Triangle (2009)

A well written screenplay with plot twists. Psychological thriller with some slasher horror mixed in. Some mind bender nonlinear chronology (flashbacks) makes it a well orchestrated low budget psychological thriller horror. I can tell a cheesy horror pretty quick and this isn't bad. It's got quality original storyline that keeps you into the movie. Sort of had a "The Shining" feel an times, but at sea. Did anyone else notice the room number of the cabin they checked for people when they first boarded the ship. Room 237... yeah.

Okay, this is my third viewing of 'Triangle' (so at least you know I must like it, at least a little!). However, there's a reason it's not up there with my 'most watched' movies of all times. And that's because, despite me enjoying it, I really do have to be in the right sort of mood for a film like this. In short... it's a hard watch. It's a horror film starring Melissa George as a troubled woman who decides to have a - brief - break from her day-to-day life in order to join a few friends on a luxury yacht for a couple of days. Unfortunately, this proves even more dramatic than her home life when the boat capsizes and the party end up managing to just about make it to a cruise liner that - almost literally - appears out of nowhere in order for them to board. If that wasn't creepy enough, their new ship is deserted, or is it?Now, apart from Melissa George (who you may or may not have heard of), there's no real stars to speak of, plus no real budget (the ship and anything largely connected to the ocean around it does look a little 'cheap' in terms of computer-effects, plus gore is hardly a major factor. So, the film can't really sell itself on any of those points. It makes up for its lack of 'obvious' selling points by trying to create a confusing and fearful atmosphere. It's impossible to make any sort of film which 're-uses' chronologically-filmed scenes without mentioning 'Groundhog Day.' I guess there's a very - loose - element of that with 'Triangle' based on how certain parts of the film deliberately repeat themselves, each time revealing a little more of what's happening. I mention the 'confusing' atmosphere that's created. Well... it's not just the characters on screen who are in the dark regarding what's happening to them, but also us, the viewers. Because of the way the 'supernatural 'element of the story is presented, it's not always clear as to what the threat is (or at least what's causing the threat). This film isn't a simple horror film with a monster running around eating people. It uses various other sources of terror. And it's because of this that many people may find the plot a little confusing. I have to confess that I did on my first viewing and even resorted to posting theories on internet message boards in order to check that I knew what was going on. It's one of those situations that once it's been explained to you it's kind of obvious and you kick yourself for not getting it first time round. However, like I say, there are times when you don't want the film's narrative 'spoon fed' to you and 'Triangle' will give you the opportunity to have think about what's happening, why and if there's a way out of what - I guess - is technically the (Bermuda?) 'Triangle.'

***mild, mild spoliers to follow***There's a special kind of film every slasher fan knows well. I call them Grate Films: movies that somehow entertain despite the fact that one roots against the main cast, not for them. The kind of film where friends place excited bets on who deserves to get Savini'd next and why, and applaud when they're right. In this regard, Triangle is a truly Grate Film. Melissa George stars as Billie Piper, a woman with seriously questionable taste in footwear who shows up for a pleasure cruise with friends several days after her Zoloft prescription has expired. (Or maybe she thought this was an audition because there was a Hemsworth waiting out front.) Twilight Zone-y wackiness then ensues, which could accurately be described as some chick who's never seen Groundhog's Day playing Dark Souls on the cruise ship from that one Resident Evil mobile game. Which makes this "the Dark Souls of 'Dark Souls on a cruise ship movies'", I guess. Eventually a Hemsworth gets fingered.Ultimately, this is a horror film about people trapped in a confined space with a protagonist who's too stupid/crazy/clinically depressed to explain what's going on, and how her idiocy puts everyone else in mortal danger. I won't give away much more, because once you get past the obligatory setup there are actually a few good choices and twists, and a surprising meticulousness to the plotting that's possibly hinted at by the Rosemary's Baby-esque opening theme. This doesn't get in the way of the characters acting like complete tools at all times, however, despite a really clever solution to the problem of keeping the body count high without having to hire more actors. The ending manages to be a potent cocktail of predictable, impossible, and really, really stupid. Few films have been so vehemently anti-nap.Triange is best approached as a slightly elevated slasher film. Despite following every good idea up with a grate one, there is guaranteed entertainment value here, especially for groups that enjoy yelling at the screen. #makemoviesgrateagain

I knew nothing about this movie and went into it blind (which I would recommend everyone to do), and boy, oh boy, did this movie take me on a wild ride. Melissa George is an actress I've always been fond of within the horror genre, so having her play the lead, Jess, immediately meant I was invested from the beginning. Melissa's performance is incredible and although there are a group of secondary characters, she really holds her own in this movie. The supporting cast are adequate but their limited screen-time means I'm unable to formulate any strong opinions on them. What makes this movie so amazing is that it goes in a completely different direction than anyone could predict. What you expect to be a typical slasher movie turns out to be so much more and the events that unfolded beyond the first 20 minutes of the movie completely blew my mind. I was glued to my screen from beginning to end (which is something that very few movies are able to accomplish for me) and after the end credits rolled I found my mind ticking over, dozens of theories and explanations whizzing through my brain as I attempted to fit the pieces of the puzzle together to form one coherent and interconnected story. It saddens me to see this movie gets so many low ratings and bad reviews based on the fact that people misunderstood the plot or failed to recognise the significance of the symbolism. Admittedly, this isn't a movie that's very self-explanatory and it doesn't surprise me that a majority of people fail to understand the ending fully (and I'm speaking as one of those people), but in an odd way that's part of the charm of this movie. It's one that leaves the viewer with so many questions and makes you want to watch it again to see what you missed - which I did, multiple times! It's worth investing some time to research the meaning of it (Peng Yang on YouTube provides a very in-depth analysis) and definitely re-watch it. It's one of those rare movies whereby each time you watch it, it provides a different, interesting experience and you notice little details you didn't before. When you fully understand the story of Triangle, you're able to appreciate how complex and intelligent it is. Every thread of the story weaves together to create the bigger image, but as the viewer you just have to find a way to weave those threads together yourself. It's a story about love, regret, grief, death, life, parenting, friendship, fear and so much more. If you keep an open mind when watching this movie and immerse yourself in the mysteries of it, you'll have a truly fantastic experience. The only reason my rating just fell short of 10 stars is because the ending was unclear to me on my first watch and I believe a movie should be coherent, self-explanatory to an extent that I don't need to research it in order to fully understand it. Other than that this is one of the best movies I've watched in years and I would recommend it to anybody that's a fan of psychological horrors or thrillers.