Director: James Cullen Bressack
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller
Plot:
Getting together with friends, a group of college friends gather for a series of storytelling and reminiscing about their past, but when they find themselves trapped inside under the threat of a killer forcing them to play deadly games against each other or die violently a series of secrets will threaten them more than the games.
This here was a solid and enjoyable shorter effort. Among it’s more engaging elements is the enjoyable manner in which this one goes for a quick-shot method of introducing everyone and getting the premise going. Showing off the easy-going nature of the group where the group comes off with a relaxed, easy-going setup that gives off a genuine feeling of friendship and having a get-together which then makes the later scenes of the groups’ descent into paranoia all that much better knowing this early setup as background.
That works in the film’s favor as the series of demented behavior and hysteria is quite fun here. As the tasks get crazier and more depraved the deeper the night goes, how the differences in their reactions play off the tasks they’re given, from carving up and eating a piece of their friend to partaking in a drinking game where one of the glasses is laced with cyanide. Seeing how they change things up and switches in behavior that results in a pretty shocking and somewhat original series of twists that give this one enjoyable times here, these hold this one up for the most part.
There are some rather strong negative aspects here. Among the biggest issues is the unneeded and useless time-filler parts that are trying to stretch this one out to a minimum respectable length. From a fake trailer for a grindhouse-themed viewing experience which is a fine twist on the commercial which is fun if useless piece to the fake trailers in the middle of the movie with censored exploitation elements rather than delving into those elements, the film has some obvious tactics to try to spread itself out to an appropriate running time since the flimsy plot here doesn’t support this kind of pace.
The other major flaw here is the wholly underwhelming and nonsensical twist that is completely insulting and moronic. There’s nothing in here that makes sense which gets revealed in the final ten minutes that ties into anything in the rest of this one, and it seems to come off mostly as a surprise shock in order to tie off something unexpected to be completely unexpected. Since it gives off plenty of laughable special effects and underwhelming action that doesn’t make any sense overall, these here are what hold this one back the most.
Overview: **.5/5
Filled with enough watchable moments even with a few moments that drag this down unnecessarily, the film is quite enjoyable although it is flawed. Give this a look if you're a fan of this sci-fi driven indie thrillers or are intrigued by the setup here, although those turned off by the film's few flaws should heed caution.
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