The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) User Reviews

Semi-Original, Not bad, but sorta falls apart

[Sabalon · 6/10 · 28 March 2008]

Went into this expecting a bunch of gore, but instead go an interesting story and premise. The idea is a merging of quite a few ideas you may recognize, but was done very well. Up until a certain point.

The last 25 minutes or so seemed that they ran out of ideas on how to tie up a thought out start with a decent ending, so they just went for a typical and somewhat predictable end.

By no means is it a horrible movie, and there are some good performances in it. Just don't expect to walk away stunned at the end.

Oh...while not overloaded with CGI - what they do use is amazing looking.

Don't read any reviews, because the good part is the mystery

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 24 August 2012]

Like Lost, and Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the Deaths of Ian Stone does a great job of building up a mysterious story and loads of questions, but sadly doesn't really follow through at the end.

Ian Stone is a ice hockey player that gets hunted down and killed by a strange monster. The next day, he's an office worker who's girlfriend turns into a monster and kills him. The day after that, he's a taxi driver who gets stalked by monsters. The only constant is a blonde girl who turns up in every incarnation. Who is killing him every day and why? And who is the blonde girl?

This was all good stuff up to a point, but when things start being explained, it all becomes a bit ho-hum. Not a bad film, mind, the creatures are pretty good creations, and there's plenty of tension, but I think the film makers were looking towards creating a Clive Barker-like worlds-within-worlds mythology. It didn't quite work. For some reason the baddies all dress like Matrix people. Didn't quite get that bit either.

It's okay, just don't get yourself too excited when watching the first half.

Really good horror film (it will help if you know as little as possible)

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 24 December 2007]

Hey wait a minute a low budget horror film thats actually pretty good. Despite bumpy start this is a good film about a guy who is being killed again and again, each time jumping into a new life. I don't want to say more since the film is solving the puzzle as to what's going on. This is a good story that seems like an extended episode of one of the better horror anthology series, while it probably could be trimmed down a bit, the film is mostly a solid little thriller that puts the story and characters first instead of the effects. Yes there are effects, but they aren't over used nor are they over done. if you like good, pulpy horror stories give this a try.

Dying is Easy, Scriptwriting is Hard.

[dunmore_ego · 4/10 · 9 February 2009]

Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) keeps dying. Stalked by Stan Winston demon-thingy creations, he is killed at the same time every day, and then keeps waking in different lives with different professions.

THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE is an original premise, the first act, dynamite, as Vogel gets his Ewan McGregor on and tries to keep from being killed in creative ways. Because we cannot clearly see his demons, we presume there may be more than meets the metaphysical eye here and we are the heart in Ian Stone's throat as he is pursued relentlessly.

No matter every new life of his, Jenny (Christina Cole) is always around, as Ian's co-worker or girlfriend or neighbor, unaware she is living through multiple lives with him.

Unfortunately, the breakneck pace of this horror thriller cannot be sustained without some plodding exposition. Some old guy gives Ian the lowdown: the demons are Harvesters and they feed off people's fear. They keep killing him because... well, this is where the illogic starts bleeding through the fabric of the writer's nice blood-red cardigan.

At first, we hope there is redemption in the mythical allusions - a dominatrix-demon named Medea (Jaime Murray) - before we realize writer Brendan Hood probably just named the villainess after his cat. Then DEATHS OF IAN STONE quickly degenerates into standard "monster" fare with latex facemasks, grumbling gore and supernatural "rules" spewed at us at lightning speed to reconcile all the physics laws being broken to serve the asinine plot.

Inexperienced director Dario Piana held a smacking hot property, but failed to follow through. Whereas the first act sang like a slayer's scream, the third act quickly starts looking and feeling like a TV movie starring Eric Roberts. For example, the Harvesters in the first act were chilling; by the time Ian Stone turns into a Harvester himself, he looks like Eric Stoltz in MASK. Ironically, Ian Stone looks like the one with the mask on.

