Needle (2010)

4/10

Billy_Crash18 March 2012

Part of what makes us indulge in horror movies is to see death presented to us in a different manner, through a story that compels us. NEEDLE had a wonderful premise with a wonderful little mystery that screenwriters Anthony Egan and John V. Soto (who also directed) could not bring to light.

And that really bothers the heck out of me.

If the pair had really invested in a riveting narrative, this could have comprised the mystery element of the United States based version of THE RING with Clive Barkers HELLRAISER for one potent and unforgettable horror. Instead, after coming up with a wild idea, Egan and Soto clearly didn't know what to do with it. Instead, it became hack-and-slice cinema that offered little stimulation to the senses. By movie's end, the tale had become so old and lame, the climax was abysmal and unsatisfactory. In fact, it cheats the audience and sets up a sequel, though I doubt they'll ever have the chance – unless an intelligent producer with deep pockets comes along and shows them how to do it the right way.

At first, when the lame commercial-hard rock commenced as Ben (Michael Dorman) ran across a college campus, I thought this was going to be typical teen fair. Then the premise was revealed and intrigue set in – only to collapse into typical teen fair. Worst still, Travis Fimmel, who played Ben's older brother, came off as being creepy in one scene, and a determined guy out to solve the mystery in another. Now, this did not leave the audience with an enigmatic character (such as Stellan Skarsgård in INSOMNIA or Ji-tae Yu in NATURAL CITY) but a confusing one. However, seeing how the story imploded into mediocrity, I have little doubt the director had told me to act in this manner. Think of George Lucas directing kids (unless they're stuffed into ewok costumes) and you'll get the idea.

Revenge horrors have become a "give me a break" kind of subgenre, that is a simple and clichéd plot device for writers and directors to use as an excuse to slaughter. NEEDLE reminds us filmmakers need to deliver so much more. And this movie is only worth watching to see how a couple of writers came up with a great idea and didn't know how to make it work.

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6/10

Better then a poke in the eye with a hot needle!!

lojitsu30 July 2017

Warning: Spoilers

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Needle" (R - 2010 - Australia)

Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Slasher

My Score: 6.1

Cast=4 Acting=5 Plot=8 Ending=7 Story=7 Scare=5 Jump=6 F/X=7 Creep=6 Blood=6

An archaeology student inherits an 18th century mechanical device known as "Le Vaudo Mort". At a party he flaunts the machine in front of his closest friends and discovers that the machine has a sinister past.

Your fate has been chosen, but that doesn't mean you have to watch this movie. It looked like it was trying to be "Hellraiser" at first, but the voodoo element was pretty fun. It tries to be a mystery, but I don't think they succeeded there. I liked the premise...it was my favorite part of the film. They could have done more with it, but it's worth a watch like it is! Either way, it's better than a hot needle in your eye!!

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6/10

Unexpectedly good

funnycommentor22 December 2021

The plot of the movie was just ok. The characters were basic, no one was interesting. The storyline has some similarities with the movie "Polaroid" (2019). The kills were unexpectedly gory, they were nice. Even though, the idea of a cursed machine that kills people was kinda stupid, it was portrayed well.. It wasn't scary. The ending was unexpected, it was kinda silly. However, it does makes sense. Overall, it's just an enjoyable movie that keeps you intense from start to finish.

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A very slick and well made film - go see it!

Blue_dwarf13 November 2010

I've been meaning to write this review since I first watched it at the "CinfestOz" Premiere in Busselton a few months back. After reading some of the highly critical and unfair reviews I thought I would put in my two cents worth. I support any film made in Perth, particularly if they use WA crews. (I work in the industry, but did not work on this film, unfortunately). "Needle", "Blame" and "Wasted on the Young" are three examples of quality WA films that have been made on low budgets.

The DOP on Needle was Steve Windon and its clear his eye has had a huge influence on the look of the film - it looks very slick. Although I believe this was shot on Digital, it looks like they used 35MM cameras.

The story is very fresh. I admit to being wary about watching an Australian "horror movie" as most have been terrible in the past, but this film is a breath of fresh air. I have never seen a film where the killer uses a machine that makes voodoo dolls. Congratulations to the writers for thinking of this new device. Although the film has the same generic elements of a slasher, the characters, locations and story set this as a quality film with some major unique differences.

