travispetrillo

The film begins with a team of 5 people just awoken from cryostasis, dazed and confused, with difficulty remembering who and where they are. This is probably where the movie is at its worst, as the actors are extremely wooden in the opening scenes, going beyond the awkwardness their situation should call for, though that does improve as the film goes on and they somewhat settle into actual personalities.

The idea itself was nice, not particularly original, we've all seen it played out in plenty of other movies, this one just included the actual product. It's a game of Clue. Kinda. Stories like this can be very entertaining for those that like to guess at the ending, and I feel like they did a fair job of it here, with plenty of hints and distractions for the audience. The final twist though was a stretch, and just made the story seem arbitrarily cruel and nonsensical, with the reasoning as to why remaining a vague and disappointing mystery.

Otherwise, setting and camera work are both passable, with all shooting done seemingly in the one location. Not a film I'd watch again, but not terrible for a low budget production. Some heavy editing to bring down the length with a bit more clarity at the end, and it might actually be enjoyable.

It's been forever since I've seen the original, but this film did seem to try and remain faithful to the original plot, though I can't say that's a good thing, given that the story is so dated, and can no longer be sold simply for its unique concept.

Where this movie really lacked though, was the animation and art. I may have enjoyed the story for the nostalgia factor alone, but I couldn't help but be distracted by the characters choppy and awkward movements, and just how bad they looked in general. With animation that would have been subpar even in the early 90's, this movie seemed more like a parody that forgot the funny, than a remake.

Horror movies always have the toughest critics, but really when compared to many of the lower budget or "no-name" horrors to have come out recently, this one was passably entertaining.

The story wasn't particularly good or unique, and the acting ranged from acceptable to downright awful, but a couple of the cast seemed to at least kind of know what they're doing, and there were moments when I might actually call it scary, though the plot was still pretty weak and predictable, and I can't say I cared for any of the characters either.

I wouldn't recommend this film, but I can't say I entirely hated it. It was pretty half-baked, but I've folded laundry to worse.