|
XII
In this homage to the slasher genre of
yesteryear, Michael A Nickles writes and directs this
easy-to-underestimate film. From the cheap, head explosion with oodles
of blood replete with unrealistic dummy in the first few minutes, one
doesn't think this will rise above low budget schlock. I was pleasantly
surprised as XII proved me wrong in a few ways.
A criminal has just been released out of jail and is out to exact
revenge on the 12 jurors who put him there, hence the name XII. As each
one falls, the action falls onto his sleepy hometown where a group of
friends will try to survive the night. The cast is lead by Emily Hardy,
as Claire, who puts on a brave performance but let's face it, this is
one low budget film and it shows in the acting. The performances range
from "trying too hard" to above average (with the more experienced
actors).
The script and plot are quite well written
and the cinematography in the different scenes are well done with some
great looking shots. Let's face it, we're not really into the acting and
plot with these kind of movies, we want to be scared. After the
previously mentioned disappointing start, the special effects are
actually surprisingly believable, the scares come often, culminating in
a gross psychotic habit of pulling the victims' faces off - not at all
original, but thankfully registers highly on the squirm scale. This film
also doesn't take itself too seriously with some tongue-in-cheek lighter
moments.
Not a lot of features on this one, but an enjoyable slasher/thriller
with some great scenes. |
