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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 30.61%
Worth A Look: 38.78%
Just Average: 18.37%
Pretty Crappy: 2.04%
Sucks: 10.2%
3 reviews, 31 user ratings
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| Reeker |
by Scott Weinberg
"A familiar old campfire story, only told with a lot of color and craft."
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SCREENED AT THE 2005 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL: When you're dealing with a low-budget horror movie there are two distinct flavors of "familiar" -- there's the "Wow these guys have no creativity whatsoever and they're just ripping off 19 other horror movies" familiar and there's the "Hey these guys obviously know / love their horror movies and just put a cool spin on a potentially boring old convention" familiar. And I'd say that Dave Payne's "Reeker" most definitely falls into the second category. It may not be all that "new" but it's still a good deal of fun nonetheless.Horror fans really do get a raw deal when you think about it. Over the past few years we've seen kind of a horror resurgence, which is what happens when a movie or two "break out" and make a lot of money. As the tail end of this resurgence winds down, the studios are busy releasing absolute junkpiles like Boogeyman and Hide and Seek and White Noise and Cursed -- and that's just this year alone!
So we the intrepid horror hounds must dig deep into the indie pile to find our blood-soaked sustenance. (Where do you think Lions Gate discovers movies like May and Cabin Fever?) And even though this Reeker flick might practically "reek" of earlier influences and fairly familiar plot lines, there's always something to be said for plain old enthusiasm and a palpable respect for the genre.
If I told you the movie was about "a van full of party-kids on their way to a rave deep in the desert," you'd probably start tuning out right away. Who hasn't seen a horror movie about a bunch of clueless kids who discover something horrific while on an ill-advised road trip? Most of you have probably seen several. But still, Reeker dusts off this potentially tired old chestnut and polishes it up with a lot of wit, exuberance and goopy gore effects.
A movie like Reeker relies upon a lot upon its villain, since the central characters are there mainly to wander about and get slaughtered in horrific fashion. And Reeker not only has a groovy, gore-soaked killer, but the low-key effects used to bring him to life are pretty damn cool. We're not talking Spider-Man 2 effects work, but the stuff looks quite impressive -- especially considering the flick's limited budget.
Another gold star goes into the casting column, because the Reeker actors do their darndest to bring some colorful vigor to the normally one-note roles. Particular kudos to Michael Ironside for bringing some old-school character actor cachet to the proceedings, Eric Mabius for creating a truly menacing character in only a few brief scenes, and Tina Illman for being one sassy broad. Actually the whole cast is surprisingly good, which only goes to prove that a collection of strong actors is an indie filmmaker's best friend.I could name about a half-dozen horror movies that are very similar in story to "Reeker," but this one's an improvement over most of those flicks. So if you're an aspiring indie horror-guy, take this flick as a lesson: if you're going to tell a story we've heard before, make sure you bring something particularly strong or unique to the party. "Reeker" brings both of these, and the result is a horror flick a whole lot better than its plot synopsis might suggest.
link directly to this review at http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=11673&reviewer=128
originally posted: 03/22/05 20:06:16
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 SXSW Film Festival. For more in the 2005 South By Southwest Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Tribeca Film Festival For more in the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 BendFilm Festival For more in the 2005 BendFilm Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Boston Fantastic Film Festival For more in the 2005 Boston Fantastic Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
N/A (R)
UK
N/A
Australia
N/A
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