I recently watched a little film called Saw (the rating is total bullshit for once-this is a good movie), which was an entertaining and original thriller starring Cary Elwes and Danny Glover. The concept was conceived by the director, James Wan, and the co-writer/co-star, Leigh Wahnnell. It reminded me of another entertaining low budget thriller, Cube ( again ignore the negative reviews-it's an entertaining film), in which some people were inexplicably locked in a death trap and tried to escape without being killed. This films start with the two main actors waking up chained to the wall of a dilapidated bathroom with a dead body between them. It also seems quite 7-esque and influenced by the work of its director David Fincher. The storyline basically consists of people being punished by a serial killer who creates scenarios where the victims usually kill themselves, so he doesn’t have to do the dirty work so to speak. Stylistically it is Fincheresque in the stop action photography and dark, brooding lighting of the film. Essentially, it kept my attention and had me guessing till the end, which is a grand finale with a twist. Impressive debut.
Cool...I am glad that you dug this film. I saw it in the theater and really enjoyed it too. I saw the Fincher-isms as a tribute to his previous films and I think that the debut effort by these film-makers was outstanding. Of course, they already got signed on for a sequel after the initial box office score...typical horror film with the nature of their endings. I found the film to be creepy and somewhat surprising with the ending that I didn't see coming. I also agree with you about Cube. Don't bother seeing the sequel nor the prequel. Garbage. The original Cube was best left alone. Do you know what reminded me of Cube was "Alive". I can't remember the directors name, but he's the same Japanese director that brought us "Azumi". Good shit.
Posted by: Ray Lee | July 24, 2005 at 07:18 PM
Hey Ray, I totally agree with you. I was thrown by the ending as well. Unfortunately, I saw the second Cube movie, but the first one was excellent. I haven't seen the Japanese horror movies you're referring to-I'm more of an indies/art house viewer.
Posted by: MC | July 27, 2005 at 03:17 AM