Even with all these rules shoved into our skulls at the last minute, no one explains why all the other Harvesters, when they change from people to monsters, lose their clothes, yet Ian Stone retains his edgy Runway Model shirt. (Well, so we can identify him from the others, of course - the edgy modelwear for the ladies who like bad boys.) Turns out the Harvesters are after Ian's girl! For reasons as equally inane and illogical as his being a Harvester. And after all the stalking and attempts on her life, when the Harvesters eventually acquire her, they don't kill her immediately; they wait for Ian Stone aka Eric Stoltz to arrive and beat the special effects out of them.

After all, dying is easy. Comedy is hard.

Actually not that bad, i was surprised!

[sg2790 · 7/10 · 23 December 2007]

This film interested me as it was a new concept, a man dying and keep coming back each day in a new life. I cant be bothered to write the ins and outs of the film but overall it was an interesting but non scary story. It was well shot and overall well done.

Bad points - the brown haired lady started off well along with the first 40 minutes of the film, but towards the end i think the strength of the film was lost through some of the acting, and costume designs an almost matrix wanna-be with that one, you'll see what i mean if you watch it. So you really have to take with a pinch of salt and go with the flow of it.

Overall it is a good film, at times can be a bit corny but for a fairly unknown film in the UK even though it was made here, was a gripping and engaging film however not consistent throughout sadly.

Never the less if you come across it watch its entertaining and different 7/10

A Nutshell Review: The Deaths of Ian Stone

[DICK STEEL · 5/10 · 21 February 2008]

The premise made this look like a distant cousin of movies like Groundhog Day, only that it's more bizarre, and containing an element of gore. Imagine if you wake up but find yourself living a different life from before you slept, not just repeating the last 24 hours. And each iteration actually ends in death, where you feel pain, and knowingly being hunted down. Then you rinse and repeat, with little recollection and little opportunity to figure things out before you get hit again.

Sounds interesting, right? But The Deaths of Ian Stone wasted the premise, and became a very boring movie despite the tense build up. It kept you guessing, until slowly you realize a whole host of clichés start to creep in, especially those pertaining to speeding up the narrative and to provide wholesale, verbatim explanation on things to come. Showing you is not enough, the characters have to blabber repeatedly, and you start to roll your eyes when they beat around the bush for no good reason.

Ian Stone, the titular character, is played by Mike Vogel. A teenage ice hockey jock, things start to go bump for him when he realizes that time will start to freeze, and he finds himself getting thrust forward in time, but not before suffering immense pain from creative death. The only constant that keeps him sane, is the presence of girlfriend Jenny (Christina Cole), who seem to not recognize him in his moment of awareness, as he tries hard to figure out the whos and the whys.

The posters plastered suggest creatures spawned from the imagination of Stan Winston Studio, but to give credit to the plot, it contains something a little more. While you can find little fault with the special effects and Harvester creature design, you will probably laugh at the laziness in costuming, where total rip offs from the Matrix Trilogy were adapted from, with the tight Trinity styled Lycra spandex coming on screen, with the characters' hair slicked back and shades to boot as well.

Of course the theme of love is central to the story (i.e. if you have no theme, you can always fall back on love), as an emotion so powerful it can move mountains and oceans, and with new love come jealousy and envy from those around you, especially from the ones who hold the candle. As mentioned, the movie had promise and an explanation for the strange, but the delivery is suspect, and unfortunately, quite boring. After the first few iterations, you know the idea well has run dry with generic killings, and a whole amalgamation of tools being used concurrently just to inflict pain, but done off-screen. The fight sequences too are terribly bad, with lacklustre punches being thrown around, while brandishing those nicely shaped bladed hands.

The Deaths of Ian Stone is nice to look at at first, but slowly the flaws start to surface, and soon enough you'll realize just how flimsy everything had been put together. Should Harvesters be real, they could feed on the audience's collective fear of the dreadfulness the movie is heading towards. And they will be well fed.

