$la$her$ (2002)
Shot-on-video horror flick has an irresistible premise: The latest game show craze in Japan is like a volunteer-happy version of The Running Man, a show wherein six contestants try to survive running through a maze whilst being pursued by three vicious serial killers. Essentially all that's required for this film to succeed is to avoid fucking up that surefire idea, and thankfully writer-director Maurice Devereaux keeps things moving nicely. There's some fun black humor, some nasty gore, a couple o' neat plot twists and not-bad acting, considering the film is A) Canadian and B) non-union. Bonus points go to Devereaux for adopting an all-in-one-take style for extra verisimilitude, and more bonus points go to him for hiding his edits well enough to make that ballsy gamble work.
Grade: B
Shot-on-video horror flick has an irresistible premise: The latest game show craze in Japan is like a volunteer-happy version of The Running Man, a show wherein six contestants try to survive running through a maze whilst being pursued by three vicious serial killers. Essentially all that's required for this film to succeed is to avoid fucking up that surefire idea, and thankfully writer-director Maurice Devereaux keeps things moving nicely. There's some fun black humor, some nasty gore, a couple o' neat plot twists and not-bad acting, considering the film is A) Canadian and B) non-union. Bonus points go to Devereaux for adopting an all-in-one-take style for extra verisimilitude, and more bonus points go to him for hiding his edits well enough to make that ballsy gamble work.
Grade: B
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