+1 (2013) User Reviews

High concept. Awkwardly executed

[bowmanblue · 5/10 · 15 August 2014]

'Shadow Walkers' (or '+1' as it's also known) is an odd little number at the best of times. It never really seems to know what it is. I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that it's a 'B-movie.' Therefore, most likely everyone concerned with making it knew that it was never going to be a massively commercial box office smash. At best it might achieve 'cult status' on DVD.

Therefore, it doesn't have a budget and no 'known' actors to speak of. It's about a meteor that crashes into a small town in America, creating weird phenomenon amidst a local college party. Soon the guests find things are going a little crazy and they might not make it to morning alive. It starts off like some sort of adult-humour piece like American Pie, then it progresses into a looping version of Groundhog Day. There's also a fair bit of 'gratuitous' nudity which (judging from what I've read online) seems to have put a lot of people off from taking the plot seriously.

When I read that synopsis I thought it was going to have something to do with aliens. Yet, what you get is time travel. It could work. And it almost does. Without giving too much away about the plot, it tries to be a little bit different (and succeed), but then it strays into that area where it starts to become too clever for its own good. Any film concerning time travel is going to have some major plot holes. Some of them are just so good (I'm thinking the Terminator series and Back to the Future) that you can forgive the odd lapse in plausibility and just enjoy the ride. However, in Shadow Walkers the questions just keep mounting up. It's like the writers had one idea then changed their minds half way through. And then again about twenty minutes later.

You'll find yourself asking quite a few questions as to why people do things and what happens to someone which hasn't really been properly explained. I checked online as to find out the meaning behind much of the film. There are some good theories explaining most of it, but no one seems to be able to explain everything.

If you were left with questions after watching Prometheus, then you'll be able to write an encyclopaedia as to what wasn't clear in Shadow Walkers. I didn't hate the film. It tries to be different, which, in a marketplace of B-movies filled with 'found footage' and cheap zombie movies, made a change. I just wish it had been a little more focused. I don't mind not having every little detail about a story explained to me. Sometimes it's fun to interpret it your own way. It's just here they took that concept a little too far.

For fans of sci-fi B-movies only.

http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Wat.

[genji-hth-106-891191 · 6/10 · 22 September 2013]

I watched this movie together with 2 friends and we had a really good time. We all liked the idea of replicants appearing at a party. The actors did a good job and there's a lot of humor during the entire movie. What really stunned me were all those moments where the replicants and the originals are in the same shot. These scenes were exceptionally well made. Just for that it's worth a watch.

One problem with this movie was the confusion about who is what and when. But you can make that out with a little thinking...in most cases. What really bugged me was the conflict-potential which, from my point of view, didn't really exist and therefore seemed kind of forced. Why does anybody automatically feel threatened by the replicants? If I would ever find myself in such a situation I would try to be cool with my replicant...just think of all the opportunities! Well, I do understand that not everybody sees the situation this way but I am also pretty sure that it is rather unlikely that only 2 people do not consider their replicants to be dangerous. Yea, so in conclusion I'd say that most of the time I found the way the characters acted incomprehensible. But maybe the movie is just trying to show us that we are our own enemy...something along the lines of "homini hominis lupus est"

All in all the whole scenario including the ending reminded me a lot of the replicant story from Stanislaw Lem's "The Star Diaries". Come to think of it it was pretty much the same deal. You can't always invent new stuff out of nowhere, so that's okay

Watch it.

A little sloppy but a great concept!

[RevRonster · 6/10 · 28 October 2014]

On paper—or in text form on a computer screen—"+1" is interesting and is immediately promising all kinds of potential for a strange and potentially terrifying odyssey. While it was decent, it didn't quite pan out and hit the expectations I had for the film.

While the foundation for the story is interesting as a concept, the story itself is pretty sloppy and lacks a lot of development that it sorely needed. Characters lack any real defining characteristics and aren't developed as strongly as they need to be. Additionally, the story itself can't quite decide who to focus on or how to unfold at a pace that doesn't feel like it is needlessly panning itself out or like it is lost with no real clue on where to travel next. These matters aren't helped by some pretty subpar acting and special effects that are just barely passable.