The film has a slower pace than most frenetic (and usually bad) US slashers and I noted some of the reviewers have criticized the film for this - they couldn't be more wrong! I loved spending time with the characters and when they started to get killed off I did start to feel the tension gradually rising and rising until the climatic end.

I have noted from their website that they are promoting the murder mystery element of Needle and without doubt this is the strongest part of the film. I certainly did not work out the killer until the reveal and this was a great surprise.

Overall my opinion is that this is a good film, well worth watching. I can't wait to see this again when its released in cinemas in Australia!

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3/10

Boring and Predictable with Fake Reviews

claudio_carvalho9 November 2010

Warning: Spoilers

In the Saint Mary's College, the student Ben Rutherford (Michael Dorman) inherits a strange device from his deceased father. However, the device is stolen and out of the blue his friends are murdered, one by one, in a bizarre way. Ben and is brother Marcus (Travis Fimmel) have been estranged for years, but they get close again and discover that the machine is a tool built for revenge by Rubenstein in the Eighteenth Century. Further they also find that their father had killed his partner Robert Shawn ten years ago and now someone is seeking revenge for the sins of their father.

"Needle" is a boring and predictable teen horror movie. I was surprised with the two favorable reviews of this unoriginal film in IMDb, but they are fake and written by "users" that have only one review to promote this flick. "Lost Boys: The Thirst", for example, is promoted the same way in IMDb and I will certainly receive many negative votes and another favorable fake review will be written immediately after this one (this is the usual procedure). My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Força Oculta" ("Occult Force")

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5/10

The "Hardy Boys" vs. Revenge machine

Someguysomwhere5 December 2010

Estranged brothers Ben and Marcus come together ( like the "Hardy Boys") to solve the systematic killing of Ben's school chums.

This movie is basically a "murder Mystery". The only thing that set's it apart from most is the method the murderer is using to off his victims. Let me say right here that I don't believe describing the murder weapon in some detail spoils anything for you (Boloxxxi NEVER spoils; not intentionally anyway). But if you believe it does, then STOP RIGHT THERE!!! Advance to the next reviewer and collect $200.00.

Made or acquired in the 1800's, the instrument of death is a "revenge" machine that operates on voodoo principles in that it uses a wax figure and photo of it's victims. It has a side drawer that holds a crank that is inserted in a special slot that "winds it up" or get's it going once these steps are taken: (1) A wax image or symbol is made of the victim; (2) blood is drawn from the avenger and poured into an ornate circular receptacle at the top; (3) a retractable viewer of some kind is pulled up from what looks like a "coin" or "card" slot and a small photo of the unlucky bastard --sorry, "victim" is placed in it and pushed back down into the machine; (4) a long needle is selected from a collection in a drawer of the machine to be heated and used with the wax figure (Positively fiendish, what?)

I liked this movie as a simple, solid murder mystery. So though I thought the revenge machine was an interesting take on the voodoo idea, the way it's victims died was not that interesting to me; that is to say, no more so than if a gun or knife were used. What was interesting to me was who was doing it and why. That is what kept me going. Before I saw the movie I thought it was going to be another of those typical young people horror films. You know; clueless, beer-guzzling, libido-driven, party loving teens getting knocked off one by one. I was surprised how straight forward this movie was played out as a murder mystery (sans a lot of "teen antics") with brothers Ben and Marcus playing detectives.

Finally, though not exceptional, this movie is a solid murder mystery from the perspective of young people around whom the story revolves; it is methodical and sober as Ben and Marcus try to get over their differences and solve the killings at the same time. So if you are looking for horror or want to be "horrified" this is not your movie. But if you want to be "mystified", it is (though you could stay home and achieve the same effect by going through some of the bills you owe). Love, Boloxxxi.

