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Overall Rating : 2/10
Directed By : Michael Feifer
Cherish Lee (American History X)
Brent Fidler (Are You Scared)
Benjamin Pitts
Nick Mathis
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Feb. 6, 2007
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| PLOT Death comes for us all, but after surviving a car crash that should have taken her life, Rachel Wilson finds herself stalked by the Grim Reaper himself intending on taking a soul he feels he is owed. Barely conscious in the ER room, Rachel struggles to convince the nurses that Death is coming for her and that her life is hanging in the balance. Supposedly, for her own protection, Rachel is locked up in a secure mental health facility. But it's not long before she discovers that her incarceration in the old hospital was no coincidence, surrounded by six other "patients" who, themselves, have cheated death. Over the course of the night they will have to face their worst fears, their own mortality, and Death himself. |
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| THE REVIEW I have reviewed a few titles from Michael Feifer so far, and when it came time for me to review his latest GRIM REAPER, I kind of knew what to expect. I haven't been truly all that happy with the previous films I have reviewed, but I hoped this film would change that. Unfortunately, GRIM REAPER had the same things going wrong for it that bothered me about the others. Firstly, the plot starts out fairly basic, in such that it is very easy to follow, and you actually find yourself interested, and in a matter of seconds, Feifer throws a twist at us(actually about 3 in a matter of 5 minutes), that like his other films, any focus on the plot becomes scrambled and utterly confusing for the viewer - just when you believe you have grasped the story, a twist changes it all. I'm not sure if the twists in these low budget movies are meant to be clever or what, but more times than not, they end up hurting a film that may or may not have been struggling due to it's low budget already. This is a slasher film, and like all of the rest, GRIM REAPER has all of the necessities that make a good slasher flick - an attractive leading lady, a brave hero and a mysterious killer hacking people up, but here added in is a psychological angle that I am guessing that was supposed to make it more original, but in the end it turns an otherwise fun slasher into a dull and confusing mess. For the most part we have Rachel and the other inhabitants of the mental facility running from an unseen villain,who we only know as The Grim Reaper. And it is that name only that serves as the primary identity for the killer, as we rarely even see him on screen. Besides a few shots of him in Rachel's "dream" sequences and a few shots of him uncloaked - that is all, I can't recall any other slasher movie where the title villain has had a lesser presence or impact than The Reaper, in this direct-to-video film. Overall, GRIM REAPER fails to have anything you get drawn to, more importantly it's characters really have nothing about them that you can relate to, nor root for, to put it mildly, it tries to go somewhere with twists that are intended to be original and shocking, but instead it confuses the audience and fails to actually move forward afterward. |
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| GORE
METER 2.5/10 A few impalements here and there, there is also an instance where one gets split in half.... it's not really that exciting to tell the truth. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3/10 The score is your typical "slasher score" and a few of the shriek sounds used within sound awfully familiar to another film's score, however I can't put my finger on the film I am thinking of.. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Well, I can't say I am surprised by how much I didn't like this film - I kind of expected it but was hoping for the best. This film to be honest is one slasher film I found myself bored with rather quickly. Feifer's next project is one that focuses on legendary Serial Killer Ed Gein...one that I hope is a great one, seeing as I love "True Crime" subjects, and didn't care much for the previous Gein film. |
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