However, even with its problems, the concept of "+1" is pretty cool and when the story actually has all of its stuff in order and in pretty little rows, it plays out nicely and took me on a strange mind-trip and left me pondering the events that I witnessed as the credits rolled.

As it stands, "+1" feels like an adaptation of the first draft to the film's script and it makes the film pretty average but also pretty watchable. There's no point in denying that I thought it could have been a lot better but, with the nature of its story, it could have easily been a lot worse.

Salutations, fellow IMDb-er! My name is Rev. Ron and if you feel like reading more of my rants, ramblings, bad jokes, geek references, and other movie reviews (like a more in-depth look at "+1" and other movies that completely failed or completely succeeded in their potential) you can visit my blog at revronmovies.blogspot.com. If you don't want to do that because you're on a secret ninja mission then you don't need to visit…but good luck on your mission!

a steaming turd

[o_s_k_r · 3/10 · 18 January 2014]

A few reviewers have said that there's a good premise in this movie. I'm inclined to disagree.

Basically there's a party and some identical clones show up. For some reason the clones are delayed in time - that is they do the things the originals were doing about fifteen minutes previously. Every now and then the mains power flickers on and off, there's a little bit of dubstep music, and the clones catch up a few minutes on the time delay. Finally the delay disappears entirely and the clones seem to merge with the originals.

It's not a good idea for a movie. It's just weird.

Maybe if the creators went for a surrealistic, intellectual art vibe it could have worked. Unfortunately it feels pretty moronic.

This movie does have a lot of genuinely young-looking actors in it however. There's no thirty-somethings pretending to be teens here. Kind of refreshing for a change.

I can't think of anything else to say. Boring. Needed some actual horror. The creators should have sat down and watched a couple of classics for inspiration. If they had just copied a few ideas from "Invasion of the body snatchers" no one would have complained. There's too much pointless melodrama going on here. The lead male is also a detestable loser.

Interesting idea

[Zubacz · 7/10 · 21 September 2013]

I really liked the plot idea for this film. A double of each of the characters at a huge student party makes for some interesting interactions. It seemed though, that after setting the scene for a very enjoyable development of the story, the producers didn't come up with a clever way to wrap it all up. The ending seems misplaced and rushed.

Except Rhys Wakefield who was very doll-like, the acting was quite good. The camera-work during the party scenes was very well done. The atmosphere of an awesome party with just a touch of "something weird" was delivered perfectly.

Overall, not a bad film. It would be much better with a more thoughtful ending, but then again I cannot think of a fitting conclusion either.

I can't give 0 stars to this garbage

[jhawcroft · 1/10 · 15 January 2022]

I turned this s**t off after an hour (quite frankly i'm surprised I waited that long) very little in the way of plot / story line. I should sue whoever made this garbage for the £1.50 I payed and the 92 minutes i would have wasted watching the whole thing.

A sci-fi twist on a standard college party movie. The twist made it very entertaining and enjoyable. I actually liked it.

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 9 December 2013]

"I just saw another me downstairs...everything is gonna happen again." When three college friends decide to go to a party they are not prepared for what they experience. David (Wakefield) meets up with is ex-girlfriend who he is still in love with. Teddy (Miller) hooks up with the girl of his dreams and Allison is once again maid fun of. Just when they can't think it can't get any worse it all happens again and again and again. I really had no idea what this movie was about because I don't watch previews before I see the movie. I don't know if that was the reason I liked it so much or not but I really thought this was a neat movie. What started off as just another college party movie became something that isn't really seen in movies anymore...originality. I don't want to give anything away so I can only describe this as the first "let's get drunk and have sex with other college students/sci-fi" movie I have ever seen. I realize how that sounds but give it a chance, you may be surprised like I was. Overall, original and fun, it kept me interested and entertained the entire time. I surprisingly give this a B+.

Lets hope I won't make a time jump to see this one again ...

