Movies
Rage
“Despite a strong first half, albeit one plagued with unnecessary dream sequences that scream laziness, ‘Rage’ dwindles in its ability to separate itself from the rest of low budget, indie thrillers by quickly dropping into familiar territory. It’s an admirable effort from Witherspoon, though one that ultimately falls flat.”
Rage, a low budget indie homage featuring an unnamed man on a bike terrorizing an unassuming man, has its heart in the right place. It starts off well enough, but manages to deviate from what makes it seem interesting before quickly devolving into the overtly violent schlock, ripping the rug from underneath your feet and subjecting you to the same old thing we’ve seen a thousand times from low-budget indie horror.
Rage follows Dennis Twist and an unidentified Biker that wants to make his day a little less routine. Kissing his wife Crystal goodbye and heading into the city to break it off with his mistress, he comes across a man on a bike and an opaque helmet that, for reasons unknown to Dennis, is determined to make his day a living Hell. A game of proverbial cat-and-mouse ensues as the biker focuses all of his effort first on simply getting under Dennis’s skin. As the day presses on, it becomes clear that the biker has other plans for him.
The biggest problem with Rage lies entirely in its decision to abandon this approach that constitutes the first two-thirds of the film. If you can look past the questionable dialogue, the fact that every single speaking character has a unique accent, and the bizarre predilection for flashbacks, Witherspoon manages to construct something that, for the first 45 minutes or so, represents a solid little thriller. Starting with small, seemingly random acts of property damage and general terrorizing, the Biker’s antics quickly escalate into downright violent, homicidal tendencies. As the terror unfolds you begin to try and solve the mystery of who the masked biker is and why he or she is subjecting Dennis to such things. It’s a game, and you’re now a part of it.
Sadly, the film takes a home invasion turn that abandons the tension in favor of downright horrific and exceedingly bloody acts. The tense thriller is replaced with senseless violence that seems to come out of left field, and by the time the climax arrives, you’re left with a bad taste in your mouth; it’s not satisfying enough to reconcile the sudden and dramatic shift in tone from intriguing thriller to egregiously violent and disturbing home invasion movie.
Despite a strong first half, albeit one plagued with unnecessary dream sequences that scream laziness, Rage dwindles in its ability to separate itself from the rest of low budget, indie thrillers by quickly dropping into familiar territory. It’s an admirable effort from Witherspoon, though one that ultimately falls flat.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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