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Starring:
Sarah Lieving
Erin Sullivan
Produced by: The Asylum
Two young women arrive in Tokyo to make a documentary but when the city is rocked by tremors and explosions, the amateur film-makers find themselves capturing something earthshattering.
Because this isn't an earthquake...
If you watched "Cloverfield" and thought "What this film really needs is less monster and more nausea-inducing camera work" then I have the film for you.
If you're not mental then go watch something else. Pigeons trying to eat cigarette butts, for instance.
This is a monster film where you never actually get to see the monster. There's a tentacle pops up over the rooftops a few times, then at the climax you get...some more tentacles. At no point do you ever see what they are attached to.
If you're feeling charitable, you might put this down to a desire to heighten the tension. (What is this thing? Why is attacking Tokyo? What the hell does it look like?")
Personally I reckon the animation team all called in sick on the day they were supposed to do the big reveal.
There's some smaller "Worm-things" that pop up at various points. Allegedly. You never get to see those either. The screen either disappears in a blizzard of chaotic pixels or just goes black and when it comes back the characters are talking about the horrible thing that just happened.
This is a monster film where you never actually get to see the monster. There's a tentacle pops up over the rooftops a few times, then at the climax you get...some more tentacles. At no point do you ever see what they are attached to.
If you're feeling charitable, you might put this down to a desire to heighten the tension. (What is this thing? Why is attacking Tokyo? What the hell does it look like?")
Personally I reckon the animation team all called in sick on the day they were supposed to do the big reveal.
There's some smaller "Worm-things" that pop up at various points. Allegedly. You never get to see those either. The screen either disappears in a blizzard of chaotic pixels or just goes black and when it comes back the characters are talking about the horrible thing that just happened.
The end result is that you just end up following two worried young women wandering aimlessly around Tokyo and that gets boring real quick.
Sarah Lieving and Erin Sullivan do their best and I thought they conveyed the confusion and increasing terror of their predicament more than capably. However, it's just not enough to carry the movie.
My big gripe is the video quality.
Christ on a bike, if "Cloverfield" made you travelsick then get the bucket ready for this one.
Between the ShakyCam and the way it turns into Potato Quality whenever things are in danger of getting exciting this film is a real struggle to sit through.
Assuming you do manage to sit through the whole thing then your reward is an inconclusive ending that feels like everybody lost interest.
Did I mention that you never got a good look at the monster? A bit of a failing in a frigging monster movie.
How much did I pay for this: 75p
Was it worth it: By the time I finished watching, I was annoyed and had a headache. So that would be a "No"
If you want a found-footage film that's worth watching try this instead:
And here's the "Monster" trailer.
That's all folks.
Interesting to see your take on this film. My review from 2008 is here http://sci-fi-gene.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/drop-camera-and-run-again.html I found some nice things to say about it but I was also surprised to see just how many people were actually involved in making it. I completely agree about Trollhunter, it's the best of the found footage genre.
ReplyDeleteI think you enjoyed it a lot more than I did. Although I suspect I would have been more charitable if the picture hadn't kept going Potato every six minutes. Ah well, each to their own.
DeleteTroll Hunter really surprised me. I genuinely loved it. The scene where the bridge troll clobbered the hunter was superb. If you are ever inclined to write a review of it, I'd love to read it!
ReplyDeleteBloody good film. I kept hearing about how good it was so I was worried it wouldn't live up to expectations but no, Troll Hunter delivered.
DeleteYeah. I guess monster films are a lot cheaper if they cut the monster. Heaven save us from the bean counters BigD.
ReplyDeleteCheers, ic
What's weird is that most low-budget monster movies these days will show you the beastie about two minutes after the opening credits.
Deletehahaha that "Monster" trailer rocks either way.
ReplyDeleteShe really looks scared.
Fair play to the young ladies involved. They did a respectable job and deserved to be in something much better.
DeleteCan someone explain to me why movie makers feel the need to use shaky cam when all it does is make us movie goers feel sick to our stomachs and we end up not enjoying the movie? Thanks for the warning!
ReplyDeleteBut here's a question: "Troll Hunter" looks good, but does it have the shaking camera? I want to watch it, but not get sick either.