[peterp-450-298716 · 1/10 · 6 February 2014]

You're all right man! Not like Teddy! He's a dick juicer! After an hour I was hoping that at home the lights also began to flicker and my alter ego would appear to turn off this movie. This is an extremely tedious and immensely boring movie. More than an hour watching a probably glitzy rave with thumping bass and teenagers getting drunk. Teen girls that look at themselves as goddesses and thinking they look even more divine than the others. After a while it was a bit too much for me. It looked like "Groundhog Day" except that the time leap led to a double. The story was completely pointless and not at all interesting to follow. An innocent stupid kiss is the beginning of the whole mess. After that there is some kind of impact. I thought it was a comet or so, but eventually it will be some kind of alien life form ! That's also something that bothered me about this movie. You don't have a freaking idea what's going on or what the cause of the phenomenon is. And in the end I still didn't know it. Before you know it, all the protagonists are at a house party where you can admire irritant teens just hopping around and stumble over each other. Rhys Wakefield is the sucker that actually just wanders around at that party the whole time, looking for his girlfriend Jill so he can apologize for the mistake he made. And this process takes the whole movie ! Sigh. In fact, I think he sometimes looks very bleak. First he has that dazed look. Then an obviously winning smile. And after that a crazy angry look. In "The Purge", this worked cause he played a psychologically unstable character. If some nudity is a reason for you to rate this movie, then you will appreciate +1, because Melanie surely is eye-candy. Especially when her double stands next to her also ! The time jumps are approaching more and more reality, but the party goes on. A game of tennis played with a fireball sets a few curtains on fire. No need to worry cause the sprinkler system comes to the rescue. The lighted tennis ball was a nasty bad SE. The climax is the moment everybody is locked up with his alter ego in a summerhouse. I'm still wondering how that whole gang, first standing in front of the stage, got in that little shed. That was a bit cramming. Anyway, the gang decides to murder the alter egos. What follows is a bizarre moment of hair-pulling hysterical girls and stabbing would-be assassins. In the end eventually everything turns back to normal and David was able to conquer Jill again. An awful and ridiculously simple story. This movie is only for teenagers who don't know or appreciate the words quality and sensible. Eventually I hope I will never experience a time jump that brings me back to where I started watching this movie.

Better than expected , but needs more seasoning

[joeywyss · 7/10 · 2 May 2014]

One extra star just for not being another found footage teen flick, this was surprisingly better than I expected. The only problem was that it seemed everything needed just one more good pass. Everything comes off as a little uneven, but I think it ends up successful. The actors are competent for their age which probably means they're all older than their characters, but some like Logan Miller's "Teddy" are muted, not given quite enough from the script. He could has sunk his teeth into a better script. The script is not quite funny enough where it needs to be, but could have been with one more pass. Not quite enough explanation is given for the cause, but the story concept actually turns out good. Most of the horror comes from the characters, especially one story line, and that serves the movie. Pacing is a problem for the film, you come out of a funny or scary scene, and then the movie hits the breaks. Too many red herrings for the script to support. I think if the director had gone through one more edit, one more script revision, and the better actors given a little more meat on their plates, this would have been great. It even had a good twist that was subtle but effective.

Genius Concept, Flawed Execution

[sohansurag · 5/10 · 24 December 2013]

Time Travel is a kinda tricky thing to deal with in movies. No matter how well its made there is bound to be plot holes in the movie. An exception being Primer which was so inexplicably detailed that it ended up indigestible for many and entertaining for only a few. Another recent example which barely makes it to the list would be Looper, once again not without flaws but the movie itself addressed the issues of time travel and thereby negating some that it could have had. The point being few movies can nail it and the best is already out there: Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future Trilogy, GroundHog Day and TimeBandits.

If you are not gulled into thinking this is a sequel to the Google pwned The Internship, +1, comes from Dennis Iliadis, the director of The Last House on the Left (the 2009 one, which I found amusing) is not essentially a time travel movie but a genre mash up. Its a mix of college party movie, a romance drama and sci-fi. To put it light this could have been Project X-meets-Groundhog Day-meets-Body Snatchers. Its got some amazing ideas which rivets you in the first and second act though fails miserably to do so towards the 3rd act. It was very intriguing for me at first, the characters were straight out of a sex comedy movie and a few minutes into the movie the weird starts creeping in. Blatant use of nudity distracts you away from the core premise nonetheless you will be left with a lot of questions towards the end. The ending itself felt rushed and could have been way way better.

