Dark Reprieve (2008) User Reviews

the ending ruins the film

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 16 April 2009]

Matt and Kate both awaken in an abandoned prison, neither one of them recalling the chain of events that led them there. They don't seem to be alone as they have run-ins with supernatural creatures. Meanwhile Raquel is being interrogated by police detective Marks about a series of unexplained murders. Could she have any connection to the two trapped people? While I applaud the makers of this movie for trying something a bit different in a DTV market populated by interchangeable cardboard cut and paste slasher films, the outcome wasn't the sum of it's parts. The story itself was pretty interesting and, for a DTV release, most of the acting was adequate (some was embarrassingly bad though) But the frequent jump cuts became a tad grating after a while and the ending (which i won't spoil) was so far out of left field that it just about ruined the whole film for me. I'd like to see certain actresses in this movie in other films though.

My Grade: D+

NO EXIT

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 10 February 2019]

The film moves along as if it is a poorly done version of "No Exit." A man and a woman are in a prison. They don't know how they got there. There are strange things going on as well as annoying flashbacks. There is also a subplot of a model being interrogated for murder. She attempts to act sexy and cool during the questioning aka Sharon Stone. We also see dead bodies (no faces).

As a "No Exit" type movie, it was cleverly, but poorly done. I know that is hard to do. It was a good idea, but poorly executed. The acting and dialouge had the poor quality of a soft core film. There were no tense or scary scenes as the scenes change too often with annoying flashbacks to allow it.

Now if you thought I gave you a plot spoiler, I didn't as this wasn't a "No Exit" film. While the ending tied the movie together, I just shook my head and said, "You got to be kidding." The shorter German version was far better. No sex or nudity. Not worth the view.

Filmed in Moms Basement

[Stradale · 1/10 · 23 August 2009]

I realise that all involved in the film industry have to start somewhere but that doesn't excuse really low quality films clogging the non-pay-for-view channels.

It was fairly easy for the plot of this particular pile of doo-doo to look unusual and creative in summary. In practice it's amateurish, incoherent and very, very cheap. I'd like to be more critical of the plot but in all honesty I really don't have a clue what's going on. The gap between scripted lines is audible and the actors (who look like student buddies) express emotion in such a hammy telegraphed fashion you feel like applauding.

If you are reading this then you are a fellow film buff and please believe me when I say I'm not a particularly demanding viewer. I always 'IMDB' my films and 5 minutes into this particular mound I was alarmed at the 'Indy Praise'. This is not, by any stretch of credulity, a 5+ star production.

If your broadcaster schedules this film it's worth a complaint.

Horrible

[Iamthelaw99 · 1/10 · 19 September 2008]

After reading the last couple of reviews for this movie, I decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise, I should have listened to my first instinct and avoided watching it and wasting an hour and eighteen minutes of my life. The plot of this movie could have actually gone somewhere if it weren't for the two main actors. I'd be lying if I said their acting was half-decent. Their performance was nothing less than amateur and unrealistic. It did not sit well with the plot of the movie, I could not even connect their emotions to the way they spoke in every line. I've seen better actors perform on the street. Great movie title, poor performance.

Poor storyline & poor direction.

[nk8350 · 1/10 · 25 October 2008]

I guess this movie is make with a tight budget. The beginning was confusing and i hate the way they keep giving flashbacks or sudden scenes changes which is disturbing. There is not much element or storyline either to the movie. I could not understand the link of each scenes till the ending. They are like completely different. The monster in the movies look dumb instead of really frightening. I almost fell asleep watching the movie. The actors performance are average and at times not convincing. The only thing i like is the ending part. It has quite a twist to it. Other than that, as a viewer, i felt its absolutely disappointing to watch.

Cast should hang their heads in shame

[rswackhammer · 1/10 · 15 November 2012]

Saying this movie is awful should be considered offensive to any other movie that people say is awful In the same way that referring to this flick as a bag of crap should be considered offensive to actual bags filled with crap. Shawn Storer is so bad he makes Carrot Top look like Robert DeNiro. The only time I saw his acting worse then this was when he was on trial for trying to blow up an exes car!!! The fact that any of these people are working is a testament to just how bad Canadian cinema has become. Sure we get the odd good one, but having to wade through garbage like this doesn't really make it worth the effort. The cast from this flick should go back to their day jobs working the Fry-O-Later at Burger King

UPDATE

I realize that I've already panned this piece of garbage but I think, being the optimist I am, that I have finally found a way to make this tolerable. If you are indeed forced to watch this by some moron trying to convince you its not abject donkey puke, the you might as well turn it into a drinking game. Drink once whenever A) that bonehead (the offensive words keep getting edited out) Shawn Storer opens his mouth, B)something extraordinarily predictable occurs and C) you question why you're not better spending your time banging your head against the wall and D) you ask why this chick isn't topless, cause thats all that would make her interesting. Finish your drink when A) you see the end coming a mile away and B)you hope that the sweet sweet liquor will purge this useless crap from your short term memory and blissfully allow you to pass out.

