"Sympathy" Review -- Written by Anthony Thurber

Sympathy
Year: 2007
Directors: Andrew Moorman
Stars: Marina Shtelen, Steven Pritchard, Aaron Boucher
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Furnessville Pictures
Running Time: 105 Mins
Official Website: http://www.sympathythemovie.com/


Sympathy is a film that has been getting a lot of praise, in the underground horror community from such websites like Bloody Disgusting and Fatally Yours. So yours truly really wanted to determine, if this movie is deserving of all this hype that it has been getting.

The film is about a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, when a bank robber takes a teenage girl hostage and takes her to an isolated motel and handcuffs her to the bed, so they could hide there, until morning. The night at the motel takes a bloody turn for the worst, when a mysterious person decides to take the two hostage and play a deadly game of cat and mouse with them. During this game, deadly secrets will be revealed about each of the three people. By the night’s end, nobody may get out of that motel room alive, in this very suspenseful and bloody horror film.

Sympathy is a suspenseful thriller that has many twists and turns. Andrew Moorman direction is first-rate, as it had that Hollywood suspense feel to it. He does a very good job making this film very intense, from the first minute, until the very end of the film, as the intenseness never stops. Moorman does this to keep the action and story moving, so that you’re not bored. He also makes this very suspenseful through the various shots that he films. Moorman does this, in order to create the tense atmosphere, in the crowded room. His direction of his three actors was just brilliantly directed. Marina Shtelen, Steven Pritchard and Aaron Boucher were great, in their performances. Andrew Moorman made very sure that their performances were great, because this is one of those films where all the action happens, in one room. He does that; by letting the actors develop chemistry with each other, which makes the film interesting. It also helped, add intensity to film’s overall atmosphere. This in return, leads to a very intense and very well acted film.

Arik Martin screenplay was masterfully executed, as it was edgy and suspenseful. One of the reasons, the film was that way, because of the fact that the whole film takes place in one room. In films like this, the story has to be interesting and the conflicts have to be intense, in order for a film like this to be successful. This also made the conflict very suspenseful. Another thing that was great about Martin’s screenplay was the fact that his story had many twists and turns. I like it, when films have this, because it makes the story very intense and characters unpredictable. The screenplay also develops the action and the characters, very well. One of the things that Martin does with his screenplay was create a concentrated atmosphere through the whole story. This was done, so that the average viewer would not be bored with the story, since it only takes place in one room. The intenseness of the film’ story made sure that their was never a dull moment where the viewer’s mind would wonder off. That’s why, this film very intense and edgy through out.

This is truly, one of the most suspenseful independent horror films that I’ve seen overall, this year. Sympathy never lets go of its intense action, until it’s very shocking and bloody end.
Review Rating: 5 Stars