[Triangle]
Plot:The story revolves around the passengers of a yachting trip in the Atlantic Ocean who, when struck by mysterious weather conditions, jump to another ship only to experience greater havoc on the open seas.

Cast:Melissa George, Holly Marie Combs, Rachael Carpani, Emma Lung, Liam Hemsworth, Michael Dorman, Henry Nixon.

My Thoughts:A triangle indeed.

Review:I'm not a big fan of films about The Bermuda Triangle, there've only been a few, and they haven't turned out very well at all. So when I first heard about Chris Smith's "Triangle", I thought to myself..."here's another horror film trying to give the old Bermuda Triangle another story go-round." "Triangle" however is really not a movie that deals with The Bermuda Triangle at all. Instead, it really plays upon it's own title throughout the film.

The movie follows a single mother named Jess (George), who's the mother of a special needs child. The film opens with Jess comforting her son about bad dreams, and then moves on from there to show Jess arriving at the docks to join her friends for a boating trip. The sailing trip is going well at first, but Jess seems preoccupied with something else. As she begins to open up a bit, a really powerful storm sets in, and soon capsizes the seacraft, sending one of the group on board into the ocean.

Once the storm subsides, and the sun comes out, an old oceanliner emerges from out of the parting storm clouds. In desperate need of help, our characters commit horror movie sin number 1, "Never board an empty boat which looks like it's been empty and rotting for decades." Of course this boat, the writer is careful to point out, isn't exactly a rotting mass of metal and steel. Instead, it just looks a bit rusty, and deserted. At any rate, they board the ship looking for help.

But instead, find a masked person with a gun lying in wait. But the armed mystery person soon proves to be only the least of their worries. "Triangle" manages to craft a very ominous, dark, and sometimes hyper-complex story, out of pretty much nothing. Which is what the film has going for it in the long run. Unfortunately, the movie concentrates almost all of it's character development on Melissa Georges character Jess, and pretty much leaves everyone else in the dreaded land of one-dimensional characters.

But this doesn't hurt the movie too much, as once they board the boat, the killing begins shortly thereafter, so most of our one-dimensional cast of characters end up meeting a real-time death via shotgun. But the picture, which seems to be headed in the wrong direction once the mass slaughter begins, and ends, due to it happening at only the 37 minute mark of a 98 minute movie, throws a huge twist into the killings. I was actually expecting this movie to break down into shotgun-slasher mode, where the masked murderer pursues his prey all over the boat, until the shocking finale.

But the movie decides to go in a far more sinister direction with the unfolding of events, and while the film doesn't offer up any clear villain or force to reckon with, it plays a lot of psychological games, utilizing it's female lead as the catalyst for said games. Because Jesses actions towards the gunman are where the real repercussions lie for her, and where the real "journey" begins. All of this tying into the movies apt title, "Triangle". Keep in mind, this movie is meant to scare you, freak you out, and disturb you.

"Triangle" isn't a gore flick by any stretch of the imagination. There's no bloodbath here, decapitations, or severe loss of limbs and blood. Granted, the movie is violent, but only as violent as it needs to be. It more tries to focus on being trippy, weird, and psyching the viewer out. Melissa George carries the film very well though, and manages to make her character interesting and engaging enough so you actually give a crap about whether or not she can piece together the puzzle she is currently trapped in.

But the fact that she is a single mother of a special needs kid, also makes you root for her a few extra notches. "Triangle" throws you for a lot of twists, turns, and loops, saving the biggest, and quite possibly, the most somber and sad loop for the end of the movie. Which you have to ponder for a few moments before you finally figure it out. "Triangle" isn't super scary, or super entertaining, despite it's attempts to be. But it takes things in a very unpredictable and unforseeable direction with it's story. And that element of surprise, along with the films lack of fear of plenty of downer moments, make it worth seeing atleast once.

Positives:Great twists and turns within this dark story, Melissa George gives a great performance.

Negatives:Outside of George's character Jess, the other characters are one-dimensional and boring.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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