+1 is the perfect example of a brilliant concept tampered via flawed execution. Anybody who's seen this movie can't possibly deny that its got some nifty ideas but it all tumbles down the hill due to lazy and amateur performances, inconsistent pacing and gaping plot holes. I felt the party itself wasn't wild enough, thank the onionskin budget. Performances from Rhys Wakefield, Logan Miller and the supporting cast felt all but appreciable. I was counting on Rhys, having seen his performance from The Purge but instead I felt it was very amateur here. And I frankly thought I'd seen the last of Ashely Hinshaw, after her asinine histrionics from About Cherry. The only scantily commendable performance comes from Pretty Little Liar's Natalie Hall along with gratuitous nudity.

Loads and loads of flaws and some unexplained sequences makes an otherwise novel movie just barely watchable. It could have been a good modern day Groundhog Day but its flaws overburdens whatever goodness it has. Watch +1 and bear with it for its amusing take on time travel and its middling twists. Whether it earns a cult status is yet to be seen.

Something really different.

[gabkoost · 8/10 · 30 December 2013]

Because of the seemingly decline of cinema creativity, i am nowadays tempted to highly rate any movie that shows up with a different concept, plot, history or whatever.

I am so fed up with the repeating and predictable tons of films out each year that i was indeed very pleased with this one.

The plot is brilliant and something new and exciting. I know that many will say that there are several huge problems with it. Acting is average at best and directing extremely poor if we take in account what could have been.

Anyway, if you want something fresh this is it. This script could and should have been picked by a larger company with an higher budget. It could have been easily a box office scifi movie but, instead, became an almost obscure mix between an good base story and a bad teenage college movie.

Boobs included.

Not so Dark(o)

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 1 October 2019]

It might be a bit difficult to live up to the hype if you compare your movie to a cult classic like Donnie Darko. Then again since Project X is mentioned too - maybe that is a hint what is to be expected. And yes there is nudity and drinking and "romance" and quite a lot of teenage stuff going on. But there is also a lot violence too (quite explicit contrary to Donnie to be fair).

So while the comparison probably did not help, this is a wicked little movie that deserves better than to be just shrugged off. The acting is more than decent too and the twists are quite nice. I watched it under a different title, which may have been the one they used in Germany, which I reckon works better for the movie anyway: Shadow Walkers

Flat story and dreadful acting.

[moviecritic-803-791267 · 4/10 · 28 September 2013]

If you are the type of viewer that a little nudity can satisfy the lack of a good story and acting then this is the movie for you. Although even the small squeeze of nudity in this flick can't re-compensate the terrible acting of the main male actor. For crying out loud even Keanu Reeves and Ryan Gosling look like Oscar winners compared with what the most actors but especially the main male actor have to offer in this total waste of time. To think that this could actually be a good movie if you had a real director, writer and actors LOL. It's a shame that these days most so called directors and actors get the chances they don't deserve. That's it. Thank you for reading and hopefully you won't waste your time.

Plus 3 - and thats being generous.

[horizon2008 · 3/10 · 1 October 2013]

I don't know what it is about this Rhys Wakefield guy but I find him really hard to look at. It was the same in that Sanctum movie (which was awful btw) but his pout and weird face kinda freaks me out. I must admit though, that face suited the story in The Purge because those characters needed to look a little strange (or is that... Strangers lol). But really, his mug is unsettling.

Plus one, begins with a badly timed kiss and the break up of the Wakefield character and his long standing girlfriend. The story then progresses to a house party which all the local somebody's must attend. I found the introduction to this really laughable, with all these clean cut kids doing things in an Indian guys house which just wouldn't happen in real life. One drinks vodka with his eye, they eat food from a naked Chinese girls body, and play tennis with a ball which has been lit - eventually setting the house on fire but extinguished by the house sprinklers. The guy who's parents own the house shouts "don't worry everyone" and the party continues with the sprinklers soaking everything in the large room and the curtains burning. I mean...really?

