Blank (II) (2022) User Reviews

Like a Twilight Zone episode but padded out

[stevelivesey67 · 5/10 · 27 September 2022]

We've seen it all before. The AI traps a woman in the house thing. We saw it in The Demon Seed and Vau and a few others as well. In this version of that story they intertwine it with a story of maternal abuse and imprisonment of the the protagonist in childhood.

It's an OK film, but that's all. The acting and production values are ok but the action feels padded out and I got rather bored about halfway through.

Maybe with a bigger budget and better directing talent it could have been something instead of the bloated short story it is.

Stop reading now. Ian padding this review out because I have to write six hundred words.

Perhaps you should lie down

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 3 October 2022]

In the near future, Claire Rivers (Rachel Shelley) is a major fiction writer who is on a schedule and has drawn a blank while her agent and publisher are after her to complete her novel which she hasn't started. She goes to retreat run by AI that specializes in helping writers overcome their writing block. She is greeted by a hologram (Wayne Brady) which links her to the home office to make sure she has what she needs. She also has an AI android named Rita (Heida Reed) who is programmed to help her in whatever way possible. A Code Red Worm enters the system disrupting communication and making Rita resort to her basic functions and she reboots every night thinking every day is the first. In doing so Rita will not let Claire out of the house until her project is finished. Claire suddenly writes about her childhood and in part ties into what is happening with her current situation as food supplies run low.

I always love a good story of AI gone bad whether it is HAL, Westworld, or even I, Robot. This one is a two person play done fairly decent as Claire increases her efforts with each passing day.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Decent one actor movie, but had two ideas the entire length

[siderite · 6/10 · 9 February 2023]

This film should have been called Writer Blocked and be an episode of an anthology like Outer Limits or Twilight Zone. Then the fact that it only had two ideas the entire length would have made sense and the titles should have been funny. I have no problem with the actors, direction or production values. It was just stretched too much to fill a feature film (much like the lead character should have done).

I can't even mention details of the plot because I can't avoid spoiling those two basic premises of the story. Given that it is either one of those Covid-made films or another thing inspired by Moon, the entire cast is one actress and four supporting roles. It really is barebones.

Bottom line: it might be entertaining if you are doing something else at the same time. Otherwise it drags a little too long.

Dragged out far too long

[fluffchop · 3/10 · 16 February 2023]

There is one idea in the movie and it is stretched out for up to an hour too long. WE get it she can't get the door open. Oh no!!! Now lets keep hammering this same idea till the audience is sick of the sight of this movie. And where is tech support or some sort of manager of these units we're staying in? Ludicrous nonsense is what it is. The author writes the story of herself as a girl trapped in a house with her mother who is blind. Oh no, she's trapped in a house again, how dramatic this must be for her. We simply must keep watching this play out in parallel. It just goes on and on and on and on...

A good film, spoiled by incomplete end

[vsrawat · 3/10 · 24 September 2022]

A good engrossing film spoiled by incomplete end. Although it becomes repetitive, the viewer is hooked to it just to see how it ends.

And that is it - The end never happens. The story suddenly ends leaving viewers with no answers at all for dozens of questions that are relevant and obvious for any film - How can an AI operated center stop working, and no one attends to it for one month or even more? What had happened if Claire didn't finish the story - would supplies have all been consumed and she die starving? There is bound to be some human supervisor somewhere keeping tabs on how long the supplies are going to lost and he/ she should have been worried about occupied rooms and should have come enquiring. Whether the novel get published? How was it received by readers? Did she publish it under her mother's name to make amends?

Actually, I had thought that the entire Rita's "I cannot open the door till the story is finished" thing is actually the center's method to force Claire to write up the story, to bring anxiety to her, to bring depression to her, so that she is forced to overcome her writer's block. But that was not so. The film just ended.

Not Too Bad

[Tweetienator · 4/10 · 12 December 2022]

Sometimes I wish I could detect brilliance, masterpieces and complexities and whatever superlatives they use to describe their experience (assuming its not marketing only) that easy like many reviewers do these days. Blank is not bad, the production is okay, the acting good, but the idea and the story itself is nothing really new or special. We watched this kind of movie many times before, if we are interested in that kind of movies (whatever artificial intelligence makes its own decisions and so on). If you read your good share of sci-fi stories or you watch sci-fi movies on a regular basis, this won't deliver any great surprises but the creative equivalent of a solid made cheeseburger - nothing more but nothing less.

Interesting Plot, bit Dragging

[lillianecobiao · 7/10 · 23 September 2022]

This is Black Mirror meets Misery

The Writer got writer's block and decided to book herself into an AI retreat which promised to deliver her next book. But it all went A-wire when there seem to be a system breech - a scary and stressful scenario.

