Reprise
Year: 2011
Director: David A. Cross
Stars: Tracey Teague, Mat Wright, Vince Eustace
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: MTI Home Video
Running Time: 90 Mins
Low budget supernatural films tend to be either hit or miss films. Going into this film, I thought the trailer looked good enough to entice me to watch this film. Then again, most trailers look good. But when you get to the actual movie, sometimes the trailer can be an open door to a bad movie. Does “Respire” set a trap to get you to see a bad film?
The film is about a terminally ill novelty shop owner, who has been given six months to live. She is desperately looking to find a way to extend her life. Then one day, she finds a mysterious vial inside an old box. Convinced that it might help her, she administered it to herself. Soon, she’ll discover that her cure is not what it seems to be. The shop owner become plagued with violent flashbacks from the 1930’s and sees how a doctor has created a cure to eliminate incurable diseases. The only problem with this cure, it has violent side effects. Now she must find a way to reverse the effects that she’s going through, before her fits of rage becomes violent and all hell breaks loose.
Even the trailer looked good, I didn’t have much expectation going into this film. The premise of this film had that feeling that my enjoyment could go either way. It could be a good experience, where I got into the flow of the film and was interested of what was going on or it could have sucked to the point that I would be slamming it from one end to the other. But, that’s not the case with this film.
“Respire” is an intense supernatural horror film that thrives on suspenseful action. Writer / Director David A. Cross does a very good job making what seems like made for TV movie material and make it look so good that your caught up and interested in the film. One of the things that I liked about his direction and writing, he does a great job handling all the psychological aspects. I know that this film tends to trend more towards the supernatural side, but I can’t help the way that he handles those aspects. It’s done very well, as it goes into the history of the vials and how they make people insane when inhaling it. By going into the aspects through the frightening images, it gives backstory while providing shock value. Cross also does a good job handling the cast performances. He does a good job getting what he needs from his cast, as the performances doesn’t hurt the final product and helps make the film more interesting.
Cross’ screenplay was good. The story at times felt like something that you would see in a Lifetime film, but the way that he handles the writing is what makes this good. One of the things in the screenplay that I liked, he provides a interesting backstory that gets the viewer into the flow of the film, as there’s no horror violence until the half way point. But Cross does a good job focusing the first half of the film on his main character and the vials that are the center of the story. By going into this, Cross establishes the history of the vial, which sets up the action and developing the main character through the trauma and changes that she’s going through. That kept me interested, during the course of the film.
Beside those things, the other thing that I liked about this film was the opening credit sequence. When you have a good sequence to open a film, its easier to be interested in the film. I liked how Cross handles it, by showing the box in different time periods from the early thirties to the present day. When you have a sequence like that, it can you get interested in a film. That’s what you need, if you want to get your audience’s attention. If this was done the regular way, then maybe I would have not been as interested in the beginning and that could’ve taken me awhile to get into the film.
“Respire” is a film worth checking out, if your interested in an entertaining low-budget supernatural film.
Review Rating: Three and a half Stars
The film is about a terminally ill novelty shop owner, who has been given six months to live. She is desperately looking to find a way to extend her life. Then one day, she finds a mysterious vial inside an old box. Convinced that it might help her, she administered it to herself. Soon, she’ll discover that her cure is not what it seems to be. The shop owner become plagued with violent flashbacks from the 1930’s and sees how a doctor has created a cure to eliminate incurable diseases. The only problem with this cure, it has violent side effects. Now she must find a way to reverse the effects that she’s going through, before her fits of rage becomes violent and all hell breaks loose.
Even the trailer looked good, I didn’t have much expectation going into this film. The premise of this film had that feeling that my enjoyment could go either way. It could be a good experience, where I got into the flow of the film and was interested of what was going on or it could have sucked to the point that I would be slamming it from one end to the other. But, that’s not the case with this film.
“Respire” is an intense supernatural horror film that thrives on suspenseful action. Writer / Director David A. Cross does a very good job making what seems like made for TV movie material and make it look so good that your caught up and interested in the film. One of the things that I liked about his direction and writing, he does a great job handling all the psychological aspects. I know that this film tends to trend more towards the supernatural side, but I can’t help the way that he handles those aspects. It’s done very well, as it goes into the history of the vials and how they make people insane when inhaling it. By going into the aspects through the frightening images, it gives backstory while providing shock value. Cross also does a good job handling the cast performances. He does a good job getting what he needs from his cast, as the performances doesn’t hurt the final product and helps make the film more interesting.
Cross’ screenplay was good. The story at times felt like something that you would see in a Lifetime film, but the way that he handles the writing is what makes this good. One of the things in the screenplay that I liked, he provides a interesting backstory that gets the viewer into the flow of the film, as there’s no horror violence until the half way point. But Cross does a good job focusing the first half of the film on his main character and the vials that are the center of the story. By going into this, Cross establishes the history of the vial, which sets up the action and developing the main character through the trauma and changes that she’s going through. That kept me interested, during the course of the film.
Beside those things, the other thing that I liked about this film was the opening credit sequence. When you have a good sequence to open a film, its easier to be interested in the film. I liked how Cross handles it, by showing the box in different time periods from the early thirties to the present day. When you have a sequence like that, it can you get interested in a film. That’s what you need, if you want to get your audience’s attention. If this was done the regular way, then maybe I would have not been as interested in the beginning and that could’ve taken me awhile to get into the film.
“Respire” is a film worth checking out, if your interested in an entertaining low-budget supernatural film.
Review Rating: Three and a half Stars
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