TV veteran Tom Cavanagh ('Ed', 'Scrubs', 'The Flash') stars in this made-for-video horror movie from Warner Bros. and Raw Feed. Tom plays George Grieves, a successful I.T. guy and family man who goes into the hospital for a routine colonoscopy the day after his 40th birthday. But everything goes wrong, in a series of increasingly bizarre, surreal, and graphic encounters, and the viewer is left to wonder how much is reality and how much is a dark fantasy fabricated by the main character. It appears that this hospital is a dangerous place where patients can get brutalized, and an enigmatic, intimidating male nurse (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, a long way from Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington) will terrorize George repeatedly.
'Sublime' does work on more than one level. If one is simply looking for horror and gore, they may find this one overlong, pretentious, and ponderous, with occasional rewards of some very disturbing violence. Make no mistake: it DOES go on for quite a bit, but it also is intelligent and ambitious, containing some pointed dialogue and giving viewers some food for thought. It's also obviously very critical of the health care establishment. While what happens to George is clearly an over the top dramatization, mistakes *can* and *do* occur despite the best intentions of health care professionals.
Most important is that 'Sublime' does have a heart, and never loses sight of its characters' emotions. Ultimately, it takes its main character and its audience on an interesting journey. Cavanagh is just the man to lead us through this, with his effortless likability. He's well supported by an engaging cast: Kathleen York, Kat Coiro, David Clayton Rogers, Cas Anvar, Shanna Collins, Kyle Gallner, Dan Gerrity, John Rubinstein, Paget Brewster, Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter, George Newbern, and Michael Gregory. It features character actress Lilyan Chauvin, best known as Mother Superior in "Silent Night, Deadly Night", in one of her final roles.
The film is written by Erik Jendresen, an Emmy winner whose credits include 'Killing Lincoln' and 'Band of Brothers'. (He also appears on screen as Dr. Falk.) It's directed by Tony Krantz, the executive producer of '24'. The two also collaborated on another Warner Bros. / Raw Feed picture, the dark comedy 'Otis'. It features excellent widescreen photography by Dermott Downs and haunting music by Peter Golub and Anthony Marinelli, and is, in general, worth a look for genre fans.
Seven out of 10.
'Sublime' does work on more than one level. If one is simply looking for horror and gore, they may find this one overlong, pretentious, and ponderous, with occasional rewards of some very disturbing violence. Make no mistake: it DOES go on for quite a bit, but it also is intelligent and ambitious, containing some pointed dialogue and giving viewers some food for thought. It's also obviously very critical of the health care establishment. While what happens to George is clearly an over the top dramatization, mistakes *can* and *do* occur despite the best intentions of health care professionals.
Most important is that 'Sublime' does have a heart, and never loses sight of its characters' emotions. Ultimately, it takes its main character and its audience on an interesting journey. Cavanagh is just the man to lead us through this, with his effortless likability. He's well supported by an engaging cast: Kathleen York, Kat Coiro, David Clayton Rogers, Cas Anvar, Shanna Collins, Kyle Gallner, Dan Gerrity, John Rubinstein, Paget Brewster, Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter, George Newbern, and Michael Gregory. It features character actress Lilyan Chauvin, best known as Mother Superior in "Silent Night, Deadly Night", in one of her final roles.
The film is written by Erik Jendresen, an Emmy winner whose credits include 'Killing Lincoln' and 'Band of Brothers'. (He also appears on screen as Dr. Falk.) It's directed by Tony Krantz, the executive producer of '24'. The two also collaborated on another Warner Bros. / Raw Feed picture, the dark comedy 'Otis'. It features excellent widescreen photography by Dermott Downs and haunting music by Peter Golub and Anthony Marinelli, and is, in general, worth a look for genre fans.
Seven out of 10.