The plot is interesting and the actresses were great. Good thriller and you can really feel the stress of the main character, Clare. And the dummy Rita is really funny. The mother is ugly and really scary.

The beginning is great and you get invested really quickly but then the dream and writing sequences became really dragging and boring. If the movie is edited to be 30% shorter, it wouldn't have been so dragging.

I didn't understand if Clare completely stole her mother's work or not? Is this why she is having a mental blank? Maybe because she was never the writer?

So Boring

[drummondjay · 1/10 · 24 September 2022]

I don't know if you can call this a thriller because it is so dull. I never considered Rita the android a threat at all. I found it hard to believe that a retreat that operates on artificial intelligence could malfunction and not be fixed after a month, androids and AI yet no form of technical support? I sat through the entire thing waiting for something to happen but nothing really did. Why did Claire go to this place at all, she knew she didn't have writers block because (SPOILER) she never wrote anything to begin with so WHY? Really nothing about this movie made any sense and watching it made me dumber than I was when I started. Something with such a stupid plot needs to have something happen to distract you from the stupidity.or else your brain starts asking questions the story can't hold up to.

A really enjoyable suspense packed sci-fi thriller!

[garethcrook · 7/10 · 14 January 2024]

This looks right up my street, a suspenseful sci-fi drama. Claire Rivers (Rachel Shelley) is an awarding winning fiction writer that's struggling with her next book. With her agent on her back and post it notes strewn about her office, she needs help. That doesn't sound very sci-fi does it, but the little futuristic details put us in a world slightly beyond our own. Screens projected on walls, QR codes on car number plates and... The Retreat, a country pad getaway run entirely by AI. It's a simple premise, writers need quiet, people make noise, remove people, problem solved. Something is going to go wrong though, delivering a film that's part Gattaca in its styling (it's very stylish), part Misery, with a dose of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Like Misery, Claire has an enthusiastic helper. Rita (Heida Reed) looks human, but is a bit cold, a bit... repressed. Like the 1950s housewife on which she's modelled, she's sort of blank. So is Claire's page, the writers block not solved by the isolation. There's something she's suppressing, something dark. It's beautifully shot, stark where it needs to be. Teasing its audience as the tension gently ramps up. Claire is damaged. Drinking every night, repenting with a morning run, flirting with Henry (Wayne Brady) a holographic assistant that would seem superfluous with Rita around, but he's much more engaging. At least he is until a glitch resets everything, leaving Claire trapped, with seemingly only one way out. Some cynics may question its originality, but they'd be only denying themselves the chance to get lost in a really fun film. One that takes all its component parts and assembles them masterfully. Keeping you on your toes, whist never pushing too far. With just three characters, this could struggle, but dream like flashbacks take us to another world, filling in the gaps and helping us understand Claire, as her memories and situation blur in a nightmarish battle for survival.

i think i would...

[ops-52535 · 3/10 · 24 September 2022]

Have prefered to be waited and courted by the staff of downtown abbey, most of all to know whos superior after all, and dealing with human flesh robots are in forseeable time a utopian reality, so a film made on a lot of will wont work at a lowbudget this film have had.. having studied the human race in a professional careere as a staff nurse, i dont see the misery of being cared for at my latter days by robots at the nursing home, maybe the ones AUTOBAHN sang about in the 70's , all in all this small cast feature crawling at the pace of a butterfly larvae, where the special effected caracters are so out of reach of the vibe of the plot that every hint of belief flies away , and it a boring fight towards the end.

Of course the film has a message, and the simple quote is that in the end you will meet yourself in the doorway, with all your past memories and that its more probable youll become like your psychopathic mum when growing up. Its also an essay about loneliness, isolation due to social media digital rather than real living being able to touch , feel and maybe kiss your communication partner.

Well im older than the digital age that grew and flew far beyond the reach of my understanding so bear over with a grumpy old man, if youre able to complete viewing this one, then youre probably lonely and depressed. I'm chronicaly so, just a 3, mostly for the main actress.

Had No Idea Where It Was Going & Couldn't Stop Watching

[craigbenting · 9/10 · 25 September 2022]

It's pretty rare that you actually find a movie that you just have no clue where the plot is going and is really unlike any of thousands of other movies you've seen before. There were so many ways the plot could have gone in this movie, but there was no way to predict the way it really would go. Any complaint about the ending is laughably simple-minded since after the path the story followed, the ending is truly a twist that, again, nobody watching this entire movie could predict.

