Synopsis
Three college students set out to document what other people dread most.
Dread
2009 Directed by Anthony DiBlasi
Cast
Jackson Rathbone Shaun Evans Hanne Steen Laura Donnelly Jonathan Readwin Vivian Gray Carl McCrystal Steven Clarke Adam Davenport Elissa Dowling Paloma Faith Erin Gavin Siobhan Hewlett Matt Jessup Kieran Murphy Leon Ockenden Elspeth Rae Cheyanne Raymond Zoe Stollery Michelle Tate Iga Wyrwal Kerry Ann Smith Joanne Batten Mark Chiu Ian Pirie Sarah Ball
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This was simply amazing. I was skeptical at first but holy f*ck, it ended up being absolutely beautiful.
I've always had this obsession with fear (hence why I watch so many horror movies) and the whole idea behind this film, to push someone to fight against their own fear (or the beast), is more than spectacular. -
English tl;dr
Overall the directional debut from Anthony DiBlasi is an ambitious project, but still falls short of rising above the average horror movie. The idea itself behind the movie is an interesting one and I have to admit the pay-off has a quite satisfying and evil tone, but most of the time it relies too heavily on a psychological level of horror which director and actors seem to be a little bit overwhelmed with. Instead of a creepy and slowly unfolding build-up the experience appears rather dull and static. However, there was one scene where I literally had to look away to not get sick which is definitely a plus in my book, since most movies hardly impress me… -
Horror
First film in my Horrorfest 4 marathon What a good surprise, this is a good movie with Horror added. A couple of students do a project on fear, one begins to obsess over the project and goes a little to far in his study. There are some good horror scenes with a good story and good acting as well. There are times where the violence is unexpected and it fits well with the story and helps add tension and terror to the story. Minor SPOILER.....I particularly liked the AX murderer, I want a trilogy with him NOW. I don't know what it was, maybe how aggressive he is but man he would be an awesome slasher.
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Dread takes a different approach to the genre, more interested in character and plot than being outright scary. The approach works here because rare for a horror movie, the character and plot are engaging enough to engage throughout. The plot involves some post secondary students collaborating on a film school thesis based on the topic of dread. To understand the phenomenon, they tape a series of interviews exploring the subjects relation to fear. When the experimental results seem too pedestrian for one of the collaborators, the proceedings take on a more disturbing tone.
I was really impressed by this directorial debut by Anthony DiBlasi. He understands the tone of Clive Barker, and makes the source material fresher than any pinhead…
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Dread tells the tale of two college students who embark on a school project exploring fear.
They recruit and videotape fellow students discussing their deepest, darkest fears, but when their revelations don't reach the soul-stirring levels they hoped for. One of them takes matters into his own hands, setting off a twisted chain of events.Based on a Clive Barker short story, Dread does a fine job of bringing this gruesome story to life.
There are very few sound scares, and most of the raw terrifying emotions I felt, were purely created with the help of grotesque actions, and a slow creeping fear of.. well fear itself.
What I like most about Dread is how the film isn't about scaring… -
I've loved this flick since first seeing it as part of one of the After Dark Horrorfests. It's one of the few movies from those fests that actually stuck with me and that I continue to rewatch. I watched it this time on the German bluray I imported which was excellent quality. It's a dark and fucked up movie which is how i like my flicks. That ending. So twisted and great. It's also got some great music. I'd consider this an underrated horror flick for sure since I rarely hear anyone speak of it. Highly recommended.
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Respectable adaptation of my Film School thesis project, but I'm a little biased.
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Wish they had kept the clown aspect in, as it was very creepy in the short story, but a very good adaptation nonetheless.
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Wasn't overly impressed with the film from the beginning, but what could have ultimately been an interesting examination of fear just turns into another film about crazy people being crazy. If you haven't read the original Clive Barker story, I highly recommend it.
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Three students, all with a heavy history, find each other and decide to document what other people fear the most in their life. After taping the interviews and delivering the assignment, one of them is not satisfied and takes his collegues' fear to the next level.
As the plot is interesting, the movie also features some strengths: it's capable in delivering and maintaining a dark and gritty atmosphere, the acting is certainly OK, and the characters are pretty well drawn, well maybe apart from the bad guy.
It's sometimes surprisingly gory, as its friends from the torture porn genre, but this plays out more on a psychological level giving this extra touch to the proceedings granting this the rating it deserves.
A neat surprise. -
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I think the ending totally lost the theme of the movie and took it from a 4 star down to a 2 star.
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Fear is a scary thing. Also this movie had one of the most insane endings ever.
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