Edge of your seat psychological thriller, with a little horr
C. Crockett | Indiana, USA | 07/29/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This intriguing horror movie resides in a strange inbetween genre that should appeal to most audiences. It is largely a psychological thriller, but it also has many horror movie aspects. One of my favorite things about this film was that it managed to scare me without resorting to mindless gore and buckets of blood (although, don't get me wrong...there's a little blood involved).
Quick Synopsis: 8 strangers wake up in different rooms of a locked down facility with absolutely no memory of who they are, and no idea how they got there, or how to get out. Their surroundings look like some kind of a prison, or possibly a mental institution, but ominously there is no sign of their captors. Meanwhile, lurking in the darkness is a creature made of shadows, who begins to pick them off, one by one, attacking without warning, and leaving no trace of a body. Soon these strangers must find each other and band together in order to escape...that is, until they discover a medical room containing what appears to be the machine used to brain-wipe them all, leaving them with no memories -- next to the machine is the body of a brain-dead, but technically living man. According to the readouts, the device was used only 8 times...but there are 9 people. Someone is lying. Who can be trusted? And can they work together to find a way out before the shadows around them come to life...
I found this movie incredibly entertaining and suspenseful. The horror aspect is of course the shadow monster who kills off any who stray too far away from the light. The psychological thriller aspect would be the fact that each person has had their memories wiped clean...but one of them is lying. Who is the betrayer? I'm not telling!
Fans of James Marsters, who most know from his role as Spike on the cult favorite television show [[ASIN:B000AQ68RI Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector's Set (40 discs)], are in for a treat. In this movie he's just as sexy as ever, so female fans will have an extra special treat (although there's really something for everyone considering the cast run around in nothing but their underwear for half of the movie).
My one disappointment, which cost this movie a 5 star rating, would be it's ending. I'm talking about the very very end. They copped out a little bit (again, I won't tell you how), but it ended up being slightly anti-climactic. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
However, all in all, I loved it, and hopefully they'll start making more movies like this one. It had a solid cast, a great premise, and some pretty decent special effects (especially for a movie that went straight to DVD). Give it a try, and you won't be disappointed. Whether you like the ending or not, most viewers will be able to appreciate the film as a whole."
Shadows Do Kill!
Steve67 | Dallas, Texas United States | 10/01/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This movie starts out pretty well is has suspense,mystery and a pretty well written script. Are cast find themselves waking up in a asylum where they have no memory of who they are and why they are there. Only to be pick off by a creature who has no shape or form. It is nothing more than a shadow that stalks them. Having no memory they have to find a way out and why they are there before it is to late. They soon discover there are eight of them trap in this place but one of them is not who they say they are. This begins mystery to discover who they are and what it is that is hunting them. The movie is pretty good it has very good acting a good plot and some suspense. It also has some mild violence with some good turns it. Don't expect a movie that will knock you off your feet but one that is above average that does keep your attention from begging to end. I say check it out I bought the DVD and have no real complaints its a good solid movie so check this one out."
Excellent Thriller
Leahna Hoxie | Sheridan, WY United States | 08/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Amid a plethora of hints and clues, this movie still manages to keep some of it's secrets until near the end. Light on the gore, but high on suspense. The acting was mostly good. James Marsters did a wonderfully believable job, drawing us in with his customary uncluttered style. Jolene Blalock tried too hard and seemed a bit out of step with the whole feel of the movie. All in all, a very satisfying bit of sdary creepiness."
Shadow Puppets
Casey C. Corpier | 02/09/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Anyway Kiddies, What does a Vulcan, a Vampire, The Candyman and a hot chick have in common. Shadow Puppets.
What we have here is a small group of people who are all stuck in a strange place with no memory of who they are and why they are there.
Members of the group include James Marsters from Buffy and Angel as well as Jolene Blalock from Enterprise, not to mention My good friend Tony Todd and I can't forget the lovely Natasha Alam who decides to strip down to her...nakedness and go for a swim despite the fact that she knows that she is in eminent danger but I can't hold that against her.
Now what I didn't mention before that cast rant was the fact that while our group is trying to figure out what is gong on hey are being chased by a gialn black shadow creature that can stab them and eat them alive. I'm honestly trying to figure out what the hell that thing was. The unfortionate truth kiddies is that they did try to explain just what it was and i still cant figure it out.
Shadow Puppets was a real big reminder of the movie Cube however i feel that this flick had a slightly bigger budget. and when I say slightly I do really mean that.
The truth is the money more than likely went to the cast because they had some pretty hard hitters. the monster was clearly CGI but I'm not going to give it too hard of a time for that. Also the film only really used two locations so I have to give them props for working with what they had. The story was hard to get into at first but I eventully started to like it. I'm actually surprised that this wasn't a SCI-FI original movie before Starz picked it up.
6 Dead Bodies
2 side Breasts
1 Beast
shooting
stabbing
Bashing
Death by sensory deprivation
Hot Chick swimming
3 Stars
DVD features a good Documentry with cast and crew interviews as well as some good Trailers
Check it out"
Not Bad
Ronald F. Minnick | Louisville, Ky | 01/04/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I rented this flick because it had one of my favorite Star Trek actors, Jolene Blalock. I watched the trailer, thinking the movie was going to be a poorly shot and edited film with bad acting. Boy was I surprised when I found myself engaged by the plot, which was a combination of "Lost" and the "Cube." It had all the elements for a good horror and even featured the guy who played Candyman, which is one of the scariest movies of all-time. Without giving too much away about Shadow Puppets, I will say the bad guy is not who HE seems and he caused the evil shadows to exist. While everything about this movie was solid, you could tell it lacked the budget of the big blockbusters. The quality of the pictures were fine and again, the acting was good, but you could really tell the lack of money when it came to sound. In several scenes, the actors' voices echoed or you just couldn't hear them. Still, Shadow Puppets is worth the watch."