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5/10

Don't be deceived by great reviews

roberty4311 December 2011

My advice can only be please read as many reviews as possible before deciding to watch this movie. I had just recently rented 'The Resident' (Hilary Swank) but returned it without watching it on the basis of a few IMDb negative reviews. I then rented the Needle on the basis of a series of positive reviews (IMDB). This was a mistake. In my opinion at least, the film appeared to go to lengths to give the impression it was a quality production, whilst there were just too many flaws to bear this out / sustain interest. The acting seemed a little wooden, the actors themselves appearing a little inhibited / self conscious...conscious that they were indeed acting, the scenes having a kind of 'reality show' feel about them. As mentioned earlier, the array of accents was confusing. I watched it for about 15 minutes. Seemingly out of context, an isolated 'f' word made it's debut. It really seemed incongruous, as though its use was requested to substantiate the young, student centred horror genre the film was appealing to. (watched 'Devil' recently - apart from how one may judge the film, so refreshing to get away from this word, even temporarily).

In any case, there seemed to be no sense of build up of suspense or expectation. The scenes didn't seem to build on one another through a common thread of direction or focus - seemed a little like a concoction of events (student defiance of teachers - ie in lecture hall, parties / relationships,etc) were thrown in to convince us that these were indeed compulsory elements of any teen based horror movie. However, these, as again mentioned earlier, seemed only to detract from any developing theme.

After a while, I could say, well this has happened, and that just happened and that guy just suffered a horrible death etc etc ...so why aren't I interested in what's coming up next? Perhaps I could have given the movie more time, but the movie just wasn't working, for me at least.

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7/10

Gory and fun

TdSmth524 July 2012

Some college kid inherits a mysterious box. He checks with specialists and discovers that it's quite valuable and some people are interested in it. It also was used in the past for magic acts.

When the kid's creepy brother appears, with whom he hasn't spoken for years, the box mysteriously disappears. And now, one by one his friends start dying in brutal, gory, and bizarre ways. One of them for example, has his limbs torn and broken without any apparent cause. But we do know what is happening. The killer is using the box, photographs of the victims, blood and wax to create a tiny voodoo doll to dismember and poke with needles.

The brother is also coincidentally a crime scene photographer who for some reason can't wipe a cocky smile off his face no matter what gory scene he's called to.

The kid's friends include a bunch of very attractive girls, one which is interested in him but he's rather shy. Eventually the kid and his brother by chance run into the killer and they find out why the killer is doing it.

Needle has an interesting premise, a good cast, is very gory, and it's frankly quite endearing to see Australians dealing with each other, which is a much more human and kind way than obnoxious bickering American movie characters. In particular the relationship between the kid and his love interest is well done. This movie is quite the opposite of American horror that often is nasty and mean spirited but lacks gore or violence. This movie is good-natured and filled with good people but it sure is gory. Nudity is sorely lacking and so is perhaps a villain, after all you really don't see or know much about him till the very end. The idea of a voodoo doll-creating machine is also pretty interesting. The death scenes are excellent. Overall a recommended horror movie that has an interesting way of blending violence and gore with a fairly gentle tone.

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5/10

Good idea, not good movie.

Paulo_Clemente8 January 2019

When a student, Ben, inherit a strange box from his dead father he seeks help from friends and from one teacher to find out more about the box. Suddenly his friends start to die mysteriously.

Nice killings voodoo style, but some times the sequence of the story was strange and the acting in my opinion is not that good. On the beginning my suspicions about the killer went in a very different way, and that´s a good thing , you want to get surprised when you watch a movie..

My opinion it´s an ok movie.

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7/10

I actually liked it.

youngcountry849 October 2016

I'm not in the entertainment industry at all. While I've watched A LOT of different kinds of movies, I'm not an expert in the way a movie is made. I'm not an expert in direction, acting, lighting, production, or the 1000 other things that go into making a movie. I'm only an expert in sitting on my couch with a blanket & a snack while watching movies & I have a lot of colleagues! I'm not qualified to comment on these things so I won't.

I was a little surprised because this movie hooked me pretty fast. I'm not saying it was great but the idea is an awesome one. I watched it on the Chiller Channel. If you're not familiar with Chiller, it's kind of the Syfy of horror movies. I guess whether or not you'll like it depends on your taste in movies. There are some gory parts- but it is more thriller than horror. It's a who-dun-it type of movie. It's done like most who-dun-it movies are and can be a little predictable. It's worth a watch- but maybe you should lower your expectations just in case. You may be surprised in a good way.

