Reviews

When their happy lifestyle is suddenly interrupted and turned upside down by the forceful intrusion of a menacing kidnapper (Brosnan), Abby and Neil (Bello and Butler) are left with no choice but to follow the increasingly difficult demands and tests set them by this man. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff most of the way, with plenty of twists and turns and even when you get to that stage where you think you know all the answers, something else catches you off guard. The three leading actors all provide sound performances in this intelligent, edgy little thriller, with Brosnan proving yet again, because a lot of people seem not to have realised it before, that he really can act.

Not a bad, little film. A fairly tight script that relies heavily on the two main characters (Emily Blunt being the better of the two, and I look forward to seeing more of her), and they don't disappoint. The film never quite lives up to its early promise and it just misses on getting the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up. The explanation for all the "goings on" are perhaps not pointed out well enough, and the character with the eel issuing from his mouth seemed as if he belonged in a different film altogether. There were a few parts of the story that seemed a bit incongruous and that could have been improved upon, but overall it's a very worthy effort at creating a film that veers more towards suspense than actual horror.

I don't know what film all the others watched, but the "Hatchet" that I saw was close on being one of the worst films I've ever sat through. Poor acting, poor script, poor everything really.....and poor me for watching it! Even the "baddie", a dead ringer for the Elephant Man, wasn't really frightening (why did I keep thinking of Scooby Doo when they were all running away from him?). It wasn't even funny......not even in the places where it was supposed to be. Ripping up a few body parts, spurting a lot of blood about, and showing a few naked breasts is really not enough to sustain the interest. Where was the suspense, the anticipation of the next slaughter, or anything vaguely unexpected? Sadly lacking in all departments.