You can't stop watching this movie if you believe what's happening, because it's a bit unbelievable. But, if you don't believe it, that means there's some incredible conspiracy going on. And yet, the longer you watch it, the more it goes on down that path you can't believe, the more it just seems like it really will never end, like maybe the truth is something else. So, you keep going back and forth from "it's a conspiracy" to "it's an apocalyptic coincidence" to "is this all in her head???"

The poor reviews and low rating of this movie are very predictable, the way most people sadly are, and the way this movie is in no way. The handful of people who made this movie really were incredibly brave.

Most people today just want something that is predictable and entertaining, quickly rejecting anything that is not formulaic, not a remake, not a sequel in an established franchise. This movie is none of those things.

It is unique, from beginning to end.

Blank and bland...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 26 September 2022]

Right, well the concept of this 2022 sci-fi thriller definitely sounded interesting enough to make me opt to sit down and watch what writer Stephen Herman and director Natalie Kennedy had to offer.

Sure, I hadn't even heard about "Blank" prior to sitting down to watch it. So I didn't know what I was in for here, aside from what I had read from the movie's synopsis.

Let me just be the first to say that "Blank" is a slow paced and monotonous movie. While the concept idea behind the storyline definitely had potential and sounded interesting enough, then the movie itself was just a bland experience. Nay, a blank experience, get it? The storyline was too slow paced and mundane to provide me with much of any entertainment.

So it was good, at least, that the acting performances by Rachel Shelley (playing Clair Rivers) and Heida Reed (playing Rita) were good enough to make the movie somewhat semi-bearable to sit through. And I did manage to sit through the movie to the end, but I wasn't impressed, nor was I particularly entertained.

For a thriller, then "Blank" was devoid of anything overly interesting, exciting or thrilling. So it was a rather bland movie experience. And if you sit down to watch "Blank" with the hopes and intentions of being in for a thrill ride, then you'll be sorely disappointed.

While I managed to endure this movie to the end, I can honestly say that I am never returning to watch it a second time.

My rating of "Blank" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Another swf victim flick

[johnnmilw · 2/10 · 25 September 2022]

The premise is fair, but has been done. I suppose we've yet to see the man or woman vs machine theme carried out on a privileged white female simply trying to get in the frame of mind to write something. The theme is so played out...no originality or purpose other than the usual 'I'm being victimized' theme. The acting is fair, the setting is fair, the concept isn't bad. What is lousy is the lack of creativity or originality. The storyline: a writer, high income, indulges herself by partaking in a retreat that will stimulate her creativity. As her android help, and the system that runs her, and this Westword-like system, begin to malfunction, she becomes a victim of her surroundings. Where have I seen this concept? Anyway, it's drab, boring and without purpose. Nothing is inspiring about this movie.

Laughably silly, when it is suppose to be taken seriously. Ha ha ha...

[imseeg · 2/10 · 26 September 2022]

The only good thing about this movie is that it is laughably silly, but it is intended to be taken very seriously.

The bad: what do you get when you put C-listed actors in a movie in which the story requires dramatic acting capabilities? A laughable disaster.

These actors have to carry this movie, but they are nowhere near capable, which makes watching this story unfold a headache causing experience. Why? Because there is NO real drama to speak of. NO suspsense either.

I really had to struggle to watch it till the very end, because I got so incredibly bored by the lack of any spark or punch.

A short story trying to be a novel

[ikata-49417 · 1/10 · 16 March 2023]

This movie is what is sometimes referred to as a slow burn, which is a show/movie that has very little story and doesn't know how to add world building or character development material. So instead it's a string of long, boring, drawn out scenes. Characters walking across the set, cars driving down a road, characters staring, and long pauses in dialogue. They are essentially trying to turn a short story into a novel by adding pages and pages of pointless filler material. A story that unfolds slowly can work, but it requires interesting characters and an intriguing premise to make up for plodding along. That is not this movie. This movie is trying to be a metaphor for the writer feeling like there's a script trapped inside their word processor. I think this movie would have been better left inside.

Nice try. Almost was good

[wesperkins · 5/10 · 8 April 2024]

This is the story of a writer who goes to a retreat for writers block, run strictly by AI. Everything goes well until the robot watching her glitches. For pretty much the entire movie. We are wondering whether this is real or if it's something done by the retreat to get her writers block cured. The whole time. I thought it was intentionally done until the very end. When she realized she trapped, she tries a few things to get out. Her lack of logic and strictly going off. Emotions for many of these decisions was off putting. There was one sure way out, but Instead of focusing on finishing the story, she tries all these little things to get out. Hey wasn't that this movie was bad, It's just that it went on too long. The reward at the end was not as rewarding as hoped for, although it wasn't terrible.

