Surveillance (Jennifer Lynch, 2008)

[John Cope]

Trailer.

Why do I get a High Tension vibe off of this?

I am curious as to what ten plus years of silence might have done for Jennifer's aesthetic. If anything it appears to have pushed her dramatically into Euro horror terrain, a la Alexandre Aja and Nicolas Refn. Would she be the only female director mining this vein?

The presence of Pullman and Ormond suggests a willfullly brought to bear stock company of David Lynch friendly performers. Nice to see French Stewart getting work, too. And for the briefest of moments I thought the bald dude was Billy Zane. Must have been wishful thinking.

[criterionaficionado]

I did not get HIGH TENSION vibe as you mention John.
It looks like an interesting pic but somehow feels like it has been done before. perhaps you feel like it has a high tension feel due to the opening part of trailer with the yellow stationwagon/car which looks like a replica from the high tension flic. just a guess on my part. anyway, good find on this new trailer.

[luridedith]

Looks alright, feels a bit more generic in mood and aesthetic unlike her dad's films. Was Boxing Helena really that awful?

[miless]

Was Boxing Helena really that awful?

yes.

[Barmy]

Was Boxing Helena really that awful?

No.

[colinr0380]

Come on guys! You can find numerous reviews of Boxing Helena online to give you an idea of what it is like - even this bad movies article that breaks down every moment of the film.

[Barmy]

I KNOW what it is like. I went to see it in a THEATRE!!!! =D> =P~

The trailer looks good but I can't believe people are still using that Violent Femmes tune.

[Faux Hulot]

If I hear one more whispering little girl in a movie trailer I'm going to scream, but likely not for the reasons the filmmakers intended.

[maxbelmont]

Nice to see French Stewart getting work, too

I can't believe you left Michael Ironside out of the equation.

[brendanjc]

I suffered through this broadcast tonight on HDNet. It's not very good at all. I'll try to avoid spoilers anyway. The film is constructed like a standard horror film - cheap gory scene, credits, then a slow build of tension till the conflict comes to a head again. The basic premise is that a serial killer is on the loose, and some FBI agents arrive to take over the investigation and interview some survivors. The biggest issue for me is that a certain plot point is so blindingly predictable that the film is basically a masochistic slog through the story we don't really care about (via a bunch of ill-conceived character's flashbacks) to get to the reveal of what we've already predicted. The trick to a thriller or a mystery is the red herring, you need to get the audience going before you pull the rug out from under them. The film drops plenty of hints to let you know something is up, but doesn't give any possible explanation beyond the one that turns out to be true. The only real tension I felt was wondering scene to scene if this would finally be the one where they get the twist over with already. The performances are all over the place - pretty much all the cops are laughably awful but they're given completely ridiculous characters. Pullman mostly looks confused or just strange. The only thing to say about Michael Ironside is that he's put on a bit of weight and he does appear to be in the movie, but there's nothing else to his role. It's understandably hard to do much with some of the awful dialogue - "That's why they're called witness, because they've seen something". Lynch tries to create some of the character quirks and unpredictability that can make her father's films so fascinating and unnerving but the film has no atmosphere, and worse, no emotional impact whatsoever. The lame attempts at blending sex and violence or sympathizing with the killers at the end (edgy!) just bring into perspective how utterly shallow the film is. It's like sitting through a serious attempt at Donald Kaufman's "The 3" script from Adaptation, but worse, since you'll guess the ending 20 minutes in. Don't waste your time with this.