Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Sept 18, 2011 16:15:49 GMT -5
Plot:Something diabolical is taking place on the set of THE TASK, a new reality show in which players complete terrifying missions within the confines of an abandoned prison, hoping to win a hefty cash prize. As six young students explore their new environment, malicious spirits make their presence known in the most gruesome ways imaginable. The contestants become unwitting pawns caught at the centre of a blood-soaked night of terror. Only one girl survives to tell the tale.
Cast:
Alexandra Staden
Victor McGuire
Adam Rayner
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Ashley Mulheron
Amara Karan
Tom Payne
Marc Pickering
Texas Battle
Sam Stockman
Rob Ostlere
Atanas Srebrev
Jonas Talkington
Radoslav Parvanov
Valentin Ganev
My Thoughts:Well. It was fun while it lasted.
Review:"The Task" is part of After Dark Originals. After Dark Films slate of genre releases sent out earlier this year. The list was eventually cut down to only half of the expected releases. "The Task" was one of the few that made the cut. The movie follows a group of random young people from diverse backgrounds. They're whisked away (literally in one guys case), by some people. Who later turn out to be producers of a reality tv show.
The group is tasked with the charge of completing a set of conquering their worst fears. Inside of the set up of a supposedly haunted asylum. The game as expected, turns deadly soon when someone who isn't part of the game, shows up to participate in it. "The Task" has all of the markings of a horror movie destined to fail. A reality tv set up, a group of young people who are desperate to be famous, a haunted asylum, and the asylum's backstory.
Which revolves around a torturous madman who used to run the place. He wanted to cut costs, so he began slaughtering his own patients. Charming. If you're thinking then, the ghost of the evil doctor makes an appearance. And starts picking people off. Then you win the cookie! Fortunately for us though, "The Task" is crafted really well. Well enough to kind of expell all of these cliche, unoriginal, and predictable demons. So to speak. The cast of characters come off as likeable.
The haunted hospital set up is nice and dark, grungy, and spooky. And the movies musical score, visual fx, and even a creepy clown character -- give it some pep. The way it unfolds, going back and forth between the competing contestants. And the people upstairs in the control room, watching all of this unfold. And hoping for a ratings hit. Gives the film a lot of room to maneuver, and avoid becoming too bogged down and boring. Yeah. A lot of this movie is tedious.
And you can say its all been done before. But they put it together well enough whereas it's a fun horror picture. And not an annoying or intolerable one. The one thing this movie manages to do really well though. Is keep the interest, intrigue, and high-creep factor. Without any major blood and gore. This movie really works more psychologically. It uses visuals, it uses its atmosphere. Its set pieces. To keep the viewers interest. Thus, not much happens in the movie in the realm of gruesome kills. And such.
And while there are some deaths, they aren't as graphic with blood, guts, and gore. As they are more psychologically disturbing. And try more to make you think of the "what if?" Rather than the "will happen". Things also take an intriguing turn later on in the movie. Where the female producer of the show, who actually has a heart. And a brain. Decides to pull the plug on the show once she realizes what's happening on camera might be real. Fatally, real. This leads to a third act that is full of intense twists, and turns.
When everything goes really serious. And the kids are put into grave danger. And sadly enough, here...it is here, in act 3, where the movie crashes. There's two different reveals at the end. One, I kind of appreciated in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. Mixed with some clever writing. And then there's the second reveal. Which smacks of just plain dumbness. And blatant stupidity. The writers had this. They had a good, scary, horror movie. But then they decide to ruin it by stacking a stupid finale atop a more clever and interesting one.
Not sure why. Not really sure why they did it. But had this movie just concluded with a more intriguing. A more ambiguous final scene. After the first twist? It would've landed four stars from me. But alas, they decided to ruin a good finish by pushing their luck. REALLY, pushing their luck. Not going to spoil it for you guys. But both of the pics twists are polar opposites.
One seems to suggest that things end in a unforseen sort of way. The other twist reminds me of something other filmmakers would've done to cheapen the overall viewing experience. So with "The Task". In the end. It's a conflict. While 80 minutes of the movie is good to decent. The final 9 minutes is just one big WTF? It's disappointing that the writers and filmmakers couldn't just leave well enough alone.
Positives:This movie overall is pretty rad. Likeable characters, good scoring, good use of set and surroundings to create a dark, spooky atmosphere. And a pretty cool twist at the end.
Negatives:Twist #2 is just ridiculous. Should've been left on the cutting room floor.
Overall:Three stars out of four.