The action then kicks off with an extraterrestrial drop-in which travels via the electricity pylons and a timeslip takes place causing everyone at the party to be replicated, their doubles existing a few minutes behind their real counterparts. What follows is contrived, meandering, and ultimately boring however. Wakefield walks around trying to sort out his blown relationship and the viewer sits watching not really caring what happens next. Maybe it all works if you're 15 as superficiality is king today right?

The only half decent part is where the real guys decide to kill the replicants (erm, no, it's nowhere near the par of THOSE replicants) and a bit of a showdown takes place in a large barn with some stabbings, and hair pullings going on. It's all one big yawnfest however.

By the end everything's back to normal and Mr pout makes up with his girlfriend and they all live happily ever after. While I sat thinking, I will see this movie again happily never after.

Your usual college party movie, but with enough of a twist to stand out.

[Amari-Sali · 7/10 · 13 October 2013]

Admittedly, I was drawn into this movie for it seemed like it would sort of be like About Time since it seemingly featured a guy trying to work things out with his girlfriend after failing the first time, but seemingly getting a second chance due to time travel. However, as the trailer went on, and you noticed doppelgangers, I must admit my curiosity grew. What also helped is a lot of the actors are people who you may have seen in bit roles from other films, or in TV shows, so it makes it where you have this occasional feeling of thinking you saw that face somewhere.

Now, in the film we have quite a large cast, but the main people we focus on are David (played by Rhys Wakefield), who is our lead and is all about his girlfriend Jill (played by Ashley Hinshaw), a girl who is starting to do really well in life, but wondering if maybe David is stuck in the past. Then there is Teddy (played by Logan Miller), who sort of fits your Teen movie best friend role to a T, and his love interest Melanie (played by Natalie Hall) who we really don't learn much about, besides her being a bit kinky in bed. Lastly, there is Angad (played by Rohan Kymal) who is throwing the party in which most of the film takes place.

In +1, the story begins making you believe it is going to be a romantic film about a guy (David) and his girl (Jill), but rather than be lovey dovey throughout the movie, the climax part where the guy messes up comes within the first 10, or so, minutes and then he for the rest of the movie is trying to win her back. Aside from that, we have Angad's big party, a day after David messes up with Jill, if not that night, and this is when everything gets weird for a meteorite hits earth. This meteorite, seemingly, makes it so everyone who goes to Angad's party, or attempts to, ends up getting a doppelganger. Thing is, these doppelgangers are part of some time paradox so they are always about ten or so minutes behind the originals, but coming close to the present quick. Now, while many freak out upon discovery of having clones, David on the other hand takes advantage of the situation, thus leading to us seeing David in a whole new light.

Probably the best thing about +1 is the fact that as much as you want to pin it down, and make comparisons, you can't. The film also doesn't strictly fit a genre either. You could possibly consider it a thriller, but it doesn't feel like the film is that serious; you could call it a romance, but considering how twisted it is that seems like it isn't the best choice; and at the same time there isn't anything to really fear so it isn't a horror. And yet, it sort of tries to blend these together in a way which isn't necessarily smooth, but it isn't jagged either.

At the same time though, the movie can be quite predictable. David's character especially you can basically guess his story without much effort. Also, I must say as much as the film feels like it stands out, it does contain many bits and elements of films we are used to. What I mean by this is that it feels very much like a hybrid which didn't necessarily take the best parts of the films it was inspired by. The clone thing, as interesting as it started, sort of falls flat. Having everything take place during a college party made things feel very familiar, and having the weird best friend, well in this movie's case: friends, also took away from the appeal. My biggest issue though is the ending since after all the buildup, things just end and though there is shock and horror on the casts' faces, I didn't leave the film feeling all the interested nor affected.