One of the Best of the 2007 After Dark Horrorfest

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 23 December 2007]

Ian Stone wakes up day after day, only to be killed again and again. He is followed by a group of murderers who disguise themselves, often as important people in his life. And one woman keeps re-appearing that he must protect at all cost: but why is she so important and why do the killers want him dead?

I have seen this film compared to a variety of movies, including "Donnie Darko" (which seems to be a bit of a stretch). My impression was of "Dark City" and to a lesser degree "The Other Side". Regardless, this film does seem to remind people of other films -- which is strange once you realize how completely different this film is from pretty much every other horror film out there.

The downfall of this movie is the fact you are unclear about what is going on and why it is going on, at least at first. Sure, it's not as confusing as trying to read Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" but you will have to have an open mind to get into this, something that many horror fans might not be willing to do. (I freely admit that as much as I love thinking films, some days I just want to see teenagers die in the woods.)

Even after you finally "get it" there remains some mystery. A lot of questions go unanswered that a good audio commentary or a sequel would need to clear up. I'm not sure I'd want to spend much time with either one, though... this film had very little lasting power for me and even less re-watchability. It's deep, romantic and nihilistic to a degree (which I like) but also a bit too dense to become a fan favorite. Yet, as my title says, it really ranks high in the pantheon of Horrorfest options.

I have to praise the special effects and the scenes of "torture". Both were well-done, and not in any way derivative of the other films that I've been subjected to over the past few years. If this film is to be called "low budget" or "independent" (and I believe it is both) then it is setting a standard for others to follow. 2008's Horrorfest will have to release some gems.

I guess I'm suggesting you see this film. I think you'll like it, and even if you never watch it a second time, I think the experience will be worthwhile. All the actors put on a good show as they reappear in multiple worlds (the main character's heroin scene is amazing) and they deserve full credit for carrying this picture.

An interesting premise derailed

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 19 April 2008]

Ian Stone (Mike Vogal) seems to by dieing horrific deaths only to inexplicably be alive again, albeit in different versions of his life. The only constant person is him, of course, his love interest, Jenny (Christina Cola) & mysterious Medea (Jaime Murray from "Dexter"). Interesting premise for a film I thought, but the film ultimately fails by tipping it's hat way too early erasing the mysterious element to the movie and replacing it with a generic creature horror flick. Which I'd be fine with. But the film just gets so silly and matrix-lite that I had no recourse, save to merely roll my eyes and imagine a better film that could've been.

My Grade: D+

DVD Extras: 6 censored Miss Horrorfest 2007 contest Webisodes (totaling 19 and a half minutes of total uselessness); Trailers for "The Eye" remake, "Wristcutters: a love story"; and Promos for Fear.net, Horrorfest 2008, & After Dark: 8 Films to Die for

Promising and Intriguing Beginning, Weak and Very Disappointing Explanation

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 2 June 2008]

In England, Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) finds himself trapped in a weird situation: everyday, he meets the same persons in the most different situation, including Medea (Jaimie Murray) and Jenny (Christina Cole); around 5 PM, the watches stop and Ian is haunted by creepy beings with claws and has a painful death, waking again in another life. When an old man meets him and tells that he must protect Jenny to resurrect again, Ian begins to unravel a great mystery.

"The Deaths of Ian Stone" has a promising and intriguing beginning that recalls "Groundhog Day", "12:01" and "The Matrix", with the lead character awaking every day in a different reality after dying. Unfortunately the explanation of the Harvesters is weak and very disappointing. There are many points that deserve better clarification, like why the existence of parallel lives? Or how can the realities change and how could Ian return to the initial life if he died? With a better development of the story, resolving the flaws in the screenplay, this movie could be excellent. But it entertains and is original and my vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Prisioneiro da Morte" ("Prisoner of the Death")

Time stops in Ian Stone! For real! That's how TEDIOUS it is!