At St.Mary's College, we meet a kid named Ben. He's your usual ornery college kid who likes to party with his group of friends. Thanks to his late father, he inherits an 18th century box built by a French artist named Rubinstein. He called the box "Le Vaudou Mort". (Vaudou means voodoo and Mort means death in French.) The box is cool looking- something I'd totally buy at some flea market or yard sale but for some reason, it doesn't really look old. Anyway based on the name of the box, it's easy to figure out that Ben's life is going to change for the absolute worst. Curious? I would be if I was reading this. So give it a try. It won't kill you.

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4/10

Generic movie with a good idea - bad execution

mike_brunton13 November 2010

I will start by saying as always, I am a horror movie fan, if I wasn't my score would have been lower. Serial killer uses fiendish means to kill group of college students - heard it before? Oh yes we have, about a zillion times. Therefore, some things have to be avoided, such as poor acting, terrible scripts and a reasonably obvious unsatisfying conclusion. There were some good points, I too liked the mechanism for dealing death, it was suitably creepy although all the deaths were 'samey', a little more intelligent thinking could have gone into the various bloody demises. For a group of 'close' friends we were never ever given that impression, some poor scripts, along with the poor acting were to blame here, I can't help but compare this to Rod Zombie's Halloween 2000 or something where a similar group of college students were shaking it up before Jason comes along and puts a permanent dampener on the proceedings. Once again, if you are going to copy an idea that has been done a thousand times, then head down to a college bar, get the permission of the students to film them drunk and steaming/stoned and copy the absolute randomness that comes out of their tiny little minds. I can guarantee you it will be better than some 40 year odd scriptwriters harking back to his glory days. Overall, could have been better, but not by a lot. Once again, I felt disappointed that the horror genre is filled with low budget, seen it a million times movies. Come on budding Neil Marshalls, let's have some originality and decent directing.

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8/10

Highly Entertaining

BradAMajor22 February 2011

I happened to be in LA during Screamfest (really enjoyed the festival had a great atmosphere!). I tagged along with a group of friends who are die-hard horror/thriller fans, while myself I tend to steer away from the genre, mainly because it's a genre that has seen it all.

But I found Needle to be highly enjoyable, a device that allows a killer to kill their victims without physically killing them is a highly refreshing concept.

While I would of loved to have something more in the deaths (after the first two dying similar deaths) it still captivated me as I tried to work out who was picking apart this group of friends and why (I genuinely didn't pick the killer till the reveal at the end).

The cinematography was fantastic and was surprised to learn that it was actually a horror film produced entirely in Australia. Well worth seeing, can't wait to take my girlfriend to it and watch her squirm at the deaths! ☺

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6/10

Needle

Scarecrow-8827 June 2015

Warning: Spoilers

"You're running out of friends."

An "ancient curiosity", built as a "tool of vengeance", by a French artist, Rubenstein, who named it "Le Vaudou Mort", finds its way into the possession of a college student named Ben (Michael Dorman) after his father dies. His estranged brother, kind of a black sheep, named Marcus (Travis Fimmel), has become a crime photographer. Marcus and Ben reconnect after two years apart since their pop's accident, and because the former has been photographing the crime scenes of the latter's friends, it does allow the two to figure out why this is all happening.

Kind of a nifty concept (an antique "kill box" that, when a photograph is provided in this little slot, builds a wax figure which, when damaged, tortures and kills the person on said picture), with a detective story (who is behind the murders of Ben's friends and why?) that utilizes it in the way of the slasher. The violence can be quite potent and shocking (particularly the death of Luke Carroll, portraying college news reporter, as his body shows internal burning cuts and ongoing breaks), while the story regarding a box that kills for a particular person using it based on revenge is not the standard slasher mainstay the genre is accustomed to. As the friends die, and the numbers dwindle, only a few suspects could possibly exist: think Clue, with a supernatural box as the weapon instead of the candlestick or wrench, and suspects/killers are college kids. Even the college professor of archaeological studies doesn't last long due to her knowledge of the machine: a big no-no.

