11-11-11
Year: 2011
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Stars: Timothy Gibbs, Michael Landes, Wendy Glen
Studio: Big Air Studios
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 82 Mins.
Plot Synopsis:
Darren Lynn Bousman has been busy with “The Devil’s Carnival,” which is currently out on a road tour, his remake of Charles Kaufman’s Troma classic “Mother’s Day, “ which came out on Blu-Ray yesterday, and “11-11-11”, which I‘m doing to talk about now. The film recently made its debut on DVD after a limited theatrical release that didn‘t do much business.
The film follows Joseph Crone, who is a famed writer that is going through a personal tragedy of his own. He travels to Spain to reunite with his estranged brother and his father who is dying. While there, he begins to find out that strange things are happening to him. Crone is plagued with strange occurrences every time the clock hit 11:11. He begins to realize that this has a horrible meaning for him and everyone, as the time symbolizes 11-11-11. Is it a warning or the date of the destruction of mankind?
Film Review:
I was somewhat skeptical about this film, because of the fact that it received the dreaded PG-13 rating from the MPAA. That’s usually the kiss of death for a horror film. Given the track record of Darren Lynn Bousman’s past films, however, I was going to give this one a chance. Good thing that I took the chance with this film, as I enjoyed it.
“11-11-11” is a very effective dark and chilling film that will keep you up at night. One of the things that I liked about this film was the way that writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman does a very good job keeping the tone and atmosphere of the film dark. This was very important to the success of this film, because you’re relying on the tone and atmosphere to help make the mythology work. It’s very hard to do, but he makes every scene have a certain gloom and doom feel to it. The other thing Bousman does very well is being able to get the performances to work. The acting was good, as the cast made the characters interesting and made the material move at a good pace without the viewer getting bored. That’s credited to Bousman’s direction, as the performances keep your interest in the story.
Bousman also does a very good job with the way that he wrote the screenplay. Usually when I’m watching some of these films that deal with religious and supernatural elements, I tend to find that the pace of those films slow and boring. I didn’t get that sense at any time with this film or its screenplay. The reason is that some of the film’s scenes had some suspenseful elements that keep your interest in the story. Bousman builds tension and suspense towards some of the film’s climatic scenes. It’s needed to keep you interested with the material and story. All of this leads to a very good payoff that you won‘t see coming.
DVD Extras:
First on the disc is the commentary track with writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman and producer Laura Bousman. This was a very good commentary track. Both Darren Lynn and Laura Bousman don’t hold back on this track. The track goes into the various aspects of the production of the film and the criticism that this film took from various critics. This is definitely worth a look, if you’re a fan of this film.
“The Making of 11-11-11” is the next feature on the disc. This is a very good look at the making of the film, which features interviews from Bousman, various crew members and the main cast. It provides some very interesting stories on how this film was made. From stories behind the scenes to the way that this film was shot, it gives some very interesting facts about the production.
After the featurette, the disc wraps up with three and half minutes of deleted scenes.
Final Summary:
I know that this film hasn’t gotten great reviews, but I was surprised that I enjoyed it. “11-11-11” is a very gloomy chamber drama that has a good payoff.
Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
DVD Extras: Three Stars
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