[kenmarino13 · 1/10 · 17 May 2008]

Too bad Ian Stone is so terrible, because on paper the plot is interesting - a man is being pursued by creatures that look like the Death Eaters from Harry Potter, they apparently feed off pain and fear. They have the power to appear and disappear at will, yet they really like ripping apart doors and elevator ceilings with their hand/claw hybrids when they're chasing Ian. You wonder if they can pretty much go where ever they want why they have to chase him, and why waste time ripping apart the door, just appear on the other side of it, but logic's not really present in this incredibly boring and insultingly stupid ''horror" film.

A good example of how tragically stupid this movie is - Ian doesn't understand what's happening to him. Weird things keep occurring, he's disoriented and confused. A stranger approaches him and basically says "IAN - weird things are happening to you, you're in danger, I can help you.." Ian's response? "You're crazy, get away from me." Oh, for real? Someone KNOWS YOUR NAME, KNOWS YOU'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING WEIRD STUFF...and you tell him to go away? The acting isn't bad with the HUGE exception of Jaime Murray. I was so surprised to see she's acted in a lot of things, because she was so atrocious. Her acting technique seems to reflect study of cartoon baddies, or a fourth grader in a school play, every line was said with a cliché "I'm a sexy villain" purr, with a simpering smile on her face the whole time. She was so incredibly annoying, I've seen more believable acting in telemundo soaps. The ''harvester" who tries to help Ian is actually quite good, every time he was on screen the movie improved, only to sink again lower and lower each time as it progressed.

I've seen this movie compared to Jacob's Ladder, which is a joke, the only similarity is names in the title. Jacob's Ladder is moving, smart, and incredibly intense, while Ian Stone is dull, not scary, and a huge time waster. Its ironic that time stopping is a major part of the story, because within the first 15 minutes I was looking at my watch and thinking, this has been on only less than half an hour? It felt like 3 days. Terrible, terrible film.

Not a bad little film

[rfrenzel2002 · 8/10 · 6 September 2008]

First of all, IMDb, please refrain from using kids comments and reviews as the default. TheatreX doesn't know what he's talking about but I guess it creates controversy and creates more reviews like this one so... Anyhow, on with the review.

No, it's not some ground breaking plot device (love conquers all). But come on, even Lucas said Star Wars was nothing more than a Western shot in space. No, it's not some special effects extravaganza like Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark. No, it's not going to win any Academy Awards. But, jeez, at least it has a story that makes sense. There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men were raved about by critics and viewers alike but I found both films to be mediocre at best. My friends and I took shots every time Tommy Lee sat down to jaw jack or read the newspaper and I can assure you we were drunk as skunks in no time. So much for public taste.

This film itself certainly doesn't bring anything new to the genre but it takes what's available and executes it in pretty good fashion. I expected a lot of blood and gore and bad acting right from the beginning but was pleasantly surprised to find neither. The plot and storyline unfold slowly and despite what others say, including TheatreX, nothing goes downhill after that fact. It's as good as anything else you'll see on the big screen and not a bad way to spend some time curled up with your girl in a pitch black room some weekend. Grats to Stan Winston for the production and effects and Dario Piana for the direction. I'll rent the others for sure.

Deja vu is deadly in this "Groundhog Day" of repeats...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 5 October 2008]

Not a bad little thriller with an interesting concept that doesn't always work, but still manages to hold the interest throughout. MIKE VOGEL is, for some strange reason, caught in a time warp of the kind seen before in "Groundhog Day." But his time warp has him murdered--over and over again--in some very brutal style by some vengeful souls out to destroy him. Before midway we get some explanations--something about "harvesters" feeding on his energy to restore themselves, like vampires needing new blood.

The story has him involved with two young women--JAIME MURRAY is Medea, a predatory female with a hidden agenda, and Christina COLE is his blonde girlfriend who turns up after each of his murders in a new setting, who gradually comes to realize the danger he's running from.

There are plenty of loopholes in the confusing story but you won't have much time to think about them. There's plenty of action going on and enough plot twists to keep you guessing until the rather weak fade-out.

