A massive disappointment considering this director did 'Versus', the zombie/martial arts hybrid. The characters are given a stay of execution so that they may participate in an odd experiment of selected isolation. The first two reels are interesting, but after 'The Witch' chapter, the movie quickly declines into
boring territory. All of the investment in attempted character development is false and only adds to the bore. By the time the final fight comes around, which the segment is called 'Versus', I was just ready for the film to end. The settings and art direction are great, and the camerawork is mostly brilliant but too often reverts to lazy easy cut angles. It's tough for me to tell with foreign films, but the acting here does not seem always on point, with a few too many weak link B actors chiming in. Combine that with the B plot, and this movie starts out at a great cheesy deficit that it does not overcome OR celebrate.I've seen few films that so fully exemplify the phrase "untapped potential".You can watch at stagevu.com.
November 17, 2008