The "sins of the father" aspect that happens from time to time in murder mysteries, giallo thrillers, and slashers returns, as Ben's friends die not necessarily because of anything he's done as much as what his pops might have. Marcus is an unusual kind of hero as he has this swagger and cock in his walk while Ben is uneasy and shaky during their investigations into the murders and the box. The "brothers bonding as they go after the murder" aspect is a nice addition to what could have been the standard issue "final girl must discover the killer" routine.

Cast includes Trilby Glover and Jessica Marais as lesbian lovers, Nathaniel Buzolic as the jock, Tahyna Tozzi as Ben's love interest, and Khan Chittenden as the pal pining for Marais. John Jarrett as a coroner is a hoot, with a coffee/espresso addiction. Being behind the murders of those you were supposed to care about is a rather morbid touch. Tozzi is the kind of babe most guys aren't too unaware of regarding her interest in them; this does resort in many of us rolling in our eyes, but these things happen in slasher movies. Attractive movie, and it has good special effects, even if the reasoning behind the murders is a bit old-hat and shopworn.

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5/10

Very flawed movie but it shows promise!

chrichtonsworld24 April 2011

Basically this is a slasher movie. The one thing that stands out is the method used by the killer. Not going to say it but the title word is pretty explanatory (For one moment you will get this Hellraiser vibe when the method is used,which was even more promising,but it is far from it). Prepare yourself for some gory death scenes. There are elements however that prevent from "Needle" becoming a classic. First the acting by some of the cast. Travis Fimmel really seems to be going to much overboard with his laid back attitude.It is downright annoying. The main character however is even worse. He goes from sensible to a complete idiot in no time.Supposedly he was to express like he was in shock or something.But then observing the other actors it came across that not everyone took the plot very seriously. And while I understand the absurdity of the content. For a horror movie like this to work at least the actors should not act like it is one big comedy. The sense of dread should be there and it wasn't. The slow pace also isn't helping much. There were too many scenes that had no purpose other than filler scenes.Resulting in a less thrilling affair.But if you can overlook and accept the flaws in plot you will be able to enjoy it.

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Gears Of Gore...

azathothpwiggins26 November 2021

NEEDLE is a nice slab of revenge-horror with a supernatural edge. It concerns a group of college friends who begin dying in godawful -and quite original- ways, after one of them inherits a mysterious wooden box. The survivors must figure out how to stop the carnage if they want to live.

Just imagine if SAW's Jigsaw was a practitioner of black magic, and you'll have some idea of where this movie goes.

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- The cool-looking box of doom! #2- The way the box works!

Ghoulish stuff indeed.

Watch for John Jarratt as the Coroner...

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2/10

Very mediocre, and no credit to the Australian film industry

psandbergnz7 December 2010

I found this movie shallow. The plot is thin, and generally "dumbed down", with the acting mediocre. Actor Travis Fimmel (the estranged brother and photographer) came across as quite unconvincing, as if he was hardly affected by the scenes of gore, and his expressions were often incongruous. Michael Dorman (his brother) started well, but his acting in the scene of desperation near the end was lame (reflecting poor directing) and poorly executed.

I suppose the little bit of sexual titillation (played by the two attractive female students) was deemed likely to increase the ratings and to create some side interest. All in all, the movie doesn't really "work".

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5/10

Really flawed but unique slasher effort

kannibalcorpsegrinder23 July 2014

After inheriting a strange box following his parents' death, a teen and his friends are the victims of a series of grisly and brutal deaths by unseen figures and realize the box is being used for revenge against the friends.

