Product Details

• Actors: Mike Vogel, Jaime Murray, Christina Cole, Michael Feast, Charlie Anson
• Directors: Dario Piana
• Writers: Brendan Hood
• Producers: Brendan Hood, Brian J. Gilbert, Paul Ritchie, Ralph Kamp, Stan Winston
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: March 18, 2008
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00127RAI0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,411 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Deaths of Ian Stone - After Dark Horror Fest 2007" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

DEATHS OF IAN STONE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Demonic Déjà Vu, November 10, 2007

By 

Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Deaths of Ian Stone [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)

"You know those days when everything seems wrong?" asks Ian Stone (Mike Vogel), an American living in England. "This is one of those days." As he sits in his car, he looks into the eyes of his girlfriend, Jenny (Christina Cole), feeling confused and frustrated--he's part of his college's Hockey team, and that rainy night, he cost them the game because of a faulty timer stuck on 5:03. After a few moments, he drops Jenny off and begins the drive home. At a railroad crossing, he sees a body lying in the middle of the road--he goes to check it, only to be attacked. The body is not a body at all, but rather a black, gaseous form with long limbs that shift into pointy objects. It immediately pushes Ian onto the railroad tracks, just as a train passes through. Only then does Ian suddenly wake up in an office building, sitting behind a desk with mounting paperwork. It's currently 5:03, and the boss wants a presentation ready by 6:00.

These are the opening segments of "The Deaths of Ian Stone," a taut, mysterious, and ultimately disappointing film that pits the title character against a slew of alternate realities. He enters each new reality by somehow dying in the previous one, and he always enters by waking up at 5:03. Clearly, this is a fascinating idea, and up until about halfway, it works wonderfully. This is the point at which the tension builds itself up, with very little explained; basically, we can gather information only as Ian gathers it. Initially, not much is known apart from the recurring image of a clock displaying 5:03. We do see that he lives in London with his girlfriend, Medea (Jaime Murray), and that he's beginning to remember things that supposedly never took place. Example: he recalls being number seventeen on his college's Hockey team, yet his yearbook shows someone else in his place.

An older man named Gray (Michael Feast) eventually approaches Ian under ominous circumstances. He claims to know what's happening to Ian, and he gives Ian elusive messages about remembering before it's too late, before "they" find him, kill him, and put him in a new reality. Of course, Ian is caught each and every time, awakening to find himself leading different lives. He's a cab driver. He's unemployed. He's a heroine junkie. Gray keeps reappearing as Ian jumps through realities, each time giving him another piece of the puzzle. We do learn that the dreaded "they" are actually Harvesters, ghastly supernatural shape-shifters that feed on human fear. Why this has to with Ian remains to be seen--he needs to find out soon, because if he doesn't, the Harvesters will keep on placing him in other lives.

Does this not sound like a great story? For a while, it actually is. But at a certain point, it begins to get weird, and by the end, it crosses into ridiculous territory. It goes downhill fastest when many of the more vague aspects are explained, which is somewhat expected since explanations are almost never as satisfying as the mystery they hide in. I can't describe the plot twists in detail; what I can say is that Jenny is a common link to Ian and all of his manifestations. She reappears seemingly without any knowledge of her involvement. In each of Ian's lives, she doesn't look forward to visiting her mother; she doesn't want to be lectured over not being married with three children, like her sister. As Ian begins remembering this, Gray tells him that Jenny has to be protected because she's the key to stopping whatever is happening.

Eventually, both Ian and Jenny begin remembering things that supposedly never happened, and this puts them at even greater odds with the Harvesters. It basically boils down to whom Ian and Jenny really are. By the time we find out, the story is no longer interesting--what begins as a fascinating, mind-bending supernatural thriller ends up as something that's bland and silly. Given the good start it gets off to, it's hard to understand how and why this happened. There are enough interest-piquing twists and turns, but they only amount to a film that lacks any real substance. I began to ask myself how much further the story would go; there's a point at which Ian is lying on a hospital bed, his arms and legs bound, his head trapped behind a metal restraint. Yes, the morbid nature of the device makes it fun to look at, but what does it add to the story? Why be weird just for the sake of being weird?

I realize that I shouldn't be questioning weirdness, since that goes against everything that horror movies stand for. The thing is, I don't think "The Deaths of Ian Stone" is a horror movie--it certainly has elements of a horror movie, not the least of which are the demonic Harvesters. It felt more like a modern dark fantasy than anything else, and as such, I guess I was expecting a little more. The film's biggest problem is easy to identify: the story's ending doesn't do justice to the opening. I wish I could recommend the opening half of this film. I wish I could tell you to stay until the second half begins, at which point you should leave. But since that would defeat the purpose of going to the movies in the first place, the only remaining option is to not recommend the entire film. Ian Stone would probably die at those words, but who cares? It's not as if he won't come back in a different life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite horror, but definitely good!, October 13, 2009

By 

Jessica Shook (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Deaths of Ian Stone - After Dark Horror Fest 2007 (DVD)

I thought it was more like... action, suspence with a little gore. The story line is pretty good and if you like a twist this one is perfect. They used some pretty good props and the graphics weren't bad either. Some of the makeup could have improved but whatever. It will keep you wondering till about 15 minutes from the end... good stuff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Can the Cycle be Broken?, January 19, 2009

By 

Richard Nervous "Dedicated Horror Fan" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deaths of Ian Stone - After Dark Horror Fest 2007 (DVD)

I think this was one of the better After Dark movies in the 2nd year batch, it certainly kept my interest throughout and that's more than I can say about some of the other movies in this "event."

This may not be a true horror film but it has enough elements to fit into the genre, more than Borderland or Tooth and Nail! The story revolves around a man that keeps getting killed (is it a dream or reality?) and then wakes up to face death again. Every day this cycle is happening and there is a girl that keeps showing up in his many "lives."

The film has an interesting premise and it was a lot better than I had anticipated it being. A horror groundhog day is not a bad way to put it but it's a little more than that. There are some very intense scenes that almost leave you claustrophobic wondering if the protagonist is going to be able to ever get out of this ongoing cycle of death.

The film is not overly bloody but there are some "painful" moments that the central character has to suffer through. Others here have given a deeper synopsis of the plot but part of the fun in this movie is learning what is going on, so I will not go into any further detail. I think this movie was fun and entertaining and it kept my interest, while it's not the greatest movie in the world it is a fun ride for 90 minutes no matter how implausible it might be. If you want a rollercoaster ride this is a good one to check out as the action really never stops as the main character slowly unravels the mystery.