Overall: TV watching

Being someone who sees far too many movies makes films like this leaving you feeling indifferent. However, despite it feeling very inspired and maybe not the most original, it does keep you entertained and interested. But, I wouldn't say for you to spend your money on this. This is more so a movie you watch on TV because there is nothing on and the description sounds alright. It isn't anything for horror fans to run to, and really it is just plain average. Still, I wouldn't say it is so average it is worthy of being considered background noise for a nap.

Curious and Disappointed

[ZombieSquadShanghai · 3/10 · 28 September 2015]

This movie is only 3 stars for me because it has tried something new and other than that it is just a waste of time, so I am giving 3 stars only for trying something new..

There are many mistakes in this movie which I will not even go into details, especially logic mistakes.

Dennis Iliadis has tried something different but hasn't been able to deliver something satisfactory..

This movie made me curious at the beginning as it promised some space action with some good looking girls and a mystery around all but as the movie went on I became more and more disappointed...

Give it a go because to it's credit, it's a little bit different.

[Paynebyname · 6/10 · 21 August 2019]

If you can overlook how when it begins it feels like a cheap Project X, stick with it because it does have the balls to be a little different and that is pretty rare nowadays.

Okay, it's not the greatest written or acted film but it did feel original and intrigued me to wonder where it was going, which is something not many films do nowadays.

Project X meets The Langoliers.

In spite of everything, it really grabs your attention and doesn't let go

[InaneSwine · 5/10 · 3 December 2017]

As seems to be typical with Dennis Iliadis' work, the cinematography is spot on, and a dismal set-up turns unexpectedly engaging and nerve-racking. Unfortunately, it relies far too heavily on clichés, the dialogue is awful and the plot becomes so twisted and ridiculous that the artifice shines through. And yet in spite of everything, it really grabs your attention and doesn't let go. Alongside "The Last House on the Left", Iliadis proves that he is a very talented filmmaker, if only he could keep a firm hold on the plot.

American Pie meets Butterfly effect

[modchip_norway · 7/10 · 28 September 2013]

I love movies that try out something new, and especially mixed with such a controversial genre. The trailer didn't give me too high hopes, but after just 5 minutes into the movie I was hooked.

The camera-work was great and you really got the feel for the atmosphere at the party. Even the music and attitude of the students at the party was actually relate-able to modern day and age. Unlike so many other movies similar to this. I felt like I wanted to be at that party, it wasn't fake nor forced in any way. Very good natural acting by many of the actors.

If you like unique sci-fi mixed with ordinary well played drama, and with an edge to it all, then this is the movie for you.

Oh, and it got tons of hot naked girls and tits, without being nasty about it.

What was that?

[Saiph90 · 2/10 · 6 November 2016]

OK, synopsis, meteorite {not meteor} hits the ground in an American town where a house party is about to take place. A bloke arrives back to see his girlfriend take place in a fencing competition and for some odd reason then sticks his tongue down the throat of the girl who just beat his girlfriend, she is obviously hacked off, forward to party. The meteorite has caused a time shift where the party goers have doubles who are 15 minutes behind, at each light flicker the doubles catch up. I have given it two stars for the idea, this is a film which is a cluster... it is not scifi, not horror, maybe a frat house movie but just has goes nowhere, at times we are hinted at a back story which might have saved the movie but this is never developed. Having Natalie Hall get her kit off does not even save this movie.

Underrated and superb sci-fi

[zevt · 8/10 · 28 April 2016]

Don't think that this is just another silly teenage sci-fi/horror flick. The writing and ideas are original and interesting, and the movie leaves you thinking.

It does start with typical teenage nonsense, including a young couple that reach a crisis and are about to break up, and a debauched party that includes tons of sex, nudity, alcohol, strippers, flaming tennis balls, and Nyotaimori (naked sushi). But even this party has a purpose in the overall plot.

A meteor hits, and strange things start to happen. To explain further requires spoilers.

*spoilers*

Doppelgangers start to appear, seemingly slowly catching up in time in a weird time-loop. Are they aliens taking over the world? Evil ghosts? They seem to act just like the originals and even repeat everything the originals did. And this is even scarier to most of these insecure youngsters who see them as aliens, or as copies of themselves that will take over whatever lives they had, or as threats to their individuality, or, worse of all, as a mirror on how lame they look, especially when they see themselves doing the same silly things they did 10 minutes ago.