This turned out to be rather flawed and an overall disappointing effort. Despite this being based around an incredibly enjoyable concept, the main storyline here is so off that it really does the film far more harm by being the way it is, which is all due to the way this plays out. The main killer's motive for targeting the friends is so inherently lame that it's laughed off if heard in real life, and the characters in the film react as such by being unable to take it seriously since it's never once treated as something other than a comical joke when the reasons are revealed so this makes for quite a difficult time adjusting to things if the characters themselves don't take what happens seriously. As well, this ends up making the film's final half come off even more lame and disappointing by subjecting the motivations for the rampage at this section of the film as the reasons for why they're being targeted is never explored at all and it really tends to focus so heavily on this section that the rest of the film is a long, drawn-out series of bland sequences that have nothing to do with the killer's rampage against them as it instead focuses on the strained-brothers angle for the majority of the running time. None of these segments end up doing the film any favors in finding out crucial information about anything here, as the killer is forced to explain their hilariously illogical motivations at the end and the central box itself is such a mystery that the majority of the fear it's supposed to garner is squashed by only one semi-literate sequence where they explain the history and legacy but in such brief, passing tones that it's impossible to really get a handle on what this is and why it's to be feared. Each of these flaws ends up hurting the film quite heavily because there's some rather engaging potential on display, most notably in how the deaths are meted out which are incredibly bloody and gory and offer up quite a lot of carnage that's quite effectively rendered. The bloodshed is made more potent by the fact that the mystery box is capable of striking anywhere so these early sequences leading up to the death are truly chilling and suspenseful and really go a long way towards making this something to be feared. However, the majority of this is so flawed that these segments don't do this much good.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

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4/10

OK Premise - Bad Ending

gregsrants23 December 2010

In John V. Soto's Needle, a killer uses an 18th century box with extraordinary and deathly powers to rein havoc on a group of friends at Saint Mary's College. The box is the size of a jewelry case and when a picture of someone is put into a secret slot, a wax figure of the person is created to where the killer can stick pins, break off limbs and just make life miserable for the person the figure represents.

We get introduced to the box when student Ben Rutherford inherits the relic from his recently deceased father. But before you can say, "Oh my god, I am bored", the device is stolen and soon an unidentified killer begins to use the machine on Ben's group of friends leaving them butchered, blind and bleeding with nothing more than a few pin pricks.

Ben (Michael Dorman) and his brother Marcus (Travis Fimmel) figure out the sinister nature of the device and begin a search for the killer while attempting to warn their friends of their impending deadhood.

Needle is a get-in-line movie. It got in line with stereotypical characters, a half-descent story that fails to execute on the premise and a bunch of forgettable characters and situations leading up to their eventual demise. And the story of the sins of the father coming back to haunt the children was justwell – stupid.

This is OK if you don't aspire to be anything more than another horror film entry with above average DVD cover art. But Needle drops the ball by taking the fun out of the idea. And the ending which reveals to us the evil Wizard behind the curtain, was poorly played and filled with a bunch of 'now why would they do that' situations and discussions.

I really wanted to like Needle. I sure as hell want the device that was used in the film (I have a neighbor that might find himself with a few less limbs if I had the opportunity). But throughout the running time, I was just bored. The kills were OK (we loved the hand coming off), but we recognize that within a week, this film will find itself into the recesses of the brain where you can't distinguish this title from any of the other horror-of-the-week type entries.

www.killerreviews.com

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6/10

Effective Aussie horror

Leofwine_draca6 February 2016

NEEDLE is a film that I'd never heard of before seeing the cover. It intrigued me, looking like a HELLRAISER rip off with a mysterious kind of puzzle box being used to commit evil acts, so I thought I'd try it out. What I uncovered was a surprisingly enjoyable little movie that comes across as very familiar but made for a good evening's viewing all the same.

The storyline is indeed HELLRAISER themed, albeit with a few voodoo-themed twists. A bunch of high school students are tormented by a mystery villain who has the power to kill from afar. The horror content is strong stuff indeed, as the film is packed with some very gruesome death scenes which are effectively staged. It's a shame the director hasn't made more films in the horror genre given the strength of his work here.

Even better, one of the leads is played by VIKINGS star Travis Fimmel, who's always a delight to see on screen. Fimmel is well supported by the likes of Ben Mendelsohn playing the investigating cop, and in particularly a small but excellent turn from John Jarratt playing the local coroner. The scenes between Fimmel and Jarratt were a dream come true for this viewer, and I can only wish that Jarrett had more screen time. Still, it's enough...

