Directed By: Ryuhei Kitamura
Written By: Jeff Buhler
Based On A Short Story By: Clive Barker
Cinematography By: Jonathan Sela
Editor: Toby Yates
CAST: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones, Roger Bart, Peter Jacobsen, Tony Curran, Brooke Shields, Ted Raimi, Quenton “Rampage” Jackson
I can see why the studio held this film up. By doing so they made this into a unofficial cult film the truly sad part was I bought into it. But the end product is not worth it. I don’t believe it was I had my hopes up to high even if I wasn’t expecting much this film is pretty much a disappointment on many levels
The film is too stylized for it’s own good. There is nothing wrong with having style especially if it’s a good style but here it goes overboard it’s clear the director is talented but he seems more fit for action adventure type films not for horror first off the gore and violence while overabundant and messy is just too fake looking to much digital effects automatically take you out of the scene. For the type of film this wants to be or at least a decent entry into the films based on Clive Barker stories this film needed more suspense and shocks. Clive Barker films usual feel supernatural and messed up this seemed a little too clean cut and easy. It’s not really too disturbing in fact after awhile it seems to get repetitive
It also doesn’t help that most of the cast is damn near model good looking I know they all revolve around the art world but let’s get serious it is almost like a adult website in a horror movie that sent me back to memories to the 90’s teen horror boom albeit this one is more violent but still it is sub-par.
The characters don’t make you feel anything in the form of sympathy for them as they seem to be passé about violence happening to other people in fact brooke shields character finds beauty in these violent scenes the drama and intensity in the eyes of the people the photographer takes pictures of are what is true art.
This film is about a photographer who is trying to get work or at least a show for his work but the problem is his photos seem to lack the drama and intensity of the city so one day he saves a girl form being mugged she ends up missing but he remembers he saw a man get on the train with her and he begins to follow the man to find out about him and investigate him and the deeper he gets into finding out the more obsessed he gets and the more trouble he causes for himself and everyone around him. He soon starts to change himself not physically but emotionally and mentally.
The only scenes I found somewhat close to what the intention of this story might have been or at least close to the disturbing images that are supposed to be common in a story like this is the scenes of the massacre on the train that the photographer actually witnesses. Also the final battle scene between the butcher and the photographer with the 360 degree camera angles and where the gore finally seems organic and real
I would say check this out when it is on cable the only reason I don’t say to wait for television is that It makes no sense to televise this movie as for the most part you need the violence to understand the film and to really get into it but it is a disappointing endeavor just the wrong director with the wrong project Mr. Kitamura has directed some great visually accomplished violent films Like VERSUS but if John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, or Tobe Hooper got there hands on this. This film could have been something amazing a lot more hard-edged not as glossy
GRADE: D
