Loaded (1994) User Reviews

Interesting, but not fully realized

[Furious_is · 5/10 · 16 January 2008]

The main thing that drew me to this movie, was the fact that it was directed by Anna Campion, Jane Campion's sister, one of my favourite New Zealand directors. It's a fairly solid effort, but it doesn't live up to her sister's reputation. The story is slow, and there isn't a lot of pay off, but I think that gives it a real life quality, even if some of the scenarios are a little bit hard to swallow.

The acting is solid. There is some beautiful camera work, the problem is that is all there is.

Loaded ambles along, with a couple of peaks, and then it just ends, leaving you feel like you saw half a good movie, that ran out of steam. It's like it has a thriller story, that is played out in a drama format. Maybe the script in someone else's hands might have worked, but it just seemed like there wasn't enough it.

Weird and Twisted

[SassyFox · 4/10 · 18 July 1999]

I didn't really get the whole thing to this movie. It was just really strange. The plot wasn't actually to clear to me. I guess I just didn't get really any of it. It all didn't seem to make since or go with what the movie was about. Just some friends going to a big house and making a horror movie. And them one of them gets killed cause some of his buddys were like "high" and like drunk and accidently ran him over. So the whole thing to it i just don't get!

Solid Cast, but Meandered Too Much

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 6/10 · 15 March 2024]

This was a movie that I won from a podcast. It was part of the 8 Midnight Horror Movies - Hatchets & Cleavers. What is ironic is that most of the movies in the pack don't fit these criteria. I decided to work through movies in my collection that I hadn't seen before so I gave this one a watch.

We start this off with Neil (Oliver Milburn) seeing his therapist, played by Dearbhla Molloy. What is interesting here is that he wants to film this. She denies that, but he does it in secret anyway. He will watch this over as the movie goes on.

Neil along with his friends are going to the house of Charlotte's (Biddy Hodson). They are going there to film an independent movie. It seems that Lance (Danny Cunningham) and Giles (Nick Patrick) are the creative team behind this. Rose (Catherine McCormack) is the star while Zita (Thandiwe Newton) is helping in front and behind the camera. They are also joined by Lionel (Mathew Eggleton).

Issues arise when Lionel shows up with a box of condoms to give to Rose. Lance walks into the room and thinks they're hooking up. Rose is supposed to see Neil though. It doesn't help that Lance happens to see them again when Rose removes her clothes with Lionel there. He relays what he's seen to Neil, who we know struggles with mental health. This ends in tragedy when Lionel gets hit by a car driven by Neil. There are factors here that complicate this even further.

Now I will say that there are good parts to this movie. I'm a fan of getting a group of characters in the middle of nowhere and them turning on each other due to the isolation. This is compounded by the fact that they take acid. Lance brings it and recommends that they use it to learn more about themselves on camera. This ends up leading to the tragedy that will change their lives forever. This also becomes a catalyst for bad decision making and the worry about getting into trouble from said decisions as well.

There isn't a lot that happens in this movie and it is carried by the acting. I thought that it was good to set up Milburn like they did in the beginning. It also makes him worried when the accident happens. He was driving and it was set up that he had a motive with Rose and Lionel. He has an important decision to make. Cunningham is a jerk, but I like the fact that he's there to press buttons. That adds tension. It is wild to see a young McCormack who I know from Braveheart. There's also Newton who I knew originally from the television show ER. She's gone on to do the most from here. Hodson is solid along with Eggleton. Patrick also has an interesting role since he has a notebook with newspaper clippings about serial killers. This doesn't go anywhere aside from pushing the buttons of Zita. I did like the acting here even if it comes off pretension with things they debate.

I'd say that this is well-made as well. It doesn't have the biggest budget which is interesting that this crew is making a low budget movie. There's a lot of dialogue and the characters getting into debates. I don't know if they go anywhere and it causes the story to meander. The credit I'll give there though is that it shows these characters are getting under each other's skins for different things. I did like the debate between Giles wanting to make a more arthouse film where Lance wants to make something that will sell commercially. It feels more like a debate between a studio and artist. Where this ends up was interesting, I'm just not sure we needed everything to get there personally. Not one that I can recommend to everyone. You need to like low budget dramas. If you want to see Newton and McCormack in earlier roles, especially the latter is topless a couple of times. This is just a bit too pretentious for most viewers.

My Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Bad movie about the making of a bad movie.

[paperbogie · 2/10 · 13 May 2003]

Loaded is one of those films about a bunch of friends who gather at an isolated location for a weekend during which they discover things about themselves and each other. In this case we discover that all the characters turn out to be just as pathetic and uninteresting as they seemed to be in the first five minutes. The premise is they're all there to shoot a horror movie. I don't know if the film-makers intended the film-within-the-film to be as bad as it appears because the actual film isn't much better. I have no idea where the title came from, probably something the marketing people thought up to make it sound trendy and trick people into seeing it. The trick worked on me, but spare yourselves. There is no reason in the world to sit through this rambling, pretentious, stinking movie.

