400 Days

If you can't be bothered to write a movie, then you're not allowed to shoot a movie.

OK. So it's about a science experiment to investigate the effects of prolonged time of isolation of a group in tight space as preparation for space travel, where long periods of no contact with the outside world are expected. Exactly 400 days of said isolation.

They pretty much cast a whole lot of actors from the hit TV series Arrow and The Flash, namely Brandon Routh, Carly Loitz (which I lovingly call 'The Chin'), and Tom Cavanagh.

These actors as well as the endearing premise caused me to watch that movie. And....my hopes pretty much fell apart.

The movie follows a long the typical low budget mystery and 'horror' plots of the 'isolated people' genre. Nothing, and I mean nothing original here with regards to script and direction.

The whole movie gives off the vibes of a Outer Limits episode. The sets feel very cheap. The story leads to nothing. No pay off at all. And at a runtime of 90 minutes it still felt very boring at long periods. Flashbacks try to establish some deeper characterization. But again, no relevance at all for the non-existent character development.

There is only two positive things I can say about the movie. First, the actors try at least a little bit (Brandon Routh and Tom Cavanagh are most often likable, even if they have absolutely nothing to work with from the script). Second, the premise remains interesting. But executed in such a way, it just is a giant case of wasted potential.

As a TV episode or short movie, OK, but with these 90 minutes, you should do something else...watch like 2 Outer Limits episodes.

Despite it not being particularly well received here, '400 Days' intrigued me with its idea and it looked and sounded like an ambitious film. The cast didn't sound like a bad one on paper either. Was really hoping that it would be better than indicated in the reviews, wanting to go against the grain with being so impressed by the idea, and that it would even be good somewhat instead of another waste of potential (having seen quite enough of those recently). Am not trying to be a snob or anything, it is just my genuine thoughts.

'400 Days' sadly was exactly that, a waste of potential. A shame because when it first started it actually pleasantly surprised me, even if the production values were not exactly great. Did actually consider forgiving that, because there have been instances of production values not being great but the film succeeds in most other areas. Then '400 Days' lost its way badly, becoming the complete opposite of what promise the first part showed and with so many problems already covered very well by others. Very frustrating and borderline insulting at its worst. Am actually feeling really bad about saying this.

Beginning with the good things, as said already '400 Days' started off promising. It was compelling and intriguing with an air of tense mystery about it. Parts were well shot and showed a cinematographer using techniques clearly influenced by films that were genre landmarks and ground-breaking.

Also found the cast not too shabby and thought they really tried, doing what they could with material utterly beneath them.

However, the low budget and rushed production does show in the production values. The film looks very drab, the sets are very simplistic, too much of the editing in the latter parts of the film is choppy and some of it even looks unfinished. The music didn't hinder the atmosphere and didn't sound cheap, but would have made much of an impression with more subtle, better balanced and less predictable sound editing. The direction is not incompetent but a case of someone biting off more than they could chew and running before walking.

This is not an example of a film not trying. If anything, '400 Days' tries too hard and one respects the ambition, over-ambition in this case, more than the execution. It does completely fall apart too early, the suspense and any atmosphere completely goes and replaced by sluggish pacing, no surprises and senseless character behaviours that insult the intelligence and makes endear to the character far less to the point you can't. Parts are too expostion-heavy and the dialogue throughout is ham-handed and clunky, especially in these parts which don't say anything and sound like gibberish, and the final act fails to make sense to the point of incoherence. And yes, the worst asset is the ending, abrupt and ambiguous are understatements, in fact it is a complete non-event and with a big truck-load of questions and no answers. It gave the sense that the film was released incomplete.

Overall, initially intriguing but underwhelming at the end of the day. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Well, it wasn't terrible, and considering that the budget was obviously limited I was inclined to be slightly more lenient. I did find the plot somewhat entertaining, it reminded me of an episode of the outer limits or the twilight zone. The acting was fairly decent and the scripting was adequate. But there isn't enough here in the way of originality or ingenuity to make it shine.

The director does a pretty good job of pointing the camera. However, I generally think it's a bad idea to directly reference classic films made by genius directors unless your own film is at or near the same quality, because it seems like compensation. So the references to Kubrick through the use of slow tracking shots, deep focusing and a direct dialogue reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, were unjustified and annoying.

The film develops a story that has no logical explanation, interspersed with continuity errors. But these weren't severe. What was more irritating was that the ending seems intended to create suspense but it's actually just a cliché. Much like the night-vision POV shots towards the end, there was no real reason for it.

The film isn't terrible and it's entertaining enough for casual viewing. But it's far too much an example of someone trying on purpose to create a film thats supposed to be 'mind-boggling' and creepy just for the sake of it, throwing in too many stereotypes in a kind of aping manner.

The psychological break-down of the crew was little more than a lower quality imitation of films such as Solaris and it pretends at subtext, but produces none.

Like I said, I've seen far worse, the director seems fairly competent and the story was bizarre enough to be somewhat interesting. But it's certainly nothing to get excited about.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for terrible movies, I have watched many, but I feel that the 2 other reviews here are from viewers who hold on to a candle of a perfect movie within any given genre, and that anything that goes against that can only be considered a failure and a waste of time for all involved...

This is my first review, I don't have the writing skills that some reviewers have, but I do have an honest opinion...

Do not watch this movie unless you have, like me, exhausted almost all other options. Watch this movie if you have a few hours to kill, and you want to watch a good old fashioned B-movie. Yes the story is contrived and, yes, the characters are flawed, and HECK yes, the time-line and 3rd act make little to no sense. But I for one enjoyed it for what it sets out from the start to be. A poorly written, clichéd, homage to the B-movies of old.

If the previous reviewers really think that this movie was a total waste of everyones time, then I would like to see their fantastically scripted masterpieces.

Watch this film if you have hours to kill, you might find that you enjoy it in the same way that you enjoy a bacon sandwich, fleeting, momentary, and utterly forgettable.