Directed by Gregory Dark. Starring Glen Jacobs, Christina Vidal, Steven Vidler, Luke Pegler, Samantha Noble, Penny McNamee. Horror. Synopsis: A giant and particularly sadistic serial killer long thought to b e dead resurfaces in a planned ambush of a group of young work release prisoners who are guarded by the surviving officer who almost killed him.
Well, you have to be realistic in your expectations when you select a movie that is produced by the W.W.E. And I did. Now, I have nothing against big time wrestling, I can't say I'm a huge fan....actually not a fan at all. But, even if I were, I'm sure I would be skeptical as to the cinematic potential of a wrestling organization. To be fair, I'm not sure how much I would expect out of Dreamworks if they forayed into big time wrestling.
Having said that, I would say that anyone who goes into this movie with a serious expectation that this might be a really good movie is the same kind of person who tunes into Presidential debates really seeking straight answers from the candidates on the important issues. Now, I'm not saying that there are not those among us who will enjoy this flick. What I am saying is that this movie is basically an attempt to give a star from W.W.E. some exposure on the big screen and cover the shameless marketing of an asset in plenty of blood and gore.
And, they did that. Glen Jacobs a/k/a "Kane" plays Jacob Goodnight, a giant man who is a sadistic serial killer, which isn't redundant because this guy could turn the stomach of your run of the mill serial killer in a heartbeat. He removes the eyes of the victims, sometimes before they are deceased, just to give you an idea.
The story heats up from the opening credits, when two cops track down a serial killer they later learn to be Goodnight, they find him in a home with a deceased victim and one survivor, who is very unfortunate in that he has already removed her eyes. Jake takes out one of the cops, but the other one (Steven Vidler Salem's Lot) gets off a couple of rounds, one hitting the bad guy in the head...yet he gets away anyway. Seriously.
Resilient guy, obviously. In this scene we are introduced to a song that will play over and over in the background of the film...and probably drive you crazy, though in fairness to the filmmakers, that is probably the intent, it kind of goes with the back story.
Anyway, our hero cop loses a hand and, in a flash, its years down the road and he is basically chaperoning a coed group of youthful work release offenders who are going to clean up a run down hotel for the weekend as part of their payment of the debt to society. And, guess who lurks behind the walls of this sleazy, repugnant hotel?
Look, the premise of this one and its back story are very unrealistic...the tried and true formula of isolating a group of nubile teenagers (played, of course, by 20 & 30 something actors) has made way too much money at the box office and rentals to disregard, but in this age of cell phones, blackberrys, etc., the idea of a group of people being totally cut off from the rest of society in the middle of downtown L.A. is kind of stretching it. And its not like we have the most ingenious villain here.
But, I doth protest too much, 'cuz the whole point of this one is to set up as many gruesome kills for the imposing star of the flick as possible. And, on that basis, mission accomplished. Fans of gore and Kane will no doubt love this one and, honestly, that is who it was made for. Nothing wrong with that. And, I'm not above loving a gorefest, but there has to be some element of true horror or a good story to really hook me. See No Evil doesn't hook me. Am I sorry I invested the time to watch it? No. Do I expect that this one will stick in the old consciousness for years? No. Would I watch it again if were the best flick on the tube. No, tune into ESPN or the History Channel...or something else.
That's my call.
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