DEPRIVATION is the first low-budget film where I wondered where the budget actually went: supposedly, it cost $500,000, but the action takes place mostly in a large cottage, there are only four actors and three crew beside the the cast, including the actor/director/screenwriter, and apparently they did not even have a make-up artist to prevent the actors from still looking refreshed after days of supposed lack of sleep.
The premise, that three friends go to a remote cottage and try to film themselves staying up for 6 nights and 7 days could have been the source of excellent psycho-drama. Instead, the film goes the cheap route with mostly banal recollections, strange noises and unexplained happenings, and in the end it turns out it was all BS anyway.
I believe when someone is sleep-deprived, you can tell not just by their appearance but also by the change in their demeanor and speech. There was a little bit of that, but at no point could I let go of the impression that I was watching actors act.
This was a disappointment all the way through.
The premise, that three friends go to a remote cottage and try to film themselves staying up for 6 nights and 7 days could have been the source of excellent psycho-drama. Instead, the film goes the cheap route with mostly banal recollections, strange noises and unexplained happenings, and in the end it turns out it was all BS anyway.
I believe when someone is sleep-deprived, you can tell not just by their appearance but also by the change in their demeanor and speech. There was a little bit of that, but at no point could I let go of the impression that I was watching actors act.
This was a disappointment all the way through.
