A Horrible Way to Die (2010)Directed by: Adam Wingard
Screenplay by: Simon Barrett
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Running Time: 87 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Viewed: Owned DVD
[IMDb]
Comments: There's a lot I liked about A Horrible Way to Die. Conversely, there's some shit that bugged me as well. There's no denying two things I loved though: that great poster (I love when a movie has great artwork), and the very cool horn score to the film. There's a section that plays a few times throughout, but mainly on the DVD's menu screen that I absolutely loved. I let the menu play in the background when I made this post just so I could listen to the 15 second clip on repeat.
There were times during A Horrible Way to Die that I wanted to strangle director Adam Wingard. The guy made a very "artistic" horror film, if you want to call it that. He employs the "shaky cam" aspect during the course of the movie, and it's not too bad except when there's something really intense happening onscreen - then it feels like Wingard let an elderly Parkinson's patient handle the camerawork. It's obnoxious and annoying. There's a lot of out of focus shots as well, where the camera drifts from a character speaking onto something in the background. It would be alright if used in small doses, except Wingard does it in every scene (or at least it felt that way to me).
I really liked the story itself. A Horrible Way to Die isn't much of a horror film persay, although there's certainly a few kills here and there. The movie mainly focuses on the main killer's ex-girlfriend, who attends AA while starting a new relationship. The film flips back and forth between her struggles while showing the killer escape from prison and kill some people on his way to find her.
Then the twist happens. I won't lie, I rolled my eyes as soon as it happened and docked the film a half star in my head. But then I saw where A Horrible Way to Die was heading, and I liked the direction (and the half star was re-awarded). In fact, I felt like the ending was rushed some, and Wingard could have taken some of that out of focus artsy crap out and devoted a little more time to the final scenes of the film.
In the end, I really liked A Horrible Way to Die. Sure, there was some stuff that annoyed me, but for a low budget quasi-horror flick that I picked up for $10 on a whim from Walmart, I'm pleased. It certainly won't please everyone, and horror fans may find fault with a film that would be considered more independent/art house than straight up slasher. Still, I like enough of what I saw to recommend it.
There were times during A Horrible Way to Die that I wanted to strangle director Adam Wingard. The guy made a very "artistic" horror film, if you want to call it that. He employs the "shaky cam" aspect during the course of the movie, and it's not too bad except when there's something really intense happening onscreen - then it feels like Wingard let an elderly Parkinson's patient handle the camerawork. It's obnoxious and annoying. There's a lot of out of focus shots as well, where the camera drifts from a character speaking onto something in the background. It would be alright if used in small doses, except Wingard does it in every scene (or at least it felt that way to me).
I really liked the story itself. A Horrible Way to Die isn't much of a horror film persay, although there's certainly a few kills here and there. The movie mainly focuses on the main killer's ex-girlfriend, who attends AA while starting a new relationship. The film flips back and forth between her struggles while showing the killer escape from prison and kill some people on his way to find her.
Then the twist happens. I won't lie, I rolled my eyes as soon as it happened and docked the film a half star in my head. But then I saw where A Horrible Way to Die was heading, and I liked the direction (and the half star was re-awarded). In fact, I felt like the ending was rushed some, and Wingard could have taken some of that out of focus artsy crap out and devoted a little more time to the final scenes of the film.
In the end, I really liked A Horrible Way to Die. Sure, there was some stuff that annoyed me, but for a low budget quasi-horror flick that I picked up for $10 on a whim from Walmart, I'm pleased. It certainly won't please everyone, and horror fans may find fault with a film that would be considered more independent/art house than straight up slasher. Still, I like enough of what I saw to recommend it.
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