kannibalcorpsegrinder

Fresh out of boot camp, a series of soldiers in the Australian army are left stranded in the ocean on their first mission aboard the wrecked debris from their sunken ship, forcing them to contend with not only the perilous conditions of war but also the man-eating shark in the waters.

For the most part, this was a fairly strong and enjoyable genre effort. Among the better elements present here is the strong and effective setup that manages to bring this one into the firing line rather quickly. The early scenes present here at the training academy, where the group gets put through basic training, present a series of internal hardships and personal rivalries as they try to get through the military instructions, setting up how they operate as a team for later on, serving the film quite nicely overall. The eventual mission later on and them getting stranded is a fantastic setpiece that works with the ingrained knowledge of the horrors of war coming full circle, where the chaos of the group getting stuck on broken, blown-up parts of the ship and collecting their busted, bleeding mates without getting caught in the crossfire. It's all quite fun and exciting, as it gives the group enough backstory to be noticeable while also providing the group a way of getting stranded in the water, so that it can lead to a series of survival horror situations that take place on the water. The main setup involving the group having to gather their injured and bleeding crewmembers and pull them out of the water onto the safety of the broken piece of the ship is a fun concept that plays out in a logical manner, especially with the uncertainty of further bombing raids or vehicle explosions disrupting the situation. The quest for gathering supplies, trying to keep everything safe, and making sure that they remain safe from the shark circling their equipment as well. The longer they're on the raft and are forced to survive against not only the shark but the conditions that they're afflicted with stuck in the middle of a floating piece of debris while bombarded by constant sunlight and lack of dwindling materials, there's a lot of likable factors to come here from the rest of the group hoping to use their training and skills to stay alive. When it gets to the shark coming in to attack them, there are some likable features involved. The first sequence here involving the creature appearing out of nowhere and chomping one of the survivors by pulling him into the water and leaving him in pieces so that his mangled corpse resurfaces that makes the others think he's gotten away only to float over and reveal the truth, starts this with a bang not just from its sudden appearance but the gruesome aftermath left behind. A later scene attacking the raft by pulling a victim into the water by their dangling cloth, and begins chomping on him, while the artistic flashback scenes of the creature shown coming for him when he comes for the kid are effective, if not entirely necessary. While the attacks are fun and brutal with plenty of graphic bloodshed, they do drop in quantity in the second act to placate more war-based survival interactions that might turn off those looking for full-on creature action, as this is the main issue with the film.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Trying to pull off a successful job, a man recruits a group of troubled individuals to go with him to a remote manor in the hope of using a filmmaking job to steal cash hidden inside, but when they get stuck in a time-loop after opening a secret chest must stop the demonic spirit host.

This wasn't all that great, but it does have some worthwhile aspects. One of the better elements with this one stems from the enjoyable enough setup that provides this with a solid enough opportunity to get the group to the titular house and go about the rest of the story. Focusing on each individual gathered onto the crew, who each have their own tragic backstories and need to be there so they can improve their lot in life, gives this the necessary motivation for the eventual arrival at the house under the guise of shooting a documentary on the premises. Even without that factor, the local legend about the money stashed away inside and knowing that it'll be enough for their struggles makes for a fine reason to go there, and the early scenes involving the initial exploration of the house and trying to play into the ruse of the situation, rather well. Once the group arrives and the series of time-travel interactions come into play, where people repeat interactions or scenarios with the rest of the group who are unaware of their purpose, it starts to get fun while also presenting the main issue surrounding it. The different times they find themselves undergoing the same scenario, whether it's arriving at the manor and getting instructions on the film, to watching the killer come about and undergo the series of stalking and stabbing that goes on, trying to kill off everyone so that the timer rests. While this is a lot of fun as it's filled with some intriguing elements and some bloody deaths, it's all quite confusing and never makes any sense. The rules of the situation, why some can remember events and others can't, how it all started, or what the spirit stalking them represents are all unexplained, leaving this one with fun action, but it's quite hard to figure out what's happening.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

About to give birth, a pregnant woman heads out to a remote hotel to recuperate and prepare for the baby's arrival, but when she comes to find out no one believes she's pregnant, she tries to point to a spectral being following her as proof that something is after her baby.

This was a solid if somewhat problematic genre effort. Among the better features of this one comes from the strong central premise that presents itself as a genuinely troubling psychological issue at the center of everything. Trying to make sense of the situation where she believes that she's pregnant and expecting a child, going through the motions of gaining weight and hormonal changes despite all the evidence possible saying she's not carrying a child in any way, creates an intriguing starting point for this to work along. The belief that she is, resulting from the weight gain and kicks she says she feels in her stomach, as the only evidence to that, even though every biological test and opinion on the matter says otherwise, creates a strong immersive point to feel sorry for her. As well, this also sets up an extremely engrossing mystery about what's going on while she's staying there. The belief that she's being stalked by a strange woman after her baby creates a startling setup that's created to help tie into the unraveling mental condition she suffers from, involving the numerous fantasies and visions she has of the baby being haunted in her dreams. These are quite chilling and revolve around the baby disappearing from her just before she can get to it, playing well with the few physical encounters she has with the strange woman in the woods that is soon revealed to be the culprit behind everything as that gets it's own backstory explaining what's going on as it leads into a tense, thrilling finale which gets in some thrilling action and enough psychological implications to wrap the story up smoothly, all giving this a lot to like. There are some slight drawbacks that keep this one down. The biggest issue here is the overall lack of treatment and sympathy that's exhibited towards her for this condition, as it's hard to make out what the purpose of the trip out there is supposed to accomplish without help. There's already enough going on with the attempts at trying to convince her of the situation, and she tries to get better as the situation worsens, so not having anything around to help her makes no sense as to why they'd let her go through the whole thing and not get help. Since the whole thing is designed for her benefit, not having that be a big factor in the film is a confusing touch with the lack of outside help only making it worse, and it tends to create a series of distressing intersections where it's hard to side with her as everyone seems to think she's gone mental rather than get better. Overall, these are what hold this one down overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.