Fear Island (2009)
Plot: A group of friends at a secluded island cabin for a weekend getaway. After a night of music, drinking and getting re-acquainted the friends are shocked to find the cabin’s caretaker murdered and the only boat off the island gone. Stranded on the island they become the prey of a mysterious killer who seems bent on revenge for something . . .
My Review: The movie starts out with a girl huddled in the woods covered in blood with a knife. Police close in on her and she is taken to be questioned. Right from the get-go we are told everyone else is dead. Geeze, way to ruin it, right? I hate when movies do that. Anyhow, we are also told that this girl doesn’t remember anything that happened, nor does she remember who she is. So as her memory comes back, the story is told to us piece by piece, bouncing back and forth between the interrogation and what happened on the island. Eventually she starts saying other things here and there that don’t make sense or contradict what she said before. You start to wonder if she’s crazy or if she’s the killer or maybe even both.
Jenna starts piecing the events of the last couple days together for the detective. She tells us that when they arrived on the island there was a stowaway on board their ship. Someone they didn’t know, but someone special. Now, why does nobody seem concerned about this? I found that very odd. I guess maybe it was just skipped over and felt not important to the story. So I shouldn’t dwell on it. The rest of them were all friends for years and they’ve gotten together often on the island for parties. As the killer offs the friends they leave behind words painted on different surfaces having everything to do with why the killer is doing what they are doing.
The movie is pretty straight forward other then not knowing who the killer is. It really tries to twist everything around a time or two so that it throws you off the scent of the real killer. And for me it did that. I had no idea who or why until a little while before it was revealed. I honestly enjoyed the ending of the film and all the “twists” thrown at the viewer. I really thought they were going to go a completely different angle. I do like it when movies keep me guessing, but not too much cause then it can get confusing!
However, the movie also had its faults. Mainly I just didn’t care much about the characters. They were all likable to some extent. But I would have liked to see them hanging out more together doing stuff having fun and get to know and like them so that when their demise took place, I’d feel something. But no, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead they were all a little flat. The one I cared the most about was the one I was probably supposed to not like, go figure.
Gore/FX: There wasn’t really any to be honest. A little blood here and there and some talk about certain people were killed, but the deaths weren’t really shown. Or when they were it wasn’t in a gory bloody manner.
Sexual Content: No nudity at all. A few short scenes with bikini’s and a quick make out session in a hot tub.
Acting: I didn’t mind the actors or the acting for the most part. The scenes with the doctor and detective were honestly the weaker acted scenes throughout the movie. There are a few known actors in the movie, like Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars. The main guy who plays Mark (Aaron Ashmore) I could have sworn was in Xmen. I checked IMDB only to find out that it wasn’t him, but his twin. Wow, learn something new every day.
Overall: I enjoyed the movie for what it was. But it didn’t feel all that “horrific”. So much more could have been done with it to make it really good. Instead it felt more like a made for TV film with a swear here and there. Its definitely watchable and entertaining, but nothing to get blown away by.
My Rating:
