Let me begin by giving everyone a bit of information I wish I was privy to before just putting the DVD in and starting this film. The entire film was shot and shown in FPS or First Person Shooter. For those who are not avid gamers or do not know what FPS is, it means the entire movie is shown like “Hardcore Henry” where you literally are seeing the movie from the eyes of the main character. While this makes for a bit of a more immersive experience, it can lead to motion sickness for some. I for one had to pause the movie several times and get up and walk around.
Now that, that is out the way, the movie begins with a guy getting his throat slit. For a lower budget film, it was a pretty passable and impressive SFX cut. The movie jump to Frank Zimosa who is our main character. Frank is a hitman who is hired to infiltrate a hotel. He is contacted who I believe is his employer and who informs Frank the glasses they have given him is not only a camera and two may intercom, but it is also a form of advanced technology that acts as something like Google Glass.
***Spoiler Alert***
Frank’s boss reveals that the people he is sent to kill is also contract killers. He sends Frank a video revealing that these killers often commit ritual killings. Frank is given orders of how to kill these people with only the weapons provided. There is NO GUNS and lead the killings to again appear very ritualistic. Basically he will have to smash the person’s head in, remove the brain and then disembowel the person. At this point the film takes a turn toward a splatter fest of blood guts and gore. At this point Frank goes into the room kills the people which leads him to freak out and start to ask questions. At this point the voice actor goes from a normal English speaking actor to your buddy who when he gets drunk becomes “ARNOLD” “Argghhh aaahhhhh GET TO THE CHOPPER!!!!!”.
Frank’s boss informs him at this point he will not explain it all to him now because at this point he would not understand why he’s having him do this. At this point the boss begins to tell Frank that if he does not fulfill the ritual SHE will come, and when SHE comes he will pray to God for forgiveness. Without giving away too much of the plot than I already have I will stop here with my synopsis.
As the movie progresses the acting becomes more and more over the top. If you are asking yourself how can they stretch this thin plot over 80 minutes? The answer is they should not have. The movie replaces plot with over the top kills and kills in the masses to fill its 80 minutes of run time. In a generation of kids who grew up with video games. That’s what this movie felt like, the main character takes extreme amounts of damage, the kills become tedious and repetitive and the story suffers for the reason to amass a body count.
Now all that being said, the one thing the movie does get right? Like I mentioned at the beginning is SFX. The major section of their budget must have went to special effect department. The kills while tedious and over the top did look very good. And some were original, I mean when was the last time you saw someone beat someone to death with a toilet seat? (Sorry my fellow GTA gamers still no dildo kills lol)
In closing the stuff, the film gets wrong it gets VERY wrong. But the stuff it gets right it does get VERY right. Like most horror movies it’s not going win an Oscar for anything. But for a good laugh or a movie with your friends than it’s worth picking up. It is not one of them movies you are going to have your friends watch cause of how bad it is. Maybe cause of how campy it can be at parts? But as a person who grew up just north of the generation of gamers I referenced previously it’s a fun ride as long you do not get motion sickness from the fast sweeps of the camera.
Reviewed by Shawn
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