see his posture and facial expressions change drastically throughout the movie, which I find pretty haunting. The plot is simple yet intriguing and smart. Somehow, all the twists seem predictable for me, but that doesn't mean they aren't good ones. There is some decent, mild gore along the way as well, as expected from Dimension Films. To be honest, I think it wouldn't hurt to show some more blood; but considering the fact that this is low-budget, it's not that important.

Though I did have fun sitting through 90 minutes of this movie, I wouldn't highly recommend this to everyone. Maybe just some who need a new breeze regarding horror / thriller genre (the exact reason why I watched "13 Sins" in the first place).