You're welcome

psychological drama with horror elements

[davidm-4 · 5 March 2008]

This is a clever movie made on a tight budget, built around an interesting premise revealed at the end. I won't reveal the surprise at the end, but I will say that it reminded me of one of the ideas floating around in Philip K. Dick's "Ubik". In some ways, once the basic situation is explained at the end, the idea was intriguing enough to make me wish the movie had developed it further... because it has a lot of open-ended potential for creating interesting scenarios.

The acting was decent, the casting of everyday-looking actors in the two lead parts ultimately works well for the story.

M. David Mullen, ASC

Vomit comet

[burtwarner · 1/10 · 11 October 2013]

I relearned how to throw up as I watch movies when I rented this one. One of the best worst movies of all time. Loved it for that. This is what happens when cow dung and the human brain have dinner together and decide to disprove Einstein's Theory of Relatively by making a film about how bad you can make films.

The best thing about this movie is that the people involved have realized that they should not be in the film business and that that job at McDonalds they quit to go to film school just might have been their entire life's highlight reel.

Note to self. Hit hammer in face hard to knock myself out before even coming near this film ever again.

On another note, I see that Miley Cyrus is now due back on Planet Earth. Got to go.

There Are Not Enough Words

[shoy_Miss_Murder · 1/10 · 25 November 2015]

The English language does not contain enough words to describe what a dreadful piece of garbage this film was. It was badly directed, produced, shot, acted... huh, one guy did it all (except act). What Richard Boddington did was take roughly 25 minutes of footage, chopped it up, put it back together in random sequences, and managed to steal 80 minutes of life I will never get back. And the four people who mainly made up this dreadful film need to go back to whatever acting school they graduated from and demand a full refund. My jaw just about dislocated itself from yawning, trying to just get through to the awful ending - which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Pretty impressive though, that a film can make me wish for a nauseating, hand held found footage movie to watch instead. Bravo, Mr. Boddington.

Hallooo, is anybody here?

[kimbpaul · 1/10 · 20 May 2021]

No. We all ran to the nearest bathroom to vomit. God, this is so bad.

This one is Deeper than it seems

[Rabh17 · 9/10 · 12 April 2009]

Warning to those who take this movie solely on its Genre category of Sci-Fi. It IS a Sci-Fi movie-- but only in the technical sense. There are NO flashy pyrotechnics and FX. No slithering aliens or monstrosities. This is a Sci-Fi movie in that the story really comes from a Story that touches on the philosophical question that can only be raised in the presence of technology. So those who expect a Saturday night flashy boom-boom screamer will be disappointed because of misplaced expectations.

This one is a Thinker's Sci-Fi.

And it's a Mystery.

One-- they did this with a non-Hollywood budget.

Two-- they did it with Good Actors who I hope move onwards and upwards.

Three-- The script and the setting had holding power thru the simple but elusive power of Mystery: Who were they? Where were they? What did they do to cause their imprisonment? What did they have to do to get out? If one of them was to succeed, does one of them have to fail? The Audience watches with those questions in the fore-front. You want to know.

Four-- the cut interrogation scenes from outside the prison that seem to tie elusively to the two victims inside the strange, deserted prison. What's the connection?

The ending surprised the heck out of me because the creators allows the audience take a very common direction for explanations. . .then TWIST. YES-- it was what you began to think. and NO, it was different.

To tell you more is to take the spice out of the movie and destroys what the creators are doing. WATCH it and draw your conclusions. It touches Innocence, Crime & Punishment, Redemption & Religious belief. But none of these fit together the way you THINK they do.

The beauty of this movie is that the detailed Pieces of the Puzzle will continue to fit themselves together after the credits have rolled.

This one is a Saturday Night Movie-- but you have to be prepared for it. You have to pay attention. This one is what I call a "Girlfriend Test Movie" because the plight of the two victims should engage her with metaphorical questions. If your Girlfriend does not feel engaged during the movie or asks probing questions at the end -- Dump her. You can do much, much better.

If her intellect is engaged by this movie-- you will do well together.

I'll watch for the creators of this movie-- they have the roots of story-telling genius.

Nicely shot horror/thriller

[creativewriter-1 · 7/10 · 1 April 2008]

This film should be shown at every film school across the country to show what can be done with a small budget, creative idea for a story, some half decent no-name actors and an amazing Director/DP. The film looks gorgeous, the acting is fairly decent, and the twist at the end, while somewhat clichéd, is still handled well. The music/sound I thought was very effective, and first time actress Sarah Jackson is a natural.

For being his first feature director Richard Boddington proved he can deliver. Worth checking out.

R. Heide

A Very Original Concept!!

[childs_roger · 8/10 · 19 May 2008]

I caught this movie on the big screen in Toronto. I have to say that this was a very original movie, I've never seen a movie quite like this one before. So I give the filmmaker credit for creating some thing very unique.

I think people will be tempted to rip on Dark Reprieve because of the unusual techniques that are employed here, but the production values are so good for a low budget movie it basically negates much of the negative criticism that will be thrown at this film.

There is so much bloody awful low budget horror crap out there, and this movie isn't in that category at all. It is very well made.

