From acclaimed British director Christopher Smith ("Creep", "Severance") comes Triangle, a unique psychological horror that turns the genre on its head.
Number three in the time based review triangle - Triangle. Now this film is allows for a nice comparison with Timecrimes I reviewed slightly earlier. And without wasting too much of your time, I will mention that I preferred Timecrimes to Triangle. The stars above the words probably gave it away, but here are the reasons why.
Both films have differing plots, but both deal with a similar sort of idea/theme. Going any further into the plot of Triangle will completely spoil anyone's first time experience watching Triangle. Go onto Triangle with a blank slate, with the line - "Something strange is going to happen" and you will be alright. Go into it with the plot completely destroyed and there really is no point watching. And watching Triangle after watching Timecrimes or vice versa will definitely have a bearing on which one you prefer or which one you like or dislike. As said at the beginning of the review Timecrimes beats Triangle to my preference post.
Coming out in 2009, Triangle follows Timecrimes having been released in 2007. Although it doesn't completely copy Timecrimes, Triangle certainly borrows a number of elements from it. The bandaged weapon wielding figure for one, but it is unfair to say that the two are carbon copies of one another because they are not. The budget of Triangle is far greater to that of Timecrimes and that is one of the problems that harm the film in my opinion.
A greater budget doesn't necessary mean a greater film. The visuals should be grander, and the overall production values should be greater with Triangle and they are. But, some of the special effects just don't look too great at all. The ominous storm in the film looks slightly ropey, and a couple of shots of the foreboding ship don't impress as they should. The certainly don't blow any of the visuals in Timecrimes out of the water, or the stormy sea for that matter. The supporting cast as well aren't that impressive either. Melissa George as the lead Jess is completely fine, but the rest of the cast don't quite match up. The acting isn't atrocious by any means, but the wavering performances don't benefit at all from the weak characters.
A number of stereotypes can be found in Triangle. You undoubtedly have the heroic muscular ridden male chucked together with the ditzy female that likes to express herself through moans rather than song. On top of that I didn't really mind if they meet the dreaded finger of death or not. Characters should be engrossing and likeable; you should care how they end up. And out of the group in Triangle only one really deserves your attention that being Mellissa George's Jess. I don' think this would have been a problem if the budget for Triangle was smaller than what it was. The writer/director would have to of adapted his script to fit budget constrictions. And this in turn would have resulted in an altogether tighter script with a small pairing of likeable characters, rather than a disjointed film crammed to the bowel with annoy characters with only one glimmer of light in Melissa George.
But one thing that does work in its benefit is the darkness to be found in Triangle. I am not talking about the lighting her rather the tone of the film. Don't let the flippant title fool you. There really is a dark heart to be found in Triangle and that separates it from Timecrimes. Although there are darkly images within Timecrimes, they don't really compare to the macabre and bleak message that bids you farewell in Triangle.
Ultimately, both Triangle and Timecrimes should be given equal consideration when debating on what film to watch next. Having not watched them back-to-back I cannot say for certain if this is beneficial or not but it would certainly be an interesting experience. Being roughly priced around the same mark, it wouldn't be the worst investment to pick both up for a thought provoking evening. Add Fermat's Room to the equation and you really have yourself an event...
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Jess (Melissa George u THE AMITYVILLE HORROR) gets more than she bargained for whilst on a yachting holiday with a party of friends. When a vicious storm renders their vessel powerless, the group seek refuge on a passing cruise ship but Jess is struck instantly by an uneasy feeling of having seen the liner before. Once aboard the ship, the friends find their newfound haven deserted but soon begin to realise that they aren't alone when their numbers slowly dwindle, as an unseen adversary begins to hunt them down...
Ocean-bound horror in which a day's sailing goes horribly wrong for a group of friends. Setting sail on a yacht with her friends, Jess (Melissa George) has a gut feeling that something is about to go wrong. After running into a violent storm, the group is forced to seek shelter on what appears to be an abandoned ocean liner, a ship Jess is convinced she's been on before. Although the ship appears to bear all the hallmarks of a 'Marie Celeste', the coming days will see the group in a desperate fight, as each tries to evade the evil presence intent on hunting them down one by one.
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