'OPEN GRAVE': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Horror flick about a man who awakens in a pit full of dead bodies, can't remember who he is, and then stumbles across five other people, in a house, that can't remember who they are. The six strangers are all unsure if one of them might be the killer, as they try to piece together what happened to them. It stars Sharlto Copley, Josie Ho, Erin Richards, Thomas Kretschmann, Joseph Morgan and Max Wrottesley. It was written by Eddie and Chris Borey and directed by Spanish filmmaker Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego. Gonzalo has directed Spanish horror flicks like 'NOMADAS' and 'EL REY DE LA MONTANA' as well as the American found footage thriller 'APOLLO 18'. 'APOLLO 18' was kind of fun but pretty bad; this film is a bit better.
Copley stars as a man who awakens in a pit of bodies, out in the wilderness. A mute woman (Ho) hears him crying for help and throws a rope down to him so he can climb out. He then makes his way to a house with four more strangers. None of them can remember who they are either and some are unsure whether they should trust this new amnesiac. They soon figure out their names and that they were drugged. They also start to have short memories and learn that the surrounding area is filled with people that are infected by something. The infected are very violent and very mad.
I liked the mystery and paranoia of the film. I also enjoyed the climax and resolution; although it's definitely left open for a sequel. Gonzalo's directing is fitting and he establishes a nice atmosphere and mood for the movie. I'm also a big fan of Copley, he can pretty much do no wrong (so far). With that said the film could have been much better. It had a great setup, for an excellent horror flick, which it never fully delivers on. I mostly liked it but it's definitely missing something; that would have taken it to the next level. It's a decent but not great horror film.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/tlKg1V_0fqE
Horror flick about a man who awakens in a pit full of dead bodies, can't remember who he is, and then stumbles across five other people, in a house, that can't remember who they are. The six strangers are all unsure if one of them might be the killer, as they try to piece together what happened to them. It stars Sharlto Copley, Josie Ho, Erin Richards, Thomas Kretschmann, Joseph Morgan and Max Wrottesley. It was written by Eddie and Chris Borey and directed by Spanish filmmaker Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego. Gonzalo has directed Spanish horror flicks like 'NOMADAS' and 'EL REY DE LA MONTANA' as well as the American found footage thriller 'APOLLO 18'. 'APOLLO 18' was kind of fun but pretty bad; this film is a bit better.
Copley stars as a man who awakens in a pit of bodies, out in the wilderness. A mute woman (Ho) hears him crying for help and throws a rope down to him so he can climb out. He then makes his way to a house with four more strangers. None of them can remember who they are either and some are unsure whether they should trust this new amnesiac. They soon figure out their names and that they were drugged. They also start to have short memories and learn that the surrounding area is filled with people that are infected by something. The infected are very violent and very mad.
I liked the mystery and paranoia of the film. I also enjoyed the climax and resolution; although it's definitely left open for a sequel. Gonzalo's directing is fitting and he establishes a nice atmosphere and mood for the movie. I'm also a big fan of Copley, he can pretty much do no wrong (so far). With that said the film could have been much better. It had a great setup, for an excellent horror flick, which it never fully delivers on. I mostly liked it but it's definitely missing something; that would have taken it to the next level. It's a decent but not great horror film.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/tlKg1V_0fqE