The Task and Smoke, Mirrors and Red Herrings: A Movie Review

Director: Alex Orwell.

Writer: Kenny Yakkel.

Cast: Texas Battle, Alexandra Staden, Victor McGuire and Adam Rayner.

The reality television based horror film is a difficult genre to pull off. From WatchUsDie.Com (2001) to FeardotCom (2002) and even farther back to the Running Man (1987), there have been a lot of films that try to capitalize on reality shows and their weak messages of the price of fame. The Task, a movie from After Dark Films, begins like a few of the films mentioned above, but Kenny Yakkel's script gains momentum as time ticks down. Overall, the film asks viewers to question what is real and what is not real? These are two questions that allow The Task to provide an interesting, unexpected twist ending.

Six contestants are kidnapped off the streets (of obvious closed sets) to appear on a television show which offers them 24K to stay overnight in a supposed haunted prison. Your contestants are the usual horror stereotypes including: the genius/nerd, the blonde bimbo, the token minority, the very gay man and the final surviving girl. Where was the football hero in this one? All of these characters are handcuffed and placed in the Warden's office. Also, handcuffing six twenty-somethings together and having them walk through a debris strewn location must be an insurance risk, surely. Unbelievability aside, these characters must deal with the premonitions of a ghostly warden, while facing their inner most fears. All of this happens on camera, for future television screens.

Yet, the show does not go off without a few hitches. Connie (Alexandra Staden) notices something is amiss when certain characters do not return from performing specific supernatural tasks. She investigates to find events are not as they seem. A large man is stalking characters down darkened halls. Late in the film, certain red herrings develop, which might unedge some viewers. Others watching might see a double twist ending coming their way. However, the writing from Yakkel is constantly trying to unsettle the audience by keeping what is real behind the curtan.

This is where the entertainment value of The Task lies. Here, the plot devices of isolation cells, shadowy meat and darkened corridors feed of each other to create an atmosphere of corrupted evil. Slow in the beginning, the film begins to pick up speed in the second half, as perception is skewed. Pedro Calderon questioned reality in his 17th Century title Life is a Dream and the Wachowski Brothers created a series of films that looked at distorted perception through the Matrix trilogy. The Task does not go this far, but realities come into question when some characters appear living from the dead, while others succumb to their worst nightmares. The end result is an enjoyable time, spent in the darkness - searching for answers.

The Task released July 26th on DVD after a brief theatrical showing in January of 2011. This production was created as part of the After Dark Originals, which is a series of eight independently and low budget horror films released throughout the year. This film is good for a one time watch, as certain writing tricks keep the plot twisting and turning. This is one reality which keeps changing, allowing the mystery to create the minor, somewhat surprising thrills.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10.

A second review of this film at DVD Talk (Justin Felix):

The Task Reviewed at DVD Talk

Source:

Reality Based Horror Films at Obscure Horror

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