Which explains why most react violently, and which also provides for a priceless ending reaction sequence.

But one secure girl that hates the rest of her peers has the opposite, slightly disquieting reaction to her copy. And finally, one guy manages to exploit the phenomenon in a very dark way to ensure that reality goes his way...

There is also fun to be had in the tightly-plotted time-loop and overlapping of events and reactions from the various copies.

Altogether, an underrated sci-fi movie that does what it should: explore humanity through a bizarre idea. Definitely worth watching despite the low rating.

Decent little throwback.

[callanvass · 6/10 · 22 November 2014]

David (Wakefield) makes out with another woman in front of his long-time girlfriend, Jill (Hinshaw) and gets dumped in the process. David shows up at a party to try to get Jill back, but there is a little detour along the way. People show up at the party that look EXACTLY like everybody else. It's been a few months since I've seen this, so forgive me if my review is a little crappy. I didn't mind this one at all. It borrows a lot from stuff like Invasion of The Body Snatchers & Night of The Creeps though. I wouldn't call that a bad thing, as it was a nice little homage. This is also a decent homage to the 80's. This didn't feel like something that was made in 2013. This felt like it was made in the late 70's, early 80's. It focuses on fun, first and foremost. It even throws in a tragic love story. My big issue was that everything was quite vague. Not enough is explained for my liking. I had fun, but more explanation was very much necessary. It doesn't have the script to be ambitious like it wanted to be. Gore lovers will be semi- pleased. We get Stabbings, bullet to the head, rake to the eyes, and more. Not a gore fest, but good enough. Acting is quite solid. Rhys Wakefield is a creepy looking dude, but very likable at the same time. I was on his side the whole way on his journey to get Jill back. Some of you will recognize him from The Purge. Ashley Hinshaw's actions are frustrating to deal with, but understandable. She ended up winning me over in the end. Rest of the cast is fine

As long as you don't expect the world, you should have a decent time. It's fun if you put your brain aside for a while and ignore all the plot-holes.

6.3/10.

Triangle starring the cast of American Pie

[krachtm · 5/10 · 5 April 2014]

The plot: During an out-of-control party, a group of college students experience a timeline disturbance that causes duplicates of themselves to appear.

The basic concept of this film is interesting, even if it is a bit of a retread of many other recent films, including Triangle, Timecrimes, Primer, etc. Unlike those films, this one stars a group teens straight out of American Pie. If that sounds appealing to you, then you'll probably enjoy this film more than I did.

Like Deadgirl, this film seems to ambiguously address themes of narcissism and misogyny. The kids' party is so over-the-top sexist that it's difficult not to believe that the following events aren't some kind of commentary. However, again like Deadgirl, the amorality of it leaves one wondering whether the film is simply misogynist itself. I'm inclined to take a charitable view of both films, but it's difficult to say with certainty that they are intentionally taking a stance against misogyny.

If you're the sort that enjoys gratuitous nudity, ignores plot holes and other contrivances, and thinks that people read way too much into films, you'll probably enjoy this. It's not bad for what it is, and there are some good scenes. On the other hand, if you're looking for something like Primer, I'd suggest you skip this. It's a bit deeper than you might first think, but that's not saying much. I thought about rating this 6/10, but the ending was a bit weak.

Just as I was eagerly awaiting for clone-aliens to kill all these clowns - they get doubled instead.

[fedor8 · 22 February 2023]

As usual, whenever I watch a film for the 1st time I don't know the plot, and this goes especially for horror and mystery films when I don't want to even know the basic premise, I just need to know the EXACT genres involved. Otherwise I might get bored. Trailers? I have been ignoring them for decades.

Yet the first 20 minutes are so annoying anyway that I had to skip a few scenes, coz American teens "paaaartyyyying" makes me nauseous. But I was also hopeful: they're gonna start getting murdered soon, right? All of them. By the aliens brought by the meteorites? They'll kill all the dumb teens, right?

