jrbrowzer

I loved the opening of "The Exorcism" as it reminded me of climax of another horror film, "The Entity" where a set is fashioned after another setting only this time, it is for a film about possession. Yes, the three-story set is reminiscent is a 1973 classic, but within minutes you realize this movie is headed in a totally different direction. Russell Crowe plays a disturbed actor trying to make a comeback after addiction problems and his wife's death. When his troubled daughter enters the picture, you are thrown right into a psychological trauma tale. I was greatly upset while watching this film as it deals with addiction and abuse issues. Adding to this is a nasty director who spews insults like vomit, a concerned lesbian love interest playing the possessed daughter in the film being filmed and a priest consultant David Hyde Pearce who certainly earns his consulting fees. None of the characters remain unscathed as the film slowly devolves into a real life possession. Crowe is highly unlikable but believable as a highly troubled man. His daughter, Ryan Simkins, steals the show as a troubled teen only wanting her father back. Many reviews have mentioned a similar film, "The Pope's Exorcism" which I haven't seen so I can't judge of this is better or worse than that film. That said, I was engaged throughout this film, but really upset by a lot of the depressing content. A better than expected watch.

Was channel surfing and came across "Triangle," a ground hog day thriller/mystery/quasi-horror tale of a group of friends who end up trapped on a ghostly sea liner. From the beginning something seemed a bit odd in the relationship of the main character Jess (played by a fraught Melissa George) to everyone else, but I put it off to weird acting or direction. It was actually quite skillful in setting the stage for this fast-paced trip into hell. There is a lot of deja vu in Triangle and if you think you've seen a certain scene earlier in the film, it's likely you have. Triangle is skillfully written and directed as in each occurrence of deja vu you learn a bit more of what is truly going on in this castaway tale. Can't give too much away without creating what would be a very confusing synopsis, but this overlooked gem succeeds on all levels leaving you a bit disconcerted in the end. Could it be that karma comes over and over again to those who do bad things?