Summing up: Better than average thriller filmed in Great Britain on the cheap. Vogel bears watching--he's a good actor and deserves better material than this.

The Deaths of Ian Stone

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 27 August 2008]

Harvesters live among us, vampiric ghoulish predators that feed off our fear and pain, even killing so that they can receive that major high their addictions so desire. For some reason, Ian Stone(Mike Vogel)is sent through a variety of lives, a hockey player, office rat, taxi driver, junkie, and quadriplegic. Each life grows worse than the last as Ian is stalked by beings who can take the shape of humans, their true forms existing within a black mist, eyes blazing a ferocious red. Yet, Ian has a mysterious ally who informs him that he must protect Jenny(Christina Cole), a pretty blond who seems to exist in every life as a potential love interest. Ian's main nemesis is Medea(Jaime Murray, who looks quite sexy in tight black, and red, leather), a malevolent harvester who is wanting to know something he's supposedly hiding..it has to do with an act against the harvesters and Ian is suffering life to life for whatever it is. Will Ian be able to protect Jenny from these creatures or give up the secret he has buried so deep within? There is a legitimate reason why Ian doesn't truly die. This reason he's so sought after is becoming more and more clear from lifetime to lifetime.

I will admit that I was a bit frustrated for a while due to how this film was unfolding. Moving from one life to the next, I think we're supposed to be bewildered because the viewer is confronting the same scenarios as Ian. The whole point, I felt, was that the viewer is to experience what Ian is..it's an unfolding mystery as we learn why he's going through each situation, and how Jenny is a part of this, unlocking through each perilous battle(..and death). Unlike many, I thought the harvesters were rather neat creatures..I guess you could describe them as smog-ish, they almost exist within a ominous cloud of smoke, with these angered faces and enraged eyes, charging at victims(..and, most importantly, Ian)scaring folks, with their fear *exiting* from their mouths and feeding the predators. The premise will be undoubtedly silly to many, even cheesy perhaps. The scenes where Ian is locked into a neck harness as Medea and her co-horts torture him reminded me of "Jacob's Ladder". When the harvesters often attack, their hand forms into a crustacean type of claw as they slice or stab victims. When they are actually stabbed(..by their own), we see the harvesters vaporize. The film itself looks great thanks to Stefano Morcaldo's polished professional cinematography. And, Elia Cmiral's music score gives the film an immediacy as Ian often runs for his life. The action scenes are given much more tension, also, thanks to Cmiral's work. I will say that the film's structure is liable to test many a viewer's patience, but I thought this worked as popcorn escapist fare. I do think director Dario Piana aspires to create much more than just *escapist fare*, but the complex nature of it all can be quite a nuisance. At best this is a play on the "cat with nine lives" theme with evil fear-sucking ghouls thrown in the mix.

didn't work for me at all.

[Rob-O-Cop · 4/10 · 26 December 2007]

this was a promising idea but ended up having no decent basis to back it up. half baked, half full, half cooked, it was actually less than half a movie and I wish I'd skipped through it cos there were long bits that contributed nothing to the story and just slowed the whole thing down.

The screen looked good, obviously a reasonable budget and they must have had some $$$ for those liverpool street locations but why waste all that if you haven't got your story together, if you've got major plot holes and a yarn that the actors can't deliver convincingly (I'm avoiding saying the actors were bad, but they were)

Anyway I wish I hadn't wasted my time watching this, and my advice to you is don't do likewise. Ultimately not worth it.

Still Kickin'

[jamhorner · 7/10 · 10 November 2007]

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 is 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 hit 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, 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 scary 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 want to kill you by any means possible, that you can't even see and that is 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.