I had several theories running as I watched this, none of them close to the ending, so "they" got me. The final shot is really great, not the kind of shot you see in a low budget film.

Some of the shots are very creative and an excellent example of technique over Hollywood mega fluff. There is one shot where Kate reaches for the medicine cabinet and the camera is shooting straight up from the ground, truly original.

On the downside the scene where they talk about God abandoning them or some thing just killed me, why was it there? A few times the budget shows through like when they go into the kitchen. The actors at times lapse into a "lame" mode. But over all the actors came through on this, considering the tiny cast.

I predict this movie will gain a following on DVD and possibly be some what of a cult hit among people that like this sort of movie.

Good film for low budget class

[hanfuzzy · 6/10 · 17 May 2008]

I saw this film at a local film-fest sponsored screening last night. I was prepared to be disappointed, as I was by the last low-budget locally-filmed 'scary' movie I saw in the same situation, but was instead pleasantly surprised.

This film has fairly good acting & production values for something in this budget range. Most significantly, the director was willing to cut it down to 80 minutes to maintain pacing which shows a commitment to art over ego. The flashlight-lit scenes were particularly well done, compared to many scenes which I find too dark even in some Hollywood big-budget films, and the more active scenes didn't suffer from the ubiquitous modern trend of too-rapid cutting, although there was a bit too much use of 'recycled' shots and the forward-and-back jumps (non-linear plot) were sometimes unnecessarily confusing. The overall plot and theme, however, were fairly good and not predictable as one would usually see in this style of production. In fact, the final twist (and you know one will be coming) is essentially unpredictable yet not contrived.

The creepiness and scares build from setting (mostly shot on location in a real abandoned century-old jail) and plot, and there is little gore to speak of, unlike many films in this genre. This is a positive aspect, as the director is relying on story-telling instead of visceral or cringe-inducing effects. The extensive use of this location is one of the highlights of the film.

Overall I give it a only 6 out of 10 mainly because of the budget limitations. The score isn't bad, but I found the sound affects a bit lacking. The new, unknown actors give a good first feature film effort, and the plot and writing are very evocative of better Twilight Zone episodes.

Definitely worth a look

[cairinec · 7 October 2009]

Richard Boddington has set the bar a little higher for independent movie makers with his first feature film, Dark Reprieve. This movie is a creepy thriller with numerous plot twists and turns that kept me guessing right until the end. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm still confused!

Though this film is definitely not my genre of choice, I still found a lot to admire. The production values are much higher than I'd expect from a lower-budget film. The cinematography is impressive and the editing is flawless. Even the soundtrack has been well chosen to increase suspense. My only criticism is the weak acting by his two leads. I found them distracting, as they weren't up to the standard of the production. I look forward to seeing what Boddington can do with a decent budget.

I Liked It.

[RobinHood2010 · 8/10 · 11 November 2008]

I picked this up with no idea what to expect, overall I was not disappointed. The production values are pretty good, and the audio quality on my 5.1 system was excellent. Most low budget movies really fall down on the audio but this movie sounded great. Dark Reprieve held my attention for the entire time as I was truly intrigued by the two stories running at the same time. It can be hard to follow at times, however, I recommend that you stick with this one. If you only like Hollywood blockbusters then this movie probably isn't for you, but if you want to see some thing different and can watch with an open mind give this movie a try. To those ripping on the acting...get over it!! What are you people, theater critics for the New York Times? Good grief this movie isn't Shakespeare, what do you expect? This is a popcorn B-Movie that's all. I found it entertaining any way. Budget limitations taken into account. I swear many of you people rent these movies and then expect Citizen Kane.

It's the acting.

[angel_i13 · 6/10 · 17 October 2009]

The AHHCTING! It's awful! But everything else - besides the low, low budget - is really great. I hope the director got paid well, at least, because it seems to me he must have worked pretty hard on this. The writing is just OK - that doesn't help - concept is great as is the execution.

I really want to care about these people but then they start AHHCTING! again and I'm all "didn't I see him in that ad for Nescafe?" and then the screaming comes back and I remember to watch the movie.

Once I do that and calm myself with the fact that, at least the actors LOOK right for their parts, and really just pay attention to the movie as a whole it's pretty good, in fact.

And, as someone else mentioned - I'd call it a Thriller or Mystery before I called it Sci-Fi any day. Or I might say: SPOILER: "Surprise! It's Sci-Fi!" If that could be a label.

Great Little Indie Film

[ScienceGuy2010 · 7/10 · 27 October 2008]

Over all I thought this was a solid and smart film. I think however it could have been a lot better with a bigger budget because the ideas and concept where all sound. I give it credit for not looking like a home video the way so many indie films do these days. As a viewer you will either enjoy the non-linear story editing technique or you will hate it. I personally thought it was very clever the way the actors told their own narrative, and small bits of the back story where revealed as the film progressed. Lastly on the positive side, the final twist is one of the best twists I've seen in any movie. You can watch this film a hundred times and never figure out the final reveal on your own, I liked that. Oh and the Raquel Lake character is smoking HOT!!

On the down side....a few of the characters where laughably bad, namely the executioner guy, he should of landed on the cutting room floor.