31 Days of Halloween Day 2: Triangle (2009) (some spoilers)
October 3rd 2010 17:42
Day two of my Halloween cinetastic adventure kicked off with Triangle (2009), a British horror movie starring three Australian actors speaking in fairly convincing American accents. The movie follows a group of ill-fated yuppies who decide to go off yachting, but Jess (Melissa George) tries to spoil the fun by complaining about her autistic son whom she didn't seem to bother inviting on this damn trip.
After the first five minutes of pleasantries, introductions of group dynamics, small portions of character traits, and a complete lack of hedonism to get us rooting for this group of people, we find ourselves immediately thrown into the thick of the action. Their boat capsizes in the middle of a storm, but, the group intact, they decide to seek refuge on a gigantic cruise liner that happens to be swanning past them. Surprisingly/unsurprisingly (take your pick), this boat also happens to be completely empty.
Even if I knew I was in a horror movie, I would rather take my chances with a potentially empty boat than miles of open water, unless I thought it was haunted or something. But then, if the boat is haunted, there might be superhuman haunted ghost sharks in the water, too.
Okay, so I'm trying to forget that a movie about ghost sharks might have been slightly cooler, but that really more reflected my mood while watching the movie (and typing this up) rather than the quality of Triangle. Moving on, then, the poo pretty much hits the fan immediately. Members of this very tiny group are dropping like flies, having been shot by a mysterious masked figure, with no explanation as to who this is, or why it's happening.
What this movie thankfully does is give us the twist as a middle-act, game-changing explanation rather than a "haha f-you viewers!" cinematic bitch-slap right before the end credits start. And for this, we are grateful, because the movie gives us just as much time to figure out exactly what seems to be going on as it does to let us spectate on how it's affecting our heroine Jess, and how, essentially, the movie really is 90% about her.
Thankfully, the film doesn't fall into the narrative trap of blowing the proverbial "it was all a dream/all in her head" raspberry, although it's not terribly far off. However, this is pretty much dealt with towards the end of the middle part of the film, and the final act deals with questions, answers, and a little bit of backstory. And that is where it gets to be a little bit more chilling. As an examination of Jess' history and her eventual motive for being on that boat, it's difficult to pin down exactly where her character evolved, but again, the less said about why this is, the better. All that can be said is that, despite supernatural goings-on, it can still be the human protagonists of whom we should be most frightened.
Globetrekkers should probably note that this takes place in the general area of the Bermuda Triangle (hence the name), so please do let that put you off. If the general idea doesn't, then there are a few brutally terrifying scenes (check out the photography and "set decoration" during one of the mid-movie body dispatch scenes and you'll know what I mean) that will.
Undercutting the tension is a very minimal score, that does not compliment any of the foreboding or spoil any of the shocks - in fact, any crescendoes or tense build-ups, typical of horror movie scores, only kick in after the offending moment has, well, offended, giving the visuals a head start to scare the crap out of us. The bulk of the nerve-wrecking responsibilities, then, falls to Melissa George, who carries her role with enough unconventional realism to make you genuinely fascinated with the character.
Marketed as a straight slasher, this is really more of a psychological, supernatural horror/thriller, with some moments of pretty sickening violence (think Identity but with less orchestra members and "hey, he was in that movie!" near-celebrity-types). It's actually quite unsettling, and sadly some of the poor decisions made by horror movie characters are typically present, but the script itself is generally well-written, as we have absolutely no idea which direction it's going to go in. Without spoiling it, the mechanics of the plot, confounded by the middle-act twist, spin the narrative so far out of control we are as lost and confused as the characters trapped on that boat. And while the tension never lets up, it's the ending that, while feeling extremely unresolved, adds depth to the heroine's plight, and a sense of sadness and futility. Here's hoping they won't ruin it with a sequel.
After the first five minutes of pleasantries, introductions of group dynamics, small portions of character traits, and a complete lack of hedonism to get us rooting for this group of people, we find ourselves immediately thrown into the thick of the action. Their boat capsizes in the middle of a storm, but, the group intact, they decide to seek refuge on a gigantic cruise liner that happens to be swanning past them. Surprisingly/unsurprisingly (take your pick), this boat also happens to be completely empty.
Even if I knew I was in a horror movie, I would rather take my chances with a potentially empty boat than miles of open water, unless I thought it was haunted or something. But then, if the boat is haunted, there might be superhuman haunted ghost sharks in the water, too.
Okay, so I'm trying to forget that a movie about ghost sharks might have been slightly cooler, but that really more reflected my mood while watching the movie (and typing this up) rather than the quality of Triangle. Moving on, then, the poo pretty much hits the fan immediately. Members of this very tiny group are dropping like flies, having been shot by a mysterious masked figure, with no explanation as to who this is, or why it's happening.
What this movie thankfully does is give us the twist as a middle-act, game-changing explanation rather than a "haha f-you viewers!" cinematic bitch-slap right before the end credits start. And for this, we are grateful, because the movie gives us just as much time to figure out exactly what seems to be going on as it does to let us spectate on how it's affecting our heroine Jess, and how, essentially, the movie really is 90% about her.
Thankfully, the film doesn't fall into the narrative trap of blowing the proverbial "it was all a dream/all in her head" raspberry, although it's not terribly far off. However, this is pretty much dealt with towards the end of the middle part of the film, and the final act deals with questions, answers, and a little bit of backstory. And that is where it gets to be a little bit more chilling. As an examination of Jess' history and her eventual motive for being on that boat, it's difficult to pin down exactly where her character evolved, but again, the less said about why this is, the better. All that can be said is that, despite supernatural goings-on, it can still be the human protagonists of whom we should be most frightened.
Globetrekkers should probably note that this takes place in the general area of the Bermuda Triangle (hence the name), so please do let that put you off. If the general idea doesn't, then there are a few brutally terrifying scenes (check out the photography and "set decoration" during one of the mid-movie body dispatch scenes and you'll know what I mean) that will.
Undercutting the tension is a very minimal score, that does not compliment any of the foreboding or spoil any of the shocks - in fact, any crescendoes or tense build-ups, typical of horror movie scores, only kick in after the offending moment has, well, offended, giving the visuals a head start to scare the crap out of us. The bulk of the nerve-wrecking responsibilities, then, falls to Melissa George, who carries her role with enough unconventional realism to make you genuinely fascinated with the character.
Marketed as a straight slasher, this is really more of a psychological, supernatural horror/thriller, with some moments of pretty sickening violence (think Identity but with less orchestra members and "hey, he was in that movie!" near-celebrity-types). It's actually quite unsettling, and sadly some of the poor decisions made by horror movie characters are typically present, but the script itself is generally well-written, as we have absolutely no idea which direction it's going to go in. Without spoiling it, the mechanics of the plot, confounded by the middle-act twist, spin the narrative so far out of control we are as lost and confused as the characters trapped on that boat. And while the tension never lets up, it's the ending that, while feeling extremely unresolved, adds depth to the heroine's plight, and a sense of sadness and futility. Here's hoping they won't ruin it with a sequel.
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