The plot, at first, is vastly confusing and cryptic, as plots often are, and you begin to wonder how this whole thing will end. How could there be an end to this? Is there an end? There is but the plot was great. Had a driving story and the progression to Ian's realization that he is living different lives was well played. However, the plot changes *snap* like that and the Harvesters now want him to remember. That was kind of confusing. The ending to this seemingly never-ending story has a great twist that in some way I could speculate even before the ending. Too many clues near the middle. One thing that I did not like about the story was the Harvester face-off in the boiler room. I went from drama to monster horror to WWE Smackdown. A kind of oddball in the general lineup of scenes and just didn't fit like some of the others. Perhaps that fight and the whole torture hospital thing was a bit unnecessary.

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.

Interesting concept destroyed by bad CGI.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 4/10 · 3 March 2009]

"The Deaths of Ian Stone" tells the story of an unfortunate young hockey player,who mysteriously encounters a creature late one night and then is thrown into the path of an oncoming train.The next day,he wakes up like nothing even happened,but in a different corporate life.He's quickly murdered again by supernatural presence.It turns out the creatures are Harvesters,beings that live on the fear and pain that humans associate with dying."The Deaths of Ian Stone" plays like an uneven mix of "Matrix","Groundhog Day" and "Jacob's Ladder".The script offers few surprises and a lot of annoying CGI-effects.The premise is certainly fresh,but the lack of suspense is hard to forgive.There is only a little bit of gore and the climax is downright stupid.I'm fed up with modern horror films that try to scare me with laughable CGI-creatures.Unfortunately "The Deaths of Ian Stone" suffers too much from obnoxious computer generated imagery.4 out of 10.

A for effort

[DiscoViolento · 6/10 · 30 December 2007]

I heard, before I saw this movie, that it was supposedly very much like Dark City. This alone made me actually see it, as Dark City is one of my favourite movies and, in my opinion, not known enough considering how many have borrowed from it aftwerwards.

The idea seemed interesting - One man dies over and over again, only to wake up in a new life. Screams DarkCity right there, but I will have to say that I don't think that's a bad thing.

The first 15 minutes, or so, had me at the edge of my seat, and yes, the first half of the movie is quite brilliant. But when our hero started to figure things out (with a little help from Michael Feast, who always is a joy to watch) the plot started to blur and I found myself playing "spot the movie" instead of paying too much attention to whether poor Ian would make it or not. Because Dario Piana has borrowed a lot. Not that I'm actually bothered by it. In fact, if he had managed to tie it all together in the end, it would have been a beautiful lovechild of Dark City and Jacob's Ladder (and other movies).

But sadly, in the end, the swan became a duckling again, ad it's a shame as this movie had so much potential to be something that I personally would have really enjoyed.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie, and there are some quite disturbing scenes. It simply feels like they had a lot of grand ideas that they, had no idea what to do with when the clock started to count down towards the end credits.

Even so, The Deaths of Ian Stone is a good second movie from Piara and I'm excited to see what he'll come up with in the future.

oh no, I did not just sit through this...

[kamal23 · 3/10 · 15 December 2007]

In the beginning I really thought the idea behind the film was a really something different in its whole plot..,. Unfortunately, that and some of the special effects where the only good things about it. Lets put it like this: the matrix meets the predator meets Alien meets T-1000 meets your average everyday love movie meets hostel meets the saw meets lots of crap.. i don't know why I watched the whole movie, it started off quite interesting but turned pretty boring after about ten minutes which didn't change anymore throughout the movie. I like horror movies, I also like the senseless ones and the gory ones but this one just tries way to hard to be serious or special that it becomes wack... don't waste your time on this, its really not worth it at all.. Gave it 3 stars for the rather "uncommon" idea and some of the effects, as I wrote before...

Interesting ideas

[david-beukes · 7/10 · 6 December 2007]

I saw this movie by accident. It is not a movie I would have elected to see had I known more about it, despite being largely a horror fan.

I was surprised. It's dark and fantastic, and (at least initially) reminded me of Dark City. It begins very well, with huge potential.

For the first half I was genuinely excited, on the edge of my seat, thinking, "This movie rocks!"

And it did. It rocked hard. For the first half.

