Suspend your disbelief a bit here, but what movie doesn't require it? It is basically 127 Hours or Open Water in a swimming pool.
Two sisters visit a public pool the eve before a long holiday weekend. One loses her engagement ring in the pool so both swim down for it. Unaware the sisters are still under the water, Tobin Bell closes the fiberglass covering, trapping the sisters underneath.
Unlike most trapped movies, this is differently NOT a horror movie. Or a horror-thriller. In the end, this film is a drama about the demons three women face over the course of 12 hours.
If this film has a big issue it's that we aren't given a sense of a ticking clock. We are not made aware what time they get trapped, or how long they have been under the covering as time goes on.
Above I said the film takes place over the course of 12 hours, but that is a guess, there is no way of knowing. Other than it's still night when the end comes (I think, there are no windows).
What a trapped-thriller NEEDS is a ticking clock.
We need to know how long the trapped have been in this situation. We need to know how long it will be before we can expect rescue. The film only states the pool will be closed for the holiday weekend, which basically means long enough for them to die. Not good enough.
That small - but major - issue aside, this is a tight thriller.
Well-made and slick at every turn. The leads are likable enough and the actresses give them simple human touches that many might overlook.
The film's villain is the best part but I won't spoil who that is here. Wish there had been more with the villain.
The final scenes leave a bit to be desired as the film opts for the opposite direction of most trapped-thrillers. I'm going to leave that vague, but the film ends with a Pixar whimper, instead of a Blum house bang.
And we all know which one of those studio's movies we prefer.
So is the ending bad? Not by any means. It's just not what this guy expected. But that's sometimes a welcome change of pace. As a guy that can count out every beat of every movie as I'm watching it, this flick surprised me with its ending.
And that's something.
Two sisters visit a public pool the eve before a long holiday weekend. One loses her engagement ring in the pool so both swim down for it. Unaware the sisters are still under the water, Tobin Bell closes the fiberglass covering, trapping the sisters underneath.
Unlike most trapped movies, this is differently NOT a horror movie. Or a horror-thriller. In the end, this film is a drama about the demons three women face over the course of 12 hours.
If this film has a big issue it's that we aren't given a sense of a ticking clock. We are not made aware what time they get trapped, or how long they have been under the covering as time goes on.
Above I said the film takes place over the course of 12 hours, but that is a guess, there is no way of knowing. Other than it's still night when the end comes (I think, there are no windows).
What a trapped-thriller NEEDS is a ticking clock.
We need to know how long the trapped have been in this situation. We need to know how long it will be before we can expect rescue. The film only states the pool will be closed for the holiday weekend, which basically means long enough for them to die. Not good enough.
That small - but major - issue aside, this is a tight thriller.
Well-made and slick at every turn. The leads are likable enough and the actresses give them simple human touches that many might overlook.
The film's villain is the best part but I won't spoil who that is here. Wish there had been more with the villain.
The final scenes leave a bit to be desired as the film opts for the opposite direction of most trapped-thrillers. I'm going to leave that vague, but the film ends with a Pixar whimper, instead of a Blum house bang.
And we all know which one of those studio's movies we prefer.
So is the ending bad? Not by any means. It's just not what this guy expected. But that's sometimes a welcome change of pace. As a guy that can count out every beat of every movie as I'm watching it, this flick surprised me with its ending.
And that's something.