Pretty good thriller
I didn't know anything about this movie before I started watching it.
As it turned out, I was happy to find a well made thriller. Obviously it didn't have the Titanic (1997) budget but the filmmakers managed to achieve the necessary mood with what they had. The only disappointment was the evil spirit itself who looks like Disney's The Phantom Blot. In _The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)_ (qv) Jonathan Shields says that a good scary movie only needs haunting music, shadows that move in the darkness and so on, not a man dressed in a monkey suit. The menacing evil being should have kept to the shadows, up front it doesn't look very frightening. It has been claimed that this movie is a rip off of other movies. I haven't seen any of them so I'm judging this movie on its own merits - 8/10.. 
Simple concept, good result
I enjoyed it. The basic concept is simple, of course: let's make a
version of 'Cube' that is more down to earth/without the math, try even to give nice explanations for the apparently supernatural, get a few familiar faces since there are only 8 roles to be cast, and then give the picture a rusty, blood splattered look - thus it will appeal not only to the sci-fi audience, but also to the horror fans. Fair enough for a genre movie which wants to make a bit of money. 'Shadow Puppets' surely creates an atmosphere of uneasiness when none of the characters remembers who he/she is, and information is revealed only much later. It's none of the "it's Halloween again" flicks that keeps the audience awake only with a killing every five minutes, actually I think nobody at all was killed in the first half. So this may be worth checking out if you are not into horror in the first place, but also some more psychological thrillers.. |
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