And then it nosedived into a congealed vat of epic suck. Why? Because despite well-written, believable dialogue and flashy, convincing special effects ... it falls back on tired clichés.

They set up this epic paradigm, this terrifying situation, and then ... well ... Love saves the day. No really, it does. I could feel the sickly sweet tendrils of this puerile Hallmark conclusion reaching out from wayyyy before they started dropping brick-heavy hints that it was coming.

I resent the writer for drawing me into the dark seedy whisky bar of this masterfully constructed paradigm, only to hand me a diet cola. Bait and switch!

Not even the fact that Love allows our hero to defeat evil by disembowelling it managed to cheer me up.

I'm still rating this a 7 because of how well it's written and how good it looks, but I'm annoyed, and I feel strangely betrayed. For **** sake, you can't show us that much gore and then tell us Love Triumphs Over All.

I think I'm mostly peeved because this had the potential to be a cult movie; the sort that gets shown at festivals year after year. Great idea wrecked by crap Hollywood mentality.

Horrid, Dreadful, Ugh.

[nijhel · 1/10 · 10 January 2008]

I usually don't write user comments on IMDb, but this is one movie that I just had to steer people away from. It's dreadfully boring, unimaginative, absolutely one-dimensional and utterly devastating to your movie morning/afternoon/night/dawn (pick your choice). I kept on praying that the film roll get cut off or something so that I could demand my money back and get out of the theater.

I won't make any spoilers, since there may well be those of you who wish to see before making judgements (although I don't recommend it). To make a comparison, to me it felt like a sordid mixture of Buffy inside Dark City kicking it out with Matrix wannabes. (No offence intended to either Dark City or Matrix, the former of which I consider a cult classic in its own right and the latter which I hold as entertainable.) The central characters are hardly given any development, cliché themes pop out of nowhere, and the villains wearing shiny shiny plastic clothes and makeup that gives them the "spacemen" suit image and "I'm a scrunched-up scary monster"...there are B-movies that are fun to enjoy, and there are B-movies that simply seem dying to brand themselves with the "F" grade. Needless to say, this one belongs to the latter.

Don't watch this movie unless you're drunk alone at home and bored to death.

...I want my money back.

Best of what I've seen so far

[editor-92 · 9/10 · 9 November 2007]

I just saw three of the eight Horrorfest films - three more on Saturday and one on Sunday - and "The Deaths of Ian Stone" was my most anticipated one of the lot. I had to pay full price for this one, and I'm glad to say it was worth it. If you've seen "Dark City" it has that kind of vibe to it. It also reminded a bit of "Torchwood." Rather than being one of myriad of slasher-serial killer films, this one is more sci-fi with an almost "Twilight Zone" quality to it. Original script and, even with an American lead, it was well acted. Scary, not too gory ... nice work! I'm looking forward to buying it when it comes out on DVD.

Engaging Characters and Good Pace

[PhilipGHarris · 7/10 · 30 March 2008]

The problem with reviewing a film that is meant to be mysterious from the outset is exactly that. However I've seen enough films that concentrate so much on the mysterious that they are never explained and the advantage of "Deaths" is that once it has spent 45 minutes playing with your mind it sets about explaining itself quite clearly and concisely allowing the direction of the film to change.

In fact just before the "reveal" I had started to guess towards the outcome and felt some satisfaction that I was right.

I didn't find the reveal disappointing either. Nice and simple keeping the plot consistent and allowing the film to ensure it does not outstay its welcome.

The leads all seem to be having fun as well which allows for relationships to have some form of meaning.

Budget is used well and locations, although nothing new, are used to great effect. Camera angles and music are standard horror fare but there's no complaints there (lets face it it is a horror film).

Possibly the let down is that these scenes have been done in previous horror movies. We have the Underground, Hospital, Dank Alleyways and Creeped out at home and whilst they do nothing wrong the viewer may have the feeling that he has seen this before.

Still this is mild criticism of a film that "keeps on ticking" and didn't cause me to check my watch (even to see if it had stopped!)

