totalovrdose

I never saw the trailer for Prisoner of War. But, when I heard Scott Adkins was in another movie, this one set in World War 2, I thought 'this will be First Blood Part 2, but with Japanese soldiers! They thought they could imprison him - they thought he was contained - THEY. WERE. WRONG! Cue to a shot of Adkins, shirt torn, machinegun in one hand, an enemy's severed spine in the other.' Yeah...uh, none of that happens in this film.

Instead, this film is Van Damme's In Hell but set during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. The start of the film certainly creates mystery. James Wright (Adkins), British intelligence officer and pilot confronts Shunsuke Ito (Kansuke Asano), the owner of a dojo in the 1950s. His aim is to find the man's father. But why?

The film pivots to 1942, when Wright is shot down. This part is Adkins at his best - he is thrust in a do or die scenario, hunted by fully armed soldiers in a mine field. This was glorious! I'll admit, it wasn't A-grade Hollywood, but it was damn good fun. Sadly - it didn't last.

After been captured, Adkins is thrust into a prison camp. It is at this point the movie becomes frustratingly repetitive. Every day, Wright is woken up; he is forced to fight an opponent; he is forced to do manual labor; he meets the leader of the camp, where Wright is told 'tonight you sleep, tomorrow you die'; rinse and repeat for about one hour.

The leader of the camp, a lieutenant colonel named Ito (Peter Shinkoda) becomes obsessed with the power Wright exudes, the British prisoner essentially becoming the human embodiment of never giving up. Between his fights and his manual work, Wright communicates with the other prisoners, most of them Americans. He also forms a connection with a nurse, Theresa (Gabbi Garcia), who deserved more screen time. Together, they begin to form a plan on how to escape.

But, let's be honest, we're not here for the narrative; this is a Scott Adkins film - how's the fighting? Ah...it's...um...fine? None of the opponents can hold a candle to Wright's power. It's that 'I'm not trapped in here with you - you're trapped in here with me' dynamic, which offers very few stakes. After the great opening hook, the action sequences slowly fizzle out, with fewer bombastic set pieces.

I will say however, Adkins does a good job expressing emotions - especially rage. But the script doesn't offer much in the way of character development. If you were to ask me 'where is Wright from?' or 'why did Wright become a soldier?' or 'who trained Wright in Hong Kong to be a kick ass fighter?' or 'why did Theresa become a nurse?' I couldn't answer ANY of these.

Now, the film does allude to some things - one of the better parts been the concept that not all Japanese soldiers were ruthless. This is depicted through the tension between Captain Endo (Masanori Mimoto), a sadist who wants to see Wright killed, and Corporal Hirano (Shane Kosugi), a gentler man who sympathizes with the captives and would rather they not be harmed. However, nothing is ever given the deserved time to really amount to anything impactful.

The same could be said for the resolution. The film is leading up to an epic fight between the inhumane leader of the camp, Ito, and prisoner, Wright, but what we receive instead is something that is woefully underwhelming.

Maybe Scott Adkins wants to be taken more seriously as an actor? However, a more dramatic role like this is, to be frank, beneath him. He works best when he is operating at full tilt. Hard Target 2; Special Forces; Ninja; The Shepherd; these were superb films because they put Adkins in horribly punishing scenarios where he had to fight to survive by the skin of his teeth.

It's a bloody tragedy that Adkins isn't in more A-grade Hollywood movies. There will, however, always be B-grade action films where Adkins can be the perfect bad ass - this film however, ain't one of them.

After watching The Astronaut, it feels as though writer/director Jess Varley saw Dark Skies, District 9 and Close Encounters and thought 'what would happen if I mashed those together on a shoe-string budget?' The result - a largely predictable, run of the mill haunted house film about aliens, with some minor body horror thrown in for good measure.

Sam (Kate Mara) has just returned from a mission in space, and has been requested to undergo daily medical and fitness tests to determine if everything is okay. What was the mission? You'll find out later. Sam begins to experience the kind of things astronauts allegedly might after returning to earth - dizziness; tinnitus; hallucinations; strange marks on her body. Totally normal, right? Right?

On entry into Earth's atmosphere, something slammed into Sam's pod. Despite those bizarre circumstances, Sam's (adoptive) father, General Harris (Laurence Fishburne), pulled strings to have her stay at an idyllic location in the middle of nowhere. Sam's lengthy time away has put a strain on the relationship she has with her husband Mark (Gabriel Luna) and daughter Izzy (Scarlett Holmes). This isn't helped by her desire to go on another mission, but when her fellow astronaut Val (Macy Gray), tells her to keep any nasty symptoms on the downlow, else risk not going into space again, Sam has a choice to make - admit that things are slowly getting worse, or stay silent.

The film deserves kudos for the ending, which offers a unique twist that was genuinely welcoming. Despite that, a majority of the film plays like a list of horror house tropes. Spooky sounds; check. Shadows moving in the background; check. Objects moving on their own; check. Other characters don't believe the victim; check.

We've seen it done a hundred times before. It might have been nice to see things that were a bit more...alien. During the final credits, we are treated to some amazing otherworldly imagery, and I found myself wishing more of THAT was actually IN the film.

Additionally, for the most part, the aliens are continuously concealed. The darkness of night very often obscures them, though there are sequences that are so dark, you cannot see anything at all. This is frustrating when Sam is frightened of something, and yet we cannot see it. However, I do need to congratulate the film on the effects, which are not half bad (when we have the chance to appreciate them).

