warrener
Joined Jan 2000
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warrener's rating
What the Spierig Bros. forgot about when they made this film was perhaps the very reason for filmmaking: Uniqueness. Severely lacking in creativity, the film resorts to showcasing the superficial aspects of the zombie horror genre (blood, violence, gore, etc) without thinking any further. These superficial elements work in a film that places more importance on uniqueness and uses the gory elements as colour.
Just about every aspect of the film falls well below par. The editing is incredibly self-conscious, cutting at any opportunity, it's whimsical and thoughtless. How on earth this could have been storyboarded and then cut in such an amateurish manner is beyond me. The make-up is caked onto the actors. The music is as derivative as the story. Think John Williams, with a dash of John Williams then take away the interesting melodies. The cinematography jumps from filter to filter. In fact, it mirrors the coherence of the narrative. The script is pitifully childish not entertainingly childish, just boring childish. And in my books there is no greater evil than boredom on a screen.
The way the brothers choose to credit themselves with everything but the kitchen sink sums up their true objective. It reminds me of a commercial I've seen where a lone filmmaker rolls the credits of his film, placing his name for each and every one of them. For an ad this is humourous. For this theatrical release, however, the film doesn't credit, it brags. What is ostensibly a group of filmmakers getting together and having fun with an idea turns out to be an ego trip.
I couldn't help but be amused by the commentary on the DVD where the filmmakers incessantly highlight the shortcuts they took due to budgetary constraints...."and look what we achieved!" is implied by them in earnest. A bit less self-congratulating wouldn't have gone astray. Even more amusing was the 35 minute making-of featurette. Imagine a real-life Spinal Tap. Now transpose that to a group of filmmakers. I think laughing over this DVD extra was the most satisfying part of my DVD viewing experience.
But don't take my word for it. Really, the movie speaks for itself...
Just about every aspect of the film falls well below par. The editing is incredibly self-conscious, cutting at any opportunity, it's whimsical and thoughtless. How on earth this could have been storyboarded and then cut in such an amateurish manner is beyond me. The make-up is caked onto the actors. The music is as derivative as the story. Think John Williams, with a dash of John Williams then take away the interesting melodies. The cinematography jumps from filter to filter. In fact, it mirrors the coherence of the narrative. The script is pitifully childish not entertainingly childish, just boring childish. And in my books there is no greater evil than boredom on a screen.
The way the brothers choose to credit themselves with everything but the kitchen sink sums up their true objective. It reminds me of a commercial I've seen where a lone filmmaker rolls the credits of his film, placing his name for each and every one of them. For an ad this is humourous. For this theatrical release, however, the film doesn't credit, it brags. What is ostensibly a group of filmmakers getting together and having fun with an idea turns out to be an ego trip.
I couldn't help but be amused by the commentary on the DVD where the filmmakers incessantly highlight the shortcuts they took due to budgetary constraints...."and look what we achieved!" is implied by them in earnest. A bit less self-congratulating wouldn't have gone astray. Even more amusing was the 35 minute making-of featurette. Imagine a real-life Spinal Tap. Now transpose that to a group of filmmakers. I think laughing over this DVD extra was the most satisfying part of my DVD viewing experience.
But don't take my word for it. Really, the movie speaks for itself...
Watching this movie I tried my best to experience the subtext, only - everything was so spelled out and manipulative, there was nothing for me to do. De Heer obviously doesn't trust an audience when it comes to interpreting characters. Every single one was simply in the film for the sake of highlighting Dreyfuss' character. Nothing more. This is the type of movie where the director's arm leaps out of the screen and clenches your face, telling you where to look, what to feel and how exactly to react. Give us some credit, Rolf!