The Deaths of Expectations

[zoel-2 · 2/10 · 9 June 2008]

I'm a long-term user of IMDb but have never felt moved to post a review...until, that is, "The Deaths of Ian Stone". I (like many, judging from a trawl of the reviews on here), had some high hopes for this film on the back of a rather intriguing blurb and a personal soft spot for (even mediocre) psychological thrillers.

After 10 minutes or so I thought the film still had potential. Maybe it would lift and a compelling tale would unravel. At the 20 minute mark I thought an extra glass of Shiraz might boost things - loosen my over-critical eye and help me acclimatise to an increasingly faltering plot and embarrassingly overwrought acting. Maybe...um....HEY, MAYBE there'd be a TWIST! YES, a quality twist is all it needs! At about the hour mark I expressed this hope fervently to my fellow movie watcher, who sullenly informed me that the revelation that Ian Stone was actually once one of the 'Dr. Who-esquire' creatures probably constituted the 'twist'. The final half-hour I spent contemplating how B-grade production values had improved slightly in the last couple of decades (while their acting had not, thereby wresting them of all endearment) and polishing off the Shiraz in the hope that, like Ian, my memory would be erased, at least temporarily.

Personally I think 'The Matrix' (whose prototype wardrobe was quite obviously commandeered by the 'Stone' team) was a film that started brilliantly and ended up in near trainwreck territory (although trainwrecks are rarely so banal). Unfortunately 'Stone' takes the same trajectory, but starts at the station that Matrix hopped off. On the plus side, the movie is so bad it's bound to be talked about around the office water cooler.

If you love professional wrestling you'll love this stinker

[thefan-2 · 1/10 · 26 April 2008]

In professional wrestling matches, at least in the good old days, there would come a moment when the "good" wrestler, the "clean" guy who would never engage in "illegal" moves, after having been put through 10 minutes of excruciating pain by his "bad" wrestler opponent who has no such scruples, far from being permanently disabled as you would expect, finally gets fed up and decides not to take it anymore. With one swift but satisfying drop-kick, he turns the tables and proceeds to deliver a humiliating trouncing to the bad guy as the fans scream approval.

That, in a nutshell is the plot of this movie. Only instead of 10 minutes it lasts for -- I don't know, it felt like 3 or 4 hours but I guess it was only about 90 minutes. The acting is nonexistent, the plot is stupid, the special effects are laughable, and the whole thing is so badly lit you get a headache squinting at it. The only use I can think of for this movie is as a safe and effective alternative to sleeping pills. Some of the talkier sections are that boring.

Beware of 5:03.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 18 October 2018]

Ideas are cribbed from the likes of "Groundhog Day" and "The Matrix" (to name just two examples) for this deliberately repetitive horror film. Mike Vogel (the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" reboot of 2003) stars as the title character, doomed to die and start a new "life" over and over again, until a mysterious "they" can figure out what secret he is hiding from them.

A reasonably interesting story by Brendan Hood (who wrote the 2002 horror flick "They") ultimately suffers from routine, uninspired treatment, although "The Deaths of Ian Stone" is still a notch or two above other features I've seen lately in terms of quality. It suffers from unimaginative looking creatures (not ones that would generate much fright from most viewers), although use of CGI is not inappropriate here. It's not a very colourful picture, yet it is decently shot in widescreen by Stefano Morcaldo.

Vogel gives an effectively grim performance in the lead. He is well supported by two very sexy birds: Jaime Murray ("Botched") as the amusingly named Medea, and appealing Christina Cole ('Suits') as Jenny, the love interest who reappears throughout Ians' various lives. Michael Feast ("Velvet Goldmine") delivers a standout performance as the obligatory exposition provider.

At the very least, "The Deaths of Ian Stone" offers a more ambitious alternative to blander contemporary fare, and it does work better the less you know about its plot going in.

The late, legendary effects maestro Stan Winston was one of the producers.

Six out of 10.