I found this little gem on Hulu, and after reading the synopsis It immediately piqued my interest. An actress trapped in a limo for the duration of the film. I am a sucker for films of this genre that use one location and mounting suspense to tell a story. A bottle episode, if you will. A claustrophobic paranoia thriller in a sense. Dripping with doom and dread. And for the most part I was not very disappointed at all. The film has a total of 3 actors only, for the majority of the film.
The film literally starts with a shot of the actress (Paola Bontempi) leaving her house and entering the limousine. and she is trapped inside ever since. The plot unravels slowly enough however. The music and her acting is really what kept me engaged. The music was that nice mix of subtlety and progressive dread/terror.
The story, though a bit contrived for sure was mostly interesting. Her experience in the limo parallels themes of hollywood actor's desperation, and an actor's willingness to do anything for money, even to go so far as jumping in to a limousine and be lead blindly to their destination as an ordinary happening. That is life for some hollywood actors. Their success is just fabricated from the final product of their films, and the reactions to them. Their fame is a result of their blind obedience as they are carried through life one limousine at a time to one event after the next. They live a superior illusion, and this film takes that and shatters it. From drugs, to sex and forced exploitation, this film juxtaposes tragic things actors are subjected to and makes the audience experience it along with the actress trapped in the limo.
The only thing I did not like about the film was the few scenes of rape. Though it served a point in telling the story and matched the themes of the story. It is still always an ugly thing to bare witness to. and I felt it could have been left out of the picture to have the lead actress be so violated. but that's not the story it wanted to tell.
I could not help but think the entire time watching, the film would be brilliant for an American remake (in the right hands). As the story really resonates with western audiences and the hollywood obsession. I could only hope if it does become an american remake they leave out the grotesque scenes of rape and find other ways to get their point across.
Now for the twist and ending. It was, like I said, contrived. But eerie and very cool nonetheless. They take a film that is veering out to be an isolated thriller and turn it in to an almost gothic horror shock & reveal in the end. There is some creepy prosthetic makeup and you really won't expect the visuals you do end up seeing of the evil-doer and their appearance.
All in all I would definitely catch this film while you can on Hulu if you're in to suspense and grim thrillers & exploitation horror, or any interest in the ugly side of hollywood.
The film literally starts with a shot of the actress (Paola Bontempi) leaving her house and entering the limousine. and she is trapped inside ever since. The plot unravels slowly enough however. The music and her acting is really what kept me engaged. The music was that nice mix of subtlety and progressive dread/terror.
The story, though a bit contrived for sure was mostly interesting. Her experience in the limo parallels themes of hollywood actor's desperation, and an actor's willingness to do anything for money, even to go so far as jumping in to a limousine and be lead blindly to their destination as an ordinary happening. That is life for some hollywood actors. Their success is just fabricated from the final product of their films, and the reactions to them. Their fame is a result of their blind obedience as they are carried through life one limousine at a time to one event after the next. They live a superior illusion, and this film takes that and shatters it. From drugs, to sex and forced exploitation, this film juxtaposes tragic things actors are subjected to and makes the audience experience it along with the actress trapped in the limo.
The only thing I did not like about the film was the few scenes of rape. Though it served a point in telling the story and matched the themes of the story. It is still always an ugly thing to bare witness to. and I felt it could have been left out of the picture to have the lead actress be so violated. but that's not the story it wanted to tell.
I could not help but think the entire time watching, the film would be brilliant for an American remake (in the right hands). As the story really resonates with western audiences and the hollywood obsession. I could only hope if it does become an american remake they leave out the grotesque scenes of rape and find other ways to get their point across.
Now for the twist and ending. It was, like I said, contrived. But eerie and very cool nonetheless. They take a film that is veering out to be an isolated thriller and turn it in to an almost gothic horror shock & reveal in the end. There is some creepy prosthetic makeup and you really won't expect the visuals you do end up seeing of the evil-doer and their appearance.
All in all I would definitely catch this film while you can on Hulu if you're in to suspense and grim thrillers & exploitation horror, or any interest in the ugly side of hollywood.