My biggest problem was. Why would she there in the first place if She knew she wasn't an actual writer. How could there be a place like this? That didn't need any humans checking in. What happened to make the world go crazy with the virus. Wouldn't the people running the resort check in when they lost contact With the resort? Why does she intentionally antagonize rita so much, especially After it hurt her one night? How does she have an endless supply of cigarettes? I'm surprised her battery works after all that time there, Especially with her turning her alarm on all the time. When the door finally opened, Why didn't she at least walk outside before Reminiscing and allowing the door to close behind her? I half expected the door to close before she walked out.

Anyway, not a terrible movie, but not a great one, either. Keep your occupied and it's a little slow, but tbe acting is good enough and the plot good enough. Not bad.

Different in a good way

[battlecrusadersgames · 8/10 · 24 September 2022]

Here's a little gem of a movie. The simple, yet effective plot is about a writer who gets writer's block and goes to a retreat to help with that, but things don't go to plan as she is trapped inside with a psychopathic robot.

Be under no illusion, this is a slow burn and if you're looking for action, i'd advise looking elsewhere, but if you want an original, intriguing thriller, than look no further.

Yes, there is a very small cast and obviously low budget, but it doesn't really effect the movie too much and the acting, especially by Heida Reed, who plays said Robot.

What i liked most about this movie though, is the way it parallels the story the character is writing with the story the film is telling. Also watch for the credits, because if you have good eye-sight, there's a little cue to what it was all about.

Excellent Thoughtful Sad

[robbyheadukuk · 9/10 · 1 March 2023]

I spread it out over 2x nights, about 45 minutes a night. I'm not good with slow features. SPOILERS - After cruel, abandoned, blind, Mother dies, young daughter empties Mother's strong box, in it are manuscripts, rejected by publishers, that daughter then claims as her own work, long after the film's events. This is why she cannot write when her publishers want a book from her that they've presumably paid for ''they're spitting nails'' says her agent at the beginning. The earlier books, Mother's, were best sellers, that's why she got an advance, otherwise the publishers wouldn't be bothered if there were no advance cash paid, and they don't pay advances to newbies, not enough to get upset about. She's not a writer and never was. Well, now she is, through duress, ''everyone's got a story.'' The cruelty of her Mother is mirrored by the android and also her entrapment indoors. Locked in as a child and the same in the high tech house. Only Mother or Android have keys. The child abuse upset me and I think that was needless. Strangulation, slapping, constant belittlement. At the very end our heroine has her manuscript and leaves in her motor car, still working after 3 months parked up and a day's alarm going off to attract janitors (there are none) 8 weeks earlier. Contrary to other reviewers there are no loose ends, she leaves with the first book she, herself, has ever written. It was not until near the end that I realised our heroine was also the abused young girl, I thought it was just imagination. It was autobiography.

A good film. I'm glad I watched it.

Brilliant Just Brilliant

[nancywhitebirdcocker · 9/10 · 28 September 2022]

Rachel Shelley, do I need to say more? She is just amazing and makes a brilliant lead. The whole cast were fantastic, I could not fault one performance. I read somewhere that someone did not know how the head piece works, if you watch properly its explained in a clever way in the adverts on the TV. The whole set up of the film truly is great (spoiler) how it mirror images Claire's tragic childhood. If you haven't seen it you really should.

The story and plot of this film is brilliant, all cast are brilliant, the images are amazing. This maybe a low budget film but the filmmakers really pulled out all the stops.

I really don't understand the negative reviews, maybe they didn't understand. The complexities of the film.

Brilliant

[julialacey · 10/10 · 24 September 2022]

Makes a person wonder what the future holds. Very dystopian. Excellent. Especially enjoyed the performance of the blind mother. Sent chills down my spine. All the actors were spot on with their characters. Very well cast. The staging and sets were totally awesome and made the film so atmospheric. It is a wonderful British film and deserves to go mainstream. Just goes to show the British independent movie industry is alive and flourishing. Well done to all concerned. It will keep you on the edge of your seats as human battles Artificial Intelligence. A times it looks too close to call and the ending is thrilling. Definitely one to watch.

Went into it ready to hate it.

[gaarauzumaki_992 · 9/10 · 21 April 2023]

Needed a movie to put on to fall asleep to, something silly and dumb. Saw the IMDB score of this (4.4/10 at the time of writing) and the poster and thought this would be perfect.

A trash movie with a generic "the crazy AI is trying to murder me" storyline, just what I need to watch for 15 minutes to fall asleep.

Ended up watching the whole thing in one sitting. The acting was great, the atmosphere was perfect, it has layers to the story as well which I did not expect at all.

Honestly it was a brilliant movie.

Maybe because I went into it expecting trash and my expectations were low, but all in all I enjoyed this.

I absolutely hate the poster they chose for this and the thumbnail images, very misleading.