Still Kickin’
This movie is a very interesting piece of work, in fact, the entire story was thick and convoluted, but knowing myself I like it. There were some good scary parts and at points it just seemed tiring. The story is essentially about Ian Stone, who lives one life and then dies and wakes up in a different life doing some different job. The reason why Dementor looking spirits are constantly killing him is because he had done something to one of them and they don't want him to remember. This was a great storyline, until the plot changed and these things now want him to remember. Aside from this, this film was pretty good and had some very good scares. Perhaps I underestimated this movie and for a Horror Fest film, it was satisfying. The acting was good, there were some tense action scenes, the camera work was okay, and the plot was iffy.
Mike Vogel, who plays Ian Stone, does a terrific job playing someone who is being continuously killed. He puts good emotion into his character, he makes you feel that he is scared and when gets killed, you see that in his eyes and his expression. When the end of the movie approaches, after his fourth life, he begins to slowly dissipate his acting. Not that it is his fault but it becomes humorous. Jaime Murray, who plays Medea, does an okay job for what her character demands, which is being calm, charismatic and very monotone. She actually does a great job in the series Dexter, but this movie does not show her best work, it's really borderline work. Christina Cole, who plays Ian's multiple love interest and a key part in this whole plot, is a fantastic actress and really puts her performance to the test in this one. She does a great job, and for somebody who has been in some movies here and there and some TV shows, she does a great job. Michael Feast, who plays Gray, fooled me. At first it sounded like Michael Caine, looks like Michael Caine for a minute, then I finally caught on that it wasn't. He does a great job playing his part. Calm, fearful, authority figure and very emotional towards the end. A great performance by a "Michael Caine look-a-like."
The scares in this movie were not abundant, but when it hypes up to them, it scares. These spirits, or "Harvesters" as the film calls them, look a lot like Dementors from Harry Potter. I think Dementors played a heavy part in the creation of these things and they are a little scarier then Dementors. When they materialize their hands into scythes or they glide in the air like a black sandstorm, is pretty scary, especially when they have razor sharp teeth. This movie successfully makes shadows scary, or at least for my taste. To see these insect-like shadows line the dimmed walls of a hospital or apartment complex seems scary to me, accompanied with horrid shrieks and body contortion. Yeah, that was pretty creepy. The line "When a clock stops, that's when you know they are coming," somehow makes me shiver. The feeling that something unearthly knows where you are, is watching you and wants to kill you by any means possible, that you can't even see and that it’s somewhere out there. A great scare is in the beginning when Ian is a teenager and finds "something" huge lying "dead" by the train tracks.
Overall, I have to cut this comment short. I enjoyed this movie to a great level that just above average. It was not not scary but certainly not too scary, it had some pretty good acting and performances, a fair amount of scares and spinetinglers and overall just a fun horror movie to watch. I would not dish out $8.50 to see it, but I would rent it and watch it, I would recommend this to horror fans. It was a good movie for what it offered and I think that's what matters.