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Overall Rating : 2.5/10
Directed By : Kelly Smith
Sophie Linfield
Sam Hazeldine
Gordon Alexander
Gemma Harvey
Supplied By : Image Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : January. 10, 2012
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| PLOT What if you invited a serial killer on holiday? Heading off for a weekend in the country, Paige and Calvin reluctantly allow Calvin's brash younger sister to bring along Tristan, an arrogant city trader she's picked up in a one-night stand; but when the group learn a brutal serial killer is plaguing the area, Paige must confront the disturbing truth about Tristan. | ||||
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| THE REVIEW In DON'T LET HIM IN Calvin and Paige, a married couple hope for a peaceful weekend at the childhood cottage of Calvin and his sister, Mandy that is located deep in the woods> For the trip, the two reluctantly invite Mandy and her latest fling, Tristan, a stockbroker. Shortly after arriving, the group is alerted about a serial killer on the lose by a local Police Sergeant. Coined the name, the Tree Surgeon. this killer kills his victims prior to hanging their severed limbs from trees. Despite this warning, the group opts to stay around, but when a mysterious man named, Shawn, who has been wounded stumbles upon their doorstep, suspicions between the group begin to arise, and when people begin to turn up dead, it is apparent that the killer is among them. Original titled, HOLLOW, DON"T LET HIM IN is a British import that arrives a bit under the proverbial radar. Prior to just recently receiving the press release for this film, I had never heard of this film, which is the case a lot of the time for me. Although never having heard of the film before, I decided to give it a shot, seeing as it was built up as some sort of slasher film - and if you know me, then you know I love my Slashers! With that said, I have seen a lot of Slashers, which happens to lead me to my first problem with DON"T LET HIM IN. The very first thing that I found the film to be was very cliche. The plot, as well as its setup, is very cookie cutter. "A couple, or group of people, go out to a place that is isolated in the woods, only to be later, stalked, and offed by a vile killer. The film's plot even comes complete with a stranger who warns them of impending danger. In the case of DON"T LET HIM IN, that character is a strange female that the group meets in the woods as they arrive. Her name is, "Emer, and she reads palms, unfortunately, what she picks up on in one particular reading, does not look very promising. After this, the film proceeds in the predictable fashion of the characters finding out about a dangerous killer in the area, only to stick around until they are in the killer's sights. TO its credit however, the film does try to forge its own originality, by throwing in a few twists and turns, and while admittedly, they are well handled by the Director, the twists are just too predictable. My overall impression of this film was that it felt as though it was just a low budget imitation of many likewise films to come before it. Not one of DON"T LET HIM IN's characters are memorable, let alone the type a viewer can like and truly enjoy and get behind, as all of the film's characters are thinly developed having only the most basic of personalities. At only 79 minutes in length, the film is not allowed what I feel to be enough time to truly build the film's story, as well as its characters. Some may think that Slasher films don't necessarily require much in terms of plot, but when you think about it, the best of their kind have stories that are enjoyable, they have something that keeps us wanting more. With this film, I felt that the "Tree Surgeon" concept was kind of cool, yet, the idea really doesn't stick out in terms of how the concept is portrayed in the film. I mean, the killer methodically severs the bodies of him victims and hangs them upon various trees in the woods, yet we only see the evidence occasionally. There should've been a much greater emphasis on the killer's actions, detailing just what it is that he does. Here the killer is basically fleshed out as being just some random killer, and when their identity is finally revealed, it's really no surprise at all - it's basically a "oh, it's that guy?" type of reaction. It is such a dud type of revelation that the viewer is pretty much left not caring what the final outcome of the film is going to be. DON'T LET HIM IN is just one of those films that you see, and then soon forget about. So, in the end, I just did not find much enjoyment in Director Kelly Smith's Slasher outing, DON'T LET HIM. It's cliche and routine, but above all else, it lacks its own originality. |
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| GORE
METER 4/10 Various severed limbs, a bloody strangulation, stabbings, multiple impalements, and some blood splatter. | ||||
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 Typical orchestrated suspense scoring. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Although I had not heard of this film prior, as with all new films, I am always hoping to find a cinematic diamond in the rough, so to speak. I went into DON'T LET HIM IN hoping for this, unfortunately, that wasn't the case. As I said, the film itself is very cookie cutter, showing resemblance to countless other slashers that are formalic. Nothing here truly surprised, or intrigued me, so in other words, I just didn't care too much for this film. But as with all else, there are others who are bound to find something to like here. So with that in mind, I say see it, you may or may not enjoy it, but as for me, this is my opinion of the film. | ||||
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