THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE (2007)

CAST: Mike Vogel, Jaime Murray, Christina Cole

Directed By: Dario Piana
Written By: Brendan Hood
Cinematography By: Stefano Morcaldo
Editor: Celia Haining
Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) is a working stiff, an American businessman who travels to England for business only to find himself trapped in a bizarre reality: every day he dies a horrific death at the hands of an unknown killer... only to wake up and murdered again and again. Can Ian get to the bottom of the mystery and break the recurring chain of death and resurrection?

Part of the horror films that is part of the 8 movies to die for. That come out yearly. They are always a mixed bag there is never a great one but usually a few that are noteworthy for actually being decent not necessarily good. This film holds up that reputation.

It would help some of these films if they weren’t so serious and had fun with there cliché set-ups but that is often not the case, Which makes the films all the more predictable and hard to sit through. I’m not asking for the films to be campy but maybe have a bit more tongue in cheek or actually have atmosphere and mood. I understand these films are quickies but if this might be the one time you get to make a film, Shouldn’t you try to make it memorable instead of just o.k. Well let me get off my soapbox and get on to the review.

The film feels like a horror anthology episode. Not a particularly good or interesting one stretched out into a Feature length film, Yet barely since it is only 81 minutes.

The film is entertaining as it is never slow and once you think you have figured everything out it throws in different twists. Though it does start off slow as it seems like it will just be a different death scene after another on the same character. You start trying to figure out how he will get it in the end. Then gets into the dangerous territory of bing repetitive. Then something happens that turns it all on it’s ear and becomes a fascinating film. Still not good but passable as a time waster.

It gets kind of strange towards the end as characters start to dress like extras from the Matrix for no real reason. I also wondered while watching the film why the main character is the only American in a film obviously taking place in England. Which is never explained.

Not too much more to say the film is rather simple.

While the film isn’t a total waste and is actually better then I expected initially. It’s more of a film to watch when nothing else is really on. I say wait for cable.

GRADE: C-