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3/10

Fair enough

mooreyr24 March 2020

Warning: Spoilers

I can not understand the decision to make protagonist such a sissy that you wish he would have died first and the rest would have been spared. Who would stand and watch his brother got shot and then stabbed multiple times. Who can be so sissy that can get beaten in hand to hand fight with a non trained female who is considerably small and has no advantage of surprise attack either.. Also one of Ben's friend look like 45 year old and still in college. LOL.. Concept is good (not new but good). Direction is shaky yet better than a lot of other horror genre movies. Screenplay is bit slow. Dialogues are predictable and boring, acting is average. All my rating is for the concept of the story.

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6/10

decent killings

trashgang25 January 2012

Needle is one of those so-called horror flicks that you easily can watch with your teenagers. It is not all about the red stuff or a slasher or whatsoever. It's more about who's the killer. Oh yes, there are a few red herrings but still, it's more a thriller than a horror.

Was it bad, no it wasn't because some killings were rather good and even one is a bit gory but the ending was really a bit of a letdown. This was John V. Soto second feature and it was okay. the reason I bought it was because my wife is a huge 'V' fan and Jane Badler is one of those V icons that appear here in this flick. She did well although some did give a mediocre performance.

But overall it wasn't a flick that you will tell about the next day as to say this is a must see. It's one to warm up just before you are going to watch the real stuff.

Gore 2/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

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1/10

Terrible!! All around terrible.

christinenewsom8 July 2023

It's rare that I say a movie is completely not worth watching but this one was just awful. The storyline is so backwards in that they tell you everything they happens but then show the characters figuring it out when you already know what happens so there's no surprise or suspense at all. Some scenes are just all over the place or completely useless to the storyline. Like why is Marcus on a boat, why is Mary try to R word Ben right away when he's wasted af, why are we wandering around looking for the box and the killer happens to be at the history of house of the location as if they cared about the origins. Overall was very boring and they could have cut it down to like 25 minutes honestly. Also the awkward parts where they try to turn it into a love story and it's just not working. And the having a hot lesbian couple just for eye candy and fulfilling males fantasies. Lol hard pass on this one.

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8/10

Something to aspire to

xanthecoen128 February 2011

It's films like Needle that have driven me to become a genre based filmmaker. While I'm only in my final year of film school I've watched quite literally 100's of films in this genre! I had the opportunity to view Needle at a private screening earlier this year, at first I thought it was another run of the mill teens die movie which it still is, however it was first class in the way that they die, it actually made me go back to my script that I'm writing and look at my own killer and if there are ways I could be more original and creative.

Overall the script was nicely presented on screen however some of the acting in stages seemed underdone (above comment when Travis' character doesn't seemed phased about the gruesome death of someone he knows) and when the killer is revealed seems slightly overacted by the actor (still haven't been able to work out if this is the result of the script, actor or director).

However highly entertaining and refreshing, it showed me there is still plenty of life left in the genre that I love and can't wait to direct!

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6/10

Not bad for a little horror movie

JoeB13121 December 2011

Warning: Spoilers

Actually, this wasn't a bad little film.

The plot is that the sons of an antique dealer who murdered his rival find his home Voodoo Doll machine, and promptly lose it. Their friends start getting picked off one by one.

The mystery is slowly unraveled by the protagonists in an encouraging way while the subplot of the unresolved anger between the two brothers also unwinds. So it's a good film all around.

The performances are pretty good, although I think some of the characters are underdeveloped and only there to be victims. Still, worth a rental if you still have a blockbuster in your neighborhood.

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5/10

Hot chicks, bad acting, stupid ending..

DBLurker29 May 2015

Concept is interesting but the ending felt like whole movie was supposed to be a comedy. The male 'lead' can't act, can't even react to people being killed or shot.

His big brother is the only one who can act but I swear that guy was on weed throughout the movie. Overall, good premise, bad acting, stupid ending.

I'll give it 5/10 since I never really got bored enough to turn off the movie. Sat through it all, mildly amused and ending made me laugh. :P Also, hot girls making out plus hot love interest. In their scenes, nobody gave a *beep* about what they were saying, that's why they were in the movie, eye-candy, and it worked.

Is the movie really worth watching? Yeah, if you have nothing else to watch (I didn't).

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