Holy sweet Jesus Crap, this movie... It's bloody brilliant! I knew very little going in beyond that it's by the guy who done You're Next and I expected it to be another stylish and slightly tongue-in-cheek horror movie. Which... it's not. It's actually more of a psychological thriller to my surprise, but hot damn was it a fun time nonetheless!
It still manages to expertly build the tension in particular as it progresses. Like, you know this guy has something wrong with him, and you'll be playing close attention to wait for any signs as to when he'll snap and the house of cards come crumbling down. But he's also so nice! Dan Stevens plays the Polite Psychopath to a tee, with enough grace and charm to really woo you under his spell. I mean, the movie still does a good job in peppering some little reminders here and there that there's more to him than meets the eye (like how he apparently doesn't sleep?), but even when things do start erupting, it's admittedly difficult to root against him. I was still kinda with him until he killed the mum anywhoo, that's when his facade completely wears off and you're like ''well OK, you need to die''. And yet at the same time, when he pulls that smile and tosses the two grenades into the diner, I couldn't help but laugh...
It's clear that if he wasn't a, well, psychopath he'd probably be quite the gentleman. He seemed like he genuinely just wanted to help this family out... in his own way. Hell, he'd have probably moved on I think if they let him! And when he apologises to the mum and the dad before ending their lives, I can't help but believe him! It's like the military policeman said, how he wouldn't be able to stop himself from erasing all the evidence even if he wanted to.
God, the movie itself is just so brilliantly directed too. The fisticuffs and the shootouts are actually really exciting, and everything just feels so tight and engaging. The soundtrack as well is filled with plenty of awesome 80s-esque synth-pop that brilliantly fits everything that's happening and adds an additional layer of life to the proceedings. One day 80s-inspired synth is going to reach overload and feel trite, but we're apparently not quite there yet.
It also again has to be said that Dan Stevens himself is fantastic. He's able to effortlessly switch between the lovable stranger eager to please to a genuinely scary fella. The slow transformation of his facial expression when Luke is basically explaining to him how he knows everything had me on the edge! Another good example is when he visits Anna in her bedroom, patiently awaiting her to respond. Also, looks an awful lot Paul Walker. When the credits came I was expecting to have my suspicions confirmed with him as a younger brother or something; however not only is he not related, but he's English??
It's all basically Drive 2 in a sense. It carries that same pacing, that same atmosphere, with a protagonist that manages to come across as cool yet also sort of repulsive. Ending was a great throwback to the slasher flicks of the eighties, too. Just an utterly riveting bit of movie magic anywhoo; one of those movies that I enjoyed so much that I felt compelled to immediately spew my thoughts out all over the place like so, which is a rarity for me. It's one of those movies that you want to show off, the kind of movie you want to watch again with friends to witness their reactions. Suffice it to say, I heartily recommend it for anyone who's in the mood for a slick and stylish thriller.
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