Alive

I recently watched the Canadian film 🇨🇦 Alive (2015) on Tubi. The storyline follows two people with amnesia who wake up strapped to hospital beds. A man feeds and cares for them, claiming to have saved their lives-but it soon becomes clear that if they don't do what he wants, he's willing to take darker measures. Who are they, where did they come from, and what are the motives of this madman?

This picture is directed by Rob Grant (Fake Blood) and stars Angus McFadyen (Braveheart), Thomas Cocquerel (Escape Room: Tournament of Champions), and Camille Stoppard (Bordello).

It's one of those films where you feel like you've seen the premise a hundred times, and you keep wishing it would push things further than it does. The setting is effective and draws you into the story, and while some of the torture scenes work better than others, they suffer from weak special effects. There are a few solid attack sequences scattered throughout, and the acting is strong across the board. The twist at the end lands well, but overall, the content doesn't hit as hard as it should.

In conclusion, Alive is a mediocre kidnap-and-torture thriller that had the potential to be better. I'd give it a 5/10.

If one is seeking a movie with atmosphere and plenty of gore, buckets of blood and many sinister scenes, this checks off all the boxes. In the opening scene, a bloody and heavily bandaged man, manages to get off the table, crawl down the hall, is discovered, and later wakes up across from a woman who is also bandaged, and there is a man (doctor?) supposedly trying to make them better. But it seems to be in a very dilapidated hospital, with lots of blood on the walls and floor, and instruments which seem more for torture than healing. The two are not given names, but try to form an alliance to escape. The man helping them seems sincere, but there is also an element that puts his role in more of a malevolent form. As they try to escape, they find things that are more and more disturbing. So if this is your type of movie, you will find it quite passable. And you will probably not expect the ending.

I really enjoyed this film. The acting and production is good. It's not a horror (although that does depend on what you call a horror) in my opinion, maybe a psychological thriller, not much action.

Two patients and a doctor in a dirty hospital. They have no memory and the doctor isn't the kindest.

Not many clues to help you, so trying to figure things out as you watch is interesting. It gets creepier as it goes along and the ending is great in my opinion with a bit of a twist, which i didn't see coming.

I only came across this by scrolling. It deserves more recognition and a higher rating.

This film was pretty well done. The actor playing the caretaker was crazy and sold it. The lady and man were both good also. It made you think it was just one of those people wake up and have been kidnapped type of scenarios. It was that well in a way but it felt it was so much more. You felt for these people and as it went it made you think of different outcomes and what the real intention could be. Altogether a well made horror film and with limited cast makes it easier to follow and enjoy.

I surprisingly quite liked this. There is most certainly a lot to forgive as far as shortcomings go... but for a solidly creepy, anxiety inducing little thriller/horror with a concept full of potential... not bad.

This wastes no time throwing you right into the thick of it which I quite liked. The pacing there after was up and down. Not perfect but not awful. I feel like one of the bigger missteps as far as plot goes was any sort of background or context on the doctor. They would give us a hint here and there with a room or an object... and then just leave us hanging. So much storytelling potential squandered.

The acting was a bit hit or miss as well, I don't think anyone was bad per se, but they weren't always hitting the mark for a horror/drama/thriller that I wanted to see, which was a little frustrating because if they were on point it really would have taken this to another place.

The thing I liked most about this movie and what drew me to it to begin with was the story. Although it had hints of being slightly derivative of the SAW franchise and little blips of feeling silly/amateurish, there was still something about it that retained an intriguing factor and felt different and enthralling.

Despite the vibe of the ending feeling a tad hokey, conceptually I was not mad at that either. I would loveee to see someone remake this with a solid budget and some reworking of the cast/plot in a Last Shift/Malum way because I think it has the potential to be a banger. Would recommend.