Director: Greg McLean
Starring: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Melonie Diaz, Owain Yeoman, Sean Gunn, Josh Brener, Brent Sexton, David Dastmalchian, Michael Rooker, Abraham Benrubi, Gregg Henry.
James Gunn, director and writer for Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be all the rage at the moment and rightly so with this extending his writing credits. Greg McLean, the same man who gave us Wolf Creek is behind the camera of this done-before of kill-or-be-killed scenario. Pretty much like Saw going corporate.
Isolated block of workers get locked in and are given the ultimatum of kill or more people will die. There's that moral question that pits both characters and audiences to think about. What would you do? Even though it's not an original idea it still begs the question and keeps you intrigued to see how the story pans out.
There's an interesting cast with last year's Cloverfield's Gallagher Jr. taking lead, seems to me he's making a habit of getting locked in place during a rather bad time, a classic example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's a few familiar faces from Gunn's GotG, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry and his Brother Sean has a role as a doped, paranoid cleaner.
I never know why Tony Goldwyn picks certain roles as I find him quite a strong actor, though he does have a habit of playing the nasty guy with an attitude. This one being no longer exception. I mean, he's the son of the G in MGM, so surely he's got enough flack, but then this is with me assuming he actually wants larger or leading roles.
It's both visual and audibly bloody and gory, paying great attention to the sound. Especially the great use of classical music against a murderous montage. Whilst not exactly disturbing, it is shocking and cringe-worthy at times. There's great tension throughout that is the key to keeping the audiences attention. You're just watching to see what people will do.
The film has style and is superbly put together and is rather refreshing to watch even for a simple, unoriginal idea. It's unpredictable and both shocking and interesting at the same time. Fans of Cube and Phone Booth might enjoy this, it's certainly an entertaining watch.
One thing that really stuck with me is the aged and dated Orion pictures logo at the opening credits. What was that all about?
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 8
Performance: 7
Direction: 8
Story: 7
Script: 7
Creativity: 7
Soundtrack: 7
Job Description: 9
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
Would I buy the Blu-ray?: If on special.
68% 7/10