SPOILERS

Not quite. These "aliens" are so THICK they actually decide to DOUBLE the inferior species they discover on Earth. A good ol' teen massacre may not be original but it would have been quite satisfactory given the low expectations of such a movie, because none of these cretinous characters deserves to exist. Pity the aliens didn't quite agree...

Well, not aliens. More like parallel-world identicals brought by... a comet. Because COMETS unite parallel worlds, as we all know. That's what they're for. And acting as buses for religious cults, that too.

Kidding aside, the problem with this movie (aside from the "paaartyyyy" setting and the young morons) is the reactions of the kids being duplicated. Several reactions are realistic, but some aren't. Certain decisions/reactions make no sense. For example, WHY hang around? Why not just leave the house. Very obvious. Yet they stay indoors for quite a long time despite NOBODY preventing them from leaving. This makes very little sense.

Yeah, sure, I know... These are all "college" idiots, buffoons. But still. Basic survival instincts ought to have kicked in, and we all have them: idiots and geniuses alike. Even daft "students" have them.

What the blond protagonist does is definitely not survival instinct. Instead of dealing with this situation head on (which he does somewhat at first) he eventually decides that this is a great opportunity to apologize - again - to his ex, this time to her alien double. Which is such an absurd bonehead move by the screenwriter, because OBVIOUSLY during a cloning invasion your first instinct is to BEFRIEND one of the clones... not run away from them.

Then loverboy does something even worse in the 64th minute, when he mixes up his two exes and it actually takes him several minutes to realize this, as if he'd just learned that there's two of each. So daft. Totally illogical. I mean, I know these kids are all utter cretins, but come on...

Let's face it, "Coherence" handled this shtick far better, several years later. But what can you expect from a teen horror film. It caters to a teen audience, the beer-bong demographic, amoeba.

The movie also makes it plainly obvious that the clones are only as dangerous as the originals. This is hinted at very early on when Evil Kyle kills his Evil Kyle double (or the other way round, irrelevant which), and then later it is 100% confirmed with the parrots which peacefully co-exist because they aren't violent i.e. The original bird isn't violent hence neither is its clone. None of the dumb kids picked up on this hence why they started getting paranoid.

The script unavoidably descends into chaos in the final third, with the screenwriter very obviously in over his head with the overly complex situation he'd created. His biggest mistake: too many characters. In "Coherence" there are far less characters hence there is a semblance of order and logic whereas this movie loses the plot (literally and figuratively). The mass-violence barn scene is not only predictable but silly, and not even convincingly directed and shot. Loverboy deciding to BRUTALLY STAB his ex (the one that didn't forgive him) in order to keep the clone (the one that did forgive him) may be a "clever" and original shtick but it's also insanely far-fetched, because suddenly loverboy turns out to be a cold-hearted psycho killer, which comes totally out of left field. Not to mention that he DOESN'T know how this whole sci-fi situation will eventually play out, he doesn't know what kind of a cloning phenomenon it is. The writer sacrificed characterization hence logic just so he could throw in that plot-twist. You don't do that. Or you do, but only if you're a desperate writer who treats the audience like morons. (On the other hand, if the audiences are anything like these dumb teens, then why not...)

But then, the "highlight": the lesbian kiss between a clone double, the height of millennial narcissism. Of course the writer didn't intend this symbolism, but I found it very suitable, that these self-infatuated hedonistic egomaniacal kids might secretly wanna bonk their own selves. Like in that Knorkator song...

just ok

[stermix501 · 5/10 · 19 June 2020]

If you like sci-fi mystery relatively cheap movies, this would perfectly suit you. However, if you like this type, chances are you have seen much better movies than that.

Minuses: 1) Is Rhys Wakefield an actor? I have many doubts. He doesn't do or speak a lot and when he does, it is really like he didn't. He should have been replaced. Logan Miller clearly outshines him. 2) the idea of the plot is good, but fails to develop. Mysteries left open from start to finish make lousy movies

Pluses: 1) there is some eye candy, so you can forget about everything that is wrong 2) Natalie Hall is really something. The real core of the movie. However I prefer her in Hallmark movies.

watchable but could have been better