Investigating a supernatural force, Edward Carnby finds himself on the toughest case of his career. With an archaeologist helping him to trace his findings back through time for centuries, the mystery only gets more complicated the further they delve into it. A detective of the paranormal slowly unravels mysterious events with deadly results. My rating of 7/10 is relative. I've seen my fair share of truly dreadful films… this wasn't one of them.<br/><br/>First off, its qualities: the film has an interesting look; the beasties are cool (although we don't see them quite enough for my greedy taste); the acting is passable although there IS a bit of scenery chewing going on; the camera work is also passable; the action sequences are OK; the SFX are competent.<br/><br/>It's faults: the ending is a bit muddled and inconsistent with the storyline up to that point; some of the cheap means of achieving "tension" are just too clichéd (the squad sent in for the final battle have a single generator vital to all of their equipment? and only one incompetent nub to set it up? and it's no more protected than my neighbour's hydrangeas?).<br/><br/>I suspect that a lot of the bad-mouthing this film is getting is purely anti Uwe Boll rants. Most of what I've read about this film, the negative stuff that is, is often so completely over the top ("the absolute worst film ever made") that it becomes completely unbelievable.<br/><br/>As for my rating of 7/10, well, I rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 as a horror/sci-fi flick. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of far inferior films in this category. And to me, a 10/10 sci-fi horror flick isn't quite the same as a 10/10 drama. I have considerably laxer requirements for the genre. I do understand why some people hate this movie, while others love it. Having been a fan of the game, I was disappointed the movie veered so far from the game. The movie could have had a better developed plot, characters with more depth, and less holes creating confusion. Many aspects of the movie are less than original. The idea of a parasite attaching itself to the spinal column and manipulating the nervous system sounds an awful lot like the Puppet Masters. The mad scientist doing experiments on humans has been used too much. Tara Reid should never be cast in ANYTHING. SHE CAN'T ACT! The special effects were OK. I give them a 4 out of 10 stars.<br/><br/>On the plus side, I thought the Abkani civilization was a great idea. Even though I am not a Christian Slater fan, I believe he fit the part well. The movie had great action sequences and kept you wondering what would happen next. Stephen Dorff was quite convincing as a power tripping, self absorbed son of a _______.<br/><br/>Sit back and watch the movie as if you have never heard of the game. Listen to what is being said, even though the dialogue can be cheesy at times. Actually see the whole area. If you can do this, the movie won't be as confusing. Fans of the source material probably won't be switching platforms to catch this bizarre Lions Gate pickup, and non-fans definitely won't.
Ruaijaine replied
352 weeks ago