Reeker (2005)

I caught this on cable. Usually I'll change the channel when a horror film comes on, but this one sucked me in immediately. Looks like a low-budget movie, but that adds to the overall sense of darkness/gloom. I did not see the ending coming, and I think that's the sign of a well made film in this genre. It definitely held my interest to the end. I happened to catch it on again later in the week and watched it a second time to see if I could find the little signs that might have given me a hint to how it was going to end. Definitely worth watching.

I'm not much of a horror movie fan. The Washington Post several years ago recommended this as a good Halloween movie (not "HALLOWEEN", not Freddy Carpenter, not predictable fright flicks). So I added Reeker to my long Netflix list and finally got around to watching it...whew. I have to watch it again. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." That's not a spoiler unless you've read the story. Watch it, watch it again, pay attention. And read "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

This movie starts off looking promising. It looks like it's trying to be a throwback but instead it turns out to be a mixed up mess where you can't even figure out when it takes place. Not sure why they tried to go for such a dated feel but then had newer technology like automatic flushing toilets, so out of place.The acting was mostly terrible. The inclusion of a blind teen was interesting and I thought it had great potential for a new idea. It fell flat on it's face from the very beginning. I'm pretty sure they were counting on the fact that a blind person wouldn't see this movie and come down on them for this awful and embarrassing portrayal of the blind. The actor is horrible and the constant mention of the fact that he's blind is annoying. The hand shake scene was completely unnecessary and stupid. The rest of the cast is equally as bad, minus the guy that drives the RV, I enjoyed his performance. A few of the kill scenes were entertaining but I still often found myself wondering why the heck they had characters doing certain things. Like the girl in the outhouse, why is she grabbing the toilet paper? Like that's going to do anything for her or makes sense in any way? She could have grabbed for something else. If it was supposed to be funny, clearly I missed it. It seems some people think this was supposed to be a satire of sorts. Let me tell you, I love a good satire even if it's subtle. This one isn't funny. Bad actors, typecasting, and dumb cliché dialogue/script doesn't automatically equal funny, just saying. It seems like it's trying way too hard to go in so many directions and honestly they should have picked one and stuck to it. As for the ending: dull and cliché. This ending has been done before: Hello Sixth Sense, The Others, Silent Hill, I could go on... This is no longer a twist but a possible ending because of how many times it's been used even with their "stinky addition". Overall if you're bored and want to see some people killed in a remote hotel setting watch Identity from 2003 which is a much better movie with way better acting, writing, kill scenes, and ending. But if you still insist this movie can be enjoyed if you like movies where you are constantly saying "what the heck is going on" or "I can't wait for these people to die" which aren't necessarily always bad things. Just don't expect a lot. The reviews mislead into thinking this is a cinematic masterpiece and it is far from.

I found this movie highly enjoyable. As long as you don't take it seriously, you'll enjoy it. The young cast, including the gorgeous Arielle Kebbel, are fantastic. Veteran actors Michael Ironside and Marcia Strassman (Welcome Black Kotter's Wife) lend some class and experience. This movie is set at night for the most part. The lighting is excellent. There is a twist to this movie that I won't reveal. It worked really well for me. I don't know why this movie only has a rating as low as 5.2.I thought it was clever and fun. Don't take it seriously, and you and your friends will enjoy it.