Did not admittedly have high expectations for 'Del Playa'. The main reasons why it was seen in the first place was because it was part of my low-budget film quest and somehow it managed to appear in my recommended for you section. It did though did not look good and the idea did not leave me excited at all, actually sounding quite silly.
Even with these low expectations, 'Del Playa' is yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws present in those films are here, that to me is really quite awful, managing to be even worse than any already low expectations. There is nothing good here in 'Del Playa', amateur hour all round.
Going on to the negatives, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it comes over as vague and under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less unsettled and never gaining momentum. All the characters are too sketchy and with cardboard thin and colourless personalities and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. The chemistry is bland and unfocused.
The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions), the effects are shoddy and nearly all of the acting is lacking severely on the whole, that's actually an understatement as the worst of it is horrendous, the only small redeeming merit of the film is the performance of the killer who at least tries. There is no sense of horror or engagement with the awful predicament they're in, and no connecting with the character, it just reeks of indifference and complete blankness which makes the viewer not care less too.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace and film drags on forever, apparent from the very start, never recovering that interest is lost fast. The final third is stupid beyond belief and the amount of illogic and plausibility gets increasingly insulting. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Thrills are none, thanks to stodginess, too much irrelevant padding and excessive over-familiarity, and structurally everything felt very disjointed and jumpy that cohesion was badly affected.
A lot of 'Del Playa' has really dull and going nowhere plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or unsettling. The killer was slightly more rootable than the victims, at least not being annoying, but there is a general lack of menace though there is a little effort.
Nothing freaky or interesting, no development and too derivative, while everything is unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show any sense of dread. Everything was just so what at best. There is nothing interesting or illuminating and the drama is overwrought with no momentum and a lot of weirdness, could not get myself invested in the lead character's back story because it was not developed enough and the ridiculousness and dullness got in the way. The direction is barely there and disorganised and the music is ill-fitting. 'Del Playa' is poorly made visually, too drearily lit and the blurry and badly unfocused camera work is one of the film's biggest flaws in fact, the worst of it an eyesore.
Overall, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox
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