Shiver (2012)

Based on a novel of the same name, "Shiver" delivers only occasionally. The predictable, derivative screen story gains a little traction from performances, but not enough to keep it afloat. Among these are uneven performances by Danielle Harris (some of her scenes are quite good) as the wallflower office worker Wendy Alden, and John Jarrett as the serial killer Franklin Rood, who stalks her. (But don't expect anything close his creepy performance in "Wolf Creek"). Casper Van Dien and Rae Dawn Chong do quite well in their performances as the detectives on the loony's trail. The central problem is the script, which may not do justice to the novel: the main characters are flat and under-developed; the police and corrections officers are presented as incredibly incompetent. And the rationale behind the crimes is unexplored; evidently a single traumatic event in Rood's childhood drives him over the edge. The camera work is fine, and the editing sharp, though a little jagged. Taken on its own terms the jazz soundtrack is okay, but it seems to belong to another film.

Franklin Rood is a serial killer - RUDE....GET IT??That's about the extent of the depth of this POS. John Jarratt is the most annoying serial killer ever. Half retarded and....half retarded. He's a serial killer because someone broke his glasses. Seriously. We know he's a "genius" because he knows Edgar Allen Poe. And he's smart enough to scream "NOT SO SMART NOW, ARE YOU?" after he kills the woman who misquoted The Raven. Wendy is a gorgeous wallflower, too timid to ask for a raise, but magically becomes a tigress street-smart enough to slip a knife up her sleeve when she feels threatened and calm enough to continue to slip away when threatened. Adding insult to injury are jazz standards that pound away on the soundtrack. Most stalker movies you have some kind of kinship with the killer. This guy you just want dead. And not in a good way.

Wendy Alden has a boring job, lack of self-esteem, and a love life that she is reluctant to fully commit to. To make matters worse, a notorious serial killer is killing off women in her area. Wendy encounters the killer and manages to escape from a near-death experience. In order to survive, Wendy is gonna have to outsmart the killer at any cost. I only watched this because of Danielle Harris, I think the woman is immensely talented, even when she is dealing with sub par scripts. There isn't really anything overly original in this one, it's fairly derivative, but it does what it can with the material it has. It has a bit of an old school feel to it and isn't afraid to push boundaries. it also has some decent psychology in it as well. I did think they could have delved further into the serial killer's plight because he just seemed like a typical killer with family issues growing up. While I will give it credit for doing what it can with the material, it's too derivative to be that effective. How many times have we seen a perverted serial killer hack off beautiful women over the years? Its been done to death. There are a couple of questionable plot holes as well. How did the killer survive the car going off a cliff? It isn't fully explained. I wondered how the police could be so incompetent at times. Poor camera work at times is also an issue. Gore hounds should be at least content with the amount of violence. We get a nasty slit throat, and an eye is gouged out. Bloody corpses, gunshot wounds, and severed heads add to the fun as well. The harshest part may have been the scene with the pregnant woman, I thought that was effectively brutal. The acting is decent. Danielle Harris is excellent as our heroine. It was nice to see they didn't fully go the way of the damsel in distress. She is very vulnerable, but the strong heroine you'd expect her to be as well. John Jarrett ranges from hammy to good. There were times where I thought he was outstanding with his work, others where he was too OTT. He was a bit too whiny for me in all honesty at times. Casper Van Dien is OK. He got this weird smirk on his face at the weirdest times. An underrated favorite of mine, Rae Dawn Chong has a small part as wellI tried to be as fair as I could with this review. For what it is, I felt it did some good things. It can be suspenseful at times with some great acting (Harris especially) , but there is nothing that special about it. It's just another serial killer film that is carried by Danielle Harris. Harris fans and fans of the genre will find a few things to like about this one5/10

In nearly every respect, Shiver is just another movie about just another demented serial killer. But a viewer who sticks with it, will see that the lead Woman in Peril played by Danielle Harris is far from the typical panicked screaming and annoying victim. Ms. Harris delivers an impressively nuanced performance in a movie that on most respects is totally lacking in nuance. True. Even with another actress in the lead role. Shiver's unpretentiousness would be refreshing (except for the very Carrie-esque final few scenes). But Danielle Harris' performance as an alternately tough, angry and frightened young Portlander is worth a watch purely on its own merits.