Originally written for www.horroryearbook.com
In 2011, there have been very few horror films that have actually delivered the goods. In fact, over the last decade, it has seemed that the best films have been coming from across the pond, most notably from Spain, France, and jolly old England. The English has been exporting plenty of quality programs to American audiences over the last few years spanning from The Mighty Boosh, both versions of the Office and an American remake of Shameless on Showtime to miniseries/films such as Dead Set, Colin, and the new film Panic Button which has definitely lived up to the hype it has had before this review.
The plot of the film involves 4 strangers named Jo, Max, Gwen, and Dave who have been invited onto a private jet to compete against each other to win prizes in a sweepstakes held by Norwegian social networking site All2gethr. At first the contestants are all drinking champagne and remaining relaxed having a wonderful time, but by the third round of games it is evident to everyone that this isn’t a simple competition and that their lives are all in danger.
The crew on the film did a fantastic job on almost every aspect. The acting was superb and while watching the film I was truly drawn in and actually felt the fear the characters were suffering on the claustrophobic jet. The film kept me in suspense and when I thought I knew what was gonna happen in the end, two separate plot twists caught me off guard and added a little extra oomph to the overall tone of the film.
The sad thing about this film is that the characters set themselves up for this because of what they had posted on the internet and for what they had done in the past. It’s the traditional human fault plot device along with revenge and the sense that no one can be trusted.
While my suspension of disbelief was at Saw levels (in fact you could put Jigsaw as the main villain and call this Saw and the ending felt very tacked on and shoved into the film in order to give the contest reason, the film is truly among the best of the year and proves that while a lot of shit is being put into the theaters nowadays, there are still plenty of great independent ventures out there being released all the time.
8/10
The plot of the film involves 4 strangers named Jo, Max, Gwen, and Dave who have been invited onto a private jet to compete against each other to win prizes in a sweepstakes held by Norwegian social networking site All2gethr. At first the contestants are all drinking champagne and remaining relaxed having a wonderful time, but by the third round of games it is evident to everyone that this isn’t a simple competition and that their lives are all in danger.
The crew on the film did a fantastic job on almost every aspect. The acting was superb and while watching the film I was truly drawn in and actually felt the fear the characters were suffering on the claustrophobic jet. The film kept me in suspense and when I thought I knew what was gonna happen in the end, two separate plot twists caught me off guard and added a little extra oomph to the overall tone of the film.
The sad thing about this film is that the characters set themselves up for this because of what they had posted on the internet and for what they had done in the past. It’s the traditional human fault plot device along with revenge and the sense that no one can be trusted.
While my suspension of disbelief was at Saw levels (in fact you could put Jigsaw as the main villain and call this Saw and the ending felt very tacked on and shoved into the film in order to give the contest reason, the film is truly among the best of the year and proves that while a lot of shit is being put into the theaters nowadays, there are still plenty of great independent ventures out there being released all the time.
8/10
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