DVD Reviews

Reeker

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• Director:
• Starring: Arielle Kebbel
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A group of five college students are on their way to a rave in the desert when strange occurrences see them trapped at an abandoned motel - where they begin to see really really dead people. Reeker has a so-crap-it's-actually-good feel for a certain amount of its running time. That said, the ineptly-handled shocks soon wear thin, especially after the laughs begin to leisurely delve into sporadic chuckling territory. It isn't exactly original either; if you thought Identity had its moments, so did writer and director Payne. Find the Creeper in Jeepers Creepers kinda scary? That's pilfered, too. Payne had better be wearing a balaclava and stripy jumper, because essentially, he unashamedly steals from numerous other horror flicks to piece together a cliche-ridden plot with a preposterous and glaringly obvious (for anyone affiliated with horror) twist stuck on to the end. He also can't decide who his protagonist is, and just ends up giving every uninteresting character equal screen time, when he should've gone with comic relief character Trip (Whyte), who at least has a little depth and humour. It's disappointing, because Reeker actually starts off pretty well, being somewhat reminiscent of The Descent, as a mother and child play a game of I-Spy whilst driving: 'I spy something beginning with D..'.. Splat! It undoubtedly does have some funny moments, too: "Damn it, did we lose the blind guy again!?", as well as a few nice touches that, although inexplicable, (the whole smell thing, hence the title) are at least something comparatively original. Reeker is somewhat frustrating, as it has all the right intentions to be a successful tongue-in-cheek horror, but evidently not the talent nor the sufficient vision required from behind the camera. Undemanding, hardcore horror fans out there may find something to garner a mild distraction here; everyone else, go rent Slither.

Review by Mike Sheridan