Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Peril on the Screen


Seconds Apart 2011
(I tried to keep this spoiler free, but it might be spoilerish).

Twins Jonah and Seth have telepathic powers, which they use to torment people.  This movie is a mixed bag.  It starts off with a gory round of Russian roulette that sets the scene, showing us exactly what the twins are capable of it.  The mass suicide also introduces us to the detective who is a central character in the film. (Unfortunately – but I’ll get to that later). 

What I liked: The twins are creepy.  The actors did a really good job of giving us detached psychopaths.  The twins’ parents are creepy.  The early scenes with them are some of the best in the entire movie.  Had the film makers concentrated on those two elements (the twins and their parents) this would have been a much better show.  Some of their abilities are pretty interesting like they can make people forget they were there, induce delusions, and control people’s actions.  They also are able to control reality in the sense that they make the victims see only what the twins want them to see. 

What I didn’t like: The detective ruined the movie for me.  His back-story provides a suitable tragedy so that he is the tormented yet driven hero.  Unfortunately, I think less effort was put into making his story/character and believable.  I honestly could have fast-forwarded through the parts with him, which is unfortunate because he is central to the entire plot of the story. 

What I hated: The end.  There was such potential when we start to learn about the twins’ childhood and how their powers developed and what really happened to their parents.  But by the time all of those elements came together the movie had pretty much fallen apart. 

But the twins are really creepy.  So I’ll give this one 3 stars.  

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I've encountered some really awful "horror" movies in my search for something to watch for this challenge.  I feel like its been a bad few years for the horror industry as a whole.  Or maybe I'm becoming more critical (or both).  

I'm currently reading Drood, but I have to say that I'm not all that into it.  I'm about 150 pages in.  I only kept reading because so many people enthusiastically commented about it.  I think I'll stick with the book a bit longer, but not sure if I'll finish it.  We shall see...