Dark Reprieve (2007)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Matt and Kate both awaken in an abandoned prison, neither one of them recalling the chain of events that led them there. They don't seem to be alone as they have run-ins with supernatural creatures. Meanwhile Raquel is being interrogated by police detective Marks about a series of unexplained murders. Could she have any connection to the two trapped people? While I applaud the makers of this movie for trying something a bit different in a DTV market populated by interchangeable cardboard cut and paste slasher films, the outcome wasn't the sum of it's parts. The story itself was pretty interesting and, for a DTV release, most of the acting was adequate (some was embarrassingly bad though) But the frequent jump cuts became a tad grating after a while and the ending (which i won't spoil) was so far out of left field that it just about ruined the whole film for me. I'd like to see certain actresses in this movie in other films though.My Grade: D+

I picked this up with no idea what to expect, overall I was not disappointed. The production values are pretty good, and the audio quality on my 5.1 system was excellent. Most low budget movies really fall down on the audio but this movie sounded great. Dark Reprieve held my attention for the entire time as I was truly intrigued by the two stories running at the same time. It can be hard to follow at times, however, I recommend that you stick with this one. If you only like Hollywood blockbusters then this movie probably isn't for you, but if you want to see some thing different and can watch with an open mind give this movie a try. To those ripping on the acting...get over it!! What are you people, theater critics for the New York Times? Good grief this movie isn't Shakespeare, what do you expect? This is a popcorn B-Movie that's all. I found it entertaining any way. Budget limitations taken into account. I swear many of you people rent these movies and then expect Citizen Kane.

Over all I thought this was a solid and smart film. I think however it could have been a lot better with a bigger budget because the ideas and concept where all sound. I give it credit for not looking like a home video the way so many indie films do these days. As a viewer you will either enjoy the non-linear story editing technique or you will hate it. I personally thought it was very clever the way the actors told their own narrative, and small bits of the back story where revealed as the film progressed. Lastly on the positive side, the final twist is one of the best twists I've seen in any movie. You can watch this film a hundred times and never figure out the final reveal on your own, I liked that. Oh and the Raquel Lake character is smoking HOT!!On the down side....a few of the characters where laughably bad, namely the executioner guy, he should of landed on the cutting room floor.

I caught this movie on the big screen in Toronto. I have to say that this was a very original movie, I've never seen a movie quite like this one before. So I give the filmmaker credit for creating some thing very unique.I think people will be tempted to rip on Dark Reprieve because of the unusual techniques that are employed here, but the production values are so good for a low budget movie it basically negates much of the negative criticism that will be thrown at this film.There is so much bloody awful low budget horror crap out there, and this movie isn't in that category at all. It is very well made.I had several theories running as I watched this, none of them close to the ending, so "they" got me. The final shot is really great, not the kind of shot you see in a low budget film.Some of the shots are very creative and an excellent example of technique over Hollywood mega fluff. There is one shot where Kate reaches for the medicine cabinet and the camera is shooting straight up from the ground, truly original.On the downside the scene where they talk about God abandoning them or some thing just killed me, why was it there? A few times the budget shows through like when they go into the kitchen. The actors at times lapse into a "lame" mode. But over all the actors came through on this, considering the tiny cast.I predict this movie will gain a following on DVD and possibly be some what of a cult hit among people that like this sort of movie.