Monday, August 16, 2010
Michael Allen
Director: Steve Shimek.
Writers: Katy Baldwin and Timothy Gutierrez.
The Maze is a film from second time director Steve Shimek (Dragon Hunter) and writers Katy Baldwin and Timothy Gutierrez. The film is moving to DVD October 19th through Monarch Home Video and the film puts "five friends...into a corn maze," (Monarch) where a killer wants to play a game of hide and seek with knives. The film is sheer aMAZEment and horror fans will appreciate the many gory deaths and the slow reveal of the killer, who plays both sides of the law.
The film begins on a dare, as a group of friends challenge each other to enter an abandoned corn maze. A game of tag ensues and soon one addition to the game brings much brutal death via hack and slash, decapitations, strangulation, and a Mexican necktie. One woman goes face with this lunatic and comes out as only a partial winner, with most characters moving into the black unknown.
The tension is well built with music and the mysterious nature of the killer; also, when the action gets under way the stalkings and killings are brutal in nature. Mature in tone, The Maze is a good blend of mystery, suspense, and action, with the natural setting of a farm providing good cover for many murderous misdeeds. Violent and tense, this is one film for fans of independent horror who require both illicit and explicit action.
As well, the dual nature of the killer, who is masked for the first half of the film, shows complexity, but his motivations are never fully revealed. Only slightly disappointing for not adding complexity to the antagonist, The Maze keeps the pacing strong and the character reveals interesting. The ending is somewhat inconclusive, as the heroine's fate is not completely shown, but her fate is up to the viewer. However, the killer's end is much more graphic and worthy of the final confrontation.
The film was completed by Ground Glass Entertainment and The Maze is excellent in writing and production, with few pitfalls along the way. The film will have an initial sale value of $24.95 on DVD through Monarch and the film definitely has rewatchability, with the runtime of ninety minutes moving by at an extraordinary clip. Recommended and enjoyed by this reviewer, The Maze will be available for fans with a pre-order date of September 27th.
Plot/story/attitude: 8 (a little more backstory on the killer required, some of the greatest characters are villains e.g. Shylock from The Merchant of Venice).
Characters/action/interaction: 7 (the protagonists also do not get much in the way of development, but the interactions, conflicts, and dialogue are natural and believable).
Setting/realism: 7.5 (a good idea for a setting - corn mazes are already spooky and associated with dark goingons).
Overall: 7.5 out of 10.
More details on the film at The Maze homepage:
The Maze Official Website
Another film from director Steve Shimek called Dragon Hunter:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
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Writers: Katy Baldwin and Timothy Gutierrez.
The Maze is a film from second time director Steve Shimek (Dragon Hunter) and writers Katy Baldwin and Timothy Gutierrez. The film is moving to DVD October 19th through Monarch Home Video and the film puts "five friends...into a corn maze," (Monarch) where a killer wants to play a game of hide and seek with knives. The film is sheer aMAZEment and horror fans will appreciate the many gory deaths and the slow reveal of the killer, who plays both sides of the law.
The film begins on a dare, as a group of friends challenge each other to enter an abandoned corn maze. A game of tag ensues and soon one addition to the game brings much brutal death via hack and slash, decapitations, strangulation, and a Mexican necktie. One woman goes face with this lunatic and comes out as only a partial winner, with most characters moving into the black unknown.
The tension is well built with music and the mysterious nature of the killer; also, when the action gets under way the stalkings and killings are brutal in nature. Mature in tone, The Maze is a good blend of mystery, suspense, and action, with the natural setting of a farm providing good cover for many murderous misdeeds. Violent and tense, this is one film for fans of independent horror who require both illicit and explicit action.
As well, the dual nature of the killer, who is masked for the first half of the film, shows complexity, but his motivations are never fully revealed. Only slightly disappointing for not adding complexity to the antagonist, The Maze keeps the pacing strong and the character reveals interesting. The ending is somewhat inconclusive, as the heroine's fate is not completely shown, but her fate is up to the viewer. However, the killer's end is much more graphic and worthy of the final confrontation.
The film was completed by Ground Glass Entertainment and The Maze is excellent in writing and production, with few pitfalls along the way. The film will have an initial sale value of $24.95 on DVD through Monarch and the film definitely has rewatchability, with the runtime of ninety minutes moving by at an extraordinary clip. Recommended and enjoyed by this reviewer, The Maze will be available for fans with a pre-order date of September 27th.
Plot/story/attitude: 8 (a little more backstory on the killer required, some of the greatest characters are villains e.g. Shylock from The Merchant of Venice).
Characters/action/interaction: 7 (the protagonists also do not get much in the way of development, but the interactions, conflicts, and dialogue are natural and believable).
Setting/realism: 7.5 (a good idea for a setting - corn mazes are already spooky and associated with dark goingons).
Overall: 7.5 out of 10.
More details on the film at The Maze homepage:
The Maze Official Website
Another film from director Steve Shimek called Dragon Hunter:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
| | |
Stumble It!Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis by Email
Posted in: 2010,horror,katy baldwin,movie review,review,steve shimek,the maze,thriller,timothy gutierrez
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