90mins of your life you will never get back

[Domster747 · 1/10 · 3 April 2006]

I got this film as from the box it looked interesting and was cheap! On the front it says 'Seven Friends Are Getting Away for the Weekend... And one is getting away with MURDER!!'.

I've ticked the 'contains spoiler' box but the spoiler is nothing really happens. Seven annoying people stay at a big house in the country (owned by a relative of one of the group) to make a truly awful horror movie. Unfortunately, the actual movie is even worse and we listen to these annoying people having what they think is deep and meaningful conversation but is just plain dull. You keep watching waiting for something exciting to happen and after an hour nothing has. I was just about to switch it off when one of the group gets run down on his motorbike in accident with a car driven by another one of the group. This happens while they are on an acid trip. They then bury him, well, they cover him in leaves in the woods nearby but by the next morning when they have recovered they cannot find him? The guy who was driving when the accident occurred eventually agrees to call the police and then we cut to see the guy is dead in the woods and then the credits roll and that is it. That's the film. It's so bad that you should stop reading this review and get on with your life.

One word summary: Incongruous

[andrew_parcel · 1/10 · 13 January 2003]

This is a tale of some uninteresting British youths who plan on making a horror movie but end up starring in one. I knew that this movie was not a critical success, but I was hoping that it would be a British version of "Kicking and Screaming", or something of that sort, but instead I was left with more of a "Howard the Duck" impression.

The only reason for renting this themeless, plotless mess is to check out Catherine McCormack in her first major role. Although hindered by poor writing and directing, she still manages to shine as the most complex and interesting character. Unfortunately her plot lines are truncated and never truly play out, right through to the end of the movie when the credits appear out of nowhere. Also look for Thandie Newton trapped in a poorly written part.

(1/10)

Big disappointment

[Sam-285 · 25 June 2003]

The majority of this movie is argumentative discussion. It might be interesting if it were philosophical discussion, but there is little of that. The movie-making is only a small part of the movie. The movie is about as exciting as watching a typical dysfunctional group of people.

I have noticed many movie descriptions that describe the ending of the movie as if the entire movie is about that. I consider the Plot Summary of this movie to give away too much of the ending, however there probably is not much more that could be said to make this movie sound interesting.

Worst Movie Ever

[[e-mail] · 1/10 · 21 June 2005]

From the plot to the acting. From the beginning to the end. The absolute worst film ever made. I am not surprised the actors from this movie have not gone on to do bigger and better things. Because, after watching this movie, you could see why. The direction is awful, the pace is slow. But, more than that, the description on the back of the box is VERY VERY misleading. Proceed with caution, and if you disregard this and decided to give it a try, I am so very sorry, because I know it's 120 mins of my life I would like back. C. McCormick, I hear, is actually considering doing more things. I am trying very hard not to hold this movie against her, it being her first film and all. But, believe me, it's hard. Still in the end, I left not really knowing what the movie was all about.

Pretentious and contrived

[onethousandowls · 3/10 · 6 May 2013]

This movie is like that kid in philosophy class who thinks he knows everything - which would be totally fine, except for the fact that the film does not deliver in the slightest. The characters are unlovable and brash, the plot is dull and irregularly paced. While some may attribute this to being a metaphor for a car crash, I don't think the filmmakers had that in mind, or anything really. This film is only a tiny bit better than the one the kids make in the film. It honestly makes you question who was doing the acid, the characters or the filmmakers. I'd stay away, far far away unless you've got some acid handy, too.

A fine movie, but not much happens

[DEblen · 7/10 · 18 January 2000]

Not a lot happens in Loaded. However, the relationships between people, and the way they subsequently break-down are familiar and interesting. If you don't mind a slow movie, but love the exploration of boundaries,(and if you love Thandie Newton) I'd say this is one for you.

Very well done

[JesNollie · 8/10 · 29 July 2001]

A wonderful movie full of rich characterizations. The video carton was misleading, in that it made it seem more of a thriller or horror film, when in reality it is more about relationships and the stupidity of youth. If you like movies that rely on dialog and characters more than plot or action, you'll probably like this one. I did.

Don't Rent This You Won't Enjoy It

[Vertigo-27 · 21 July 1999]

Bad movie... period....

One of those kind of movies where you are acually waiting for it to take off... ending so sudden it doesnt even give you time to enjoy the 1 (and only) chill just when it gave a tiny ounce of picking up... don't rent this you wont enjoy it.

Title is unsuiting, story is off-key (about a bunch of kids going to some house in the woods and filming a cheap horror movie) which didn't work, and annoying actors...

leave this one on the self where it should stay and stay and stay.... its almost makes you mad enough to order the director to redo it and make it interesting in just maybe the slightest bit... almost.........

Awesome

[Davevad · 10/10 · 15 December 1998]

This was one of the best movies I've ever seen. Reminded me a lot of Shallow Grave, but without the murder. The trippy scenes are well directed.