This film is a Kate Mara vehicle, and she does a good job holding it together, but let's be honest - she doesn't have a lot to work with. She masterfully conveys fear, though when it comes to her family, the script is lacking with things to do, and the same could be said for her as a person. What does she like to do when she's not in space? Why did she become an astronaut? How did she meet her husband? What we know about Sam could be summed up in one sentence, which isn't ideal when we're going to be spending almost every scene with her.

Moreover, Gabriel Luna in some ways plays the heart of the film, and he does a good job showing he cares, but the limited screen time doesn't give him a lot of opportunities. Lastly, the always entertaining Laurence Fishburne likewise excels in a supporting role as an authority figure. That said, he also has very little to do here, which is a real shame.

Moving on, the soundtrack does evoke themes of the unknown, though it has the annoying habit of playing during sequences when the film wants us to focus on other sound effects (example, generic alien noises). During these scenes, the film can't really have its cake and eat it. It may have been better to let the diegetic sound play on its own.

The film also has a habit of copying from other movies. What's that saying - flattery is the highest form of praise? Well, in that case, this feature is praising A LOT of movies. There are sequences of flashing rainbow-coloured lights (Close Encounters anybody), and there is a kitchen scene that is ripped right out of Jurassic Park. These are two examples, but believe me, I could go on.

The movie does have themes on acceptance and humanity, which are nicely executed, but don't hold the depth they otherwise could. And that last part - about a lack of depth - really sums up the whole experience. The movie understands how to build tension and how to craft a mystery, but there was so much room for more. This is a 90-minute movie (it did feel shorter though, which is a compliment of sorts), that I think could have been longer to give the characters, themes and mystery room to grow.

I could see myself watching it again (it's Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; who doesn't like them?), but the movie also convinced me to go watch every other film that inspired it; films that better demonstrate how to craft a mysterious alien thriller.

Pete Davidson - in a horror movie? Well, yes, apparently. The Home is very different than what I had expected, which is both a positive and a negative. It's a film that is a touch of Banshee Chapter, a sprinkling of Get Out and a pinch of The Taking of Deborah Logan, whilst also being something else entirely.

Pete Davidson is Max, a young man who is given an ultimatum after living a troubled life: spend four months working at an old folk's home as the caretaker, in some form of community service, or go to jail. As Max will find out - jail was probably the better option.

First up, this is a film that is juggling a lot of mysteries, creating subplot after subplot that causes a townful of questions. We have fringe experiments; ritualistic cults; obscure markings; investigations into bizarre deaths - and just when you think you are going to start getting some answers, you instead get even more questions! Although everything is miraculously packaged together at the end, this is one of those films where the mystery was more satisfying than the payoff.

Moreover, one issue with the narrative is its repetitive sequencing. Half of the film involves Max working during the day; interacting with the retirement home's patrons; cleaning and doing maintenance; and then going to bed at night and experiencing a nightmare. Unfortunately, a lot of the horror, and occasional jump scare material, are in these dream sequences, and although these are later contextualised, I've never appreciated horror films that were over-reliant on nightmares. It means the characters are not under any actual threat, and they do become tedious when over-used.

As for the characters, Davidson does a decent job as the film's protagonist. Although he can come off as mechanical during moments that require empathy, he fulfills what is expected of him. Any issues could be related to the script, which is paper thin at best when it comes to characterisation.

Max is a troubled young man because his brother died when he was young. Lou (John Glover) is a patron at the retirement home who loves the arts. Norma (Mary Beth Peil), another patron at the home, is upset because her son died. Juno (Mugga) is a moody nurse. Les (Adam Cantor) is a by-the-books, distrusting employee. Doctor Sabian (Bruce Altman) is a doctor who seems a touch on the suspicious side. All the characters are only ever one thing, which makes knowing them, and feeling an attachment to them, difficult.

As an aside, there is a surprising amount of gore in the film, which was effective, though this also became a crutch the film leaned on, with the violence ultimately becoming the main source of horror as the film continued. If you have an issue with people been impaled on spikes or tearing off their skin and dancing around in nothing but their bones and muscles (Hellraiser 2 style), this may not be the film for you.

I personally am not sure how to feel about the violence. On one hand, I feel the movie could have leaned into it further to be more horrifying. On the other hand, I think it detracts from the more serious aspects of the feature. After all, the film only briefly depicts some of the negative treatment that can take place behind the closed doors of retirement homes and had an opportunity to really say a lot more on the matter.

Moving on, the score composed by Nathan Whitehead was especially great at creating a foreboding ambiance. In the vein of Trent Reznor, it was less music and more an otherworldly soundscape. That said, it seemed to be doing more for the film than the film itself, with the soundtrack being one of the creepiest aspects of the movie.

Ultimately, The Home is a film that seems to be doing TOO much, and because of that, doesn't have the time to really give quality substance to any one thing. It is not particularly scary for a horror movie, however, the thrilling mystery was well executed, and genuinely unpredictable, although when answers were provided, I was left feeling 'meh!' Despite occasionally feeling fresh, it likewise feels to be treading similar ground, lumping other film's ideas together into a strange horror movie smoothie. The Home is a film which is watchable and will keep you engaged but is equally forgettable upon the credits rolling.