Customer Reviews

Nine Dead

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I like Cheesy films, but there is only so much I can let slide.
The film is basic. 9 people in a room. They are all connected somehow with something bad that happened. They will be killed unless they can figure it out.
In Saw, the information about each victim can be researched. In this film the killer finds stuff about each person that even THEY never told anyone, and forgot. Even a world Class Hacker could not find out this stuff, and put the pieces together. Secret stuff that happened in a car on an empty street, or in an office, or even in a confessional.
Letting ALL that slide, I can still find fault in the ending. If the cops are complete idiots, they could still find out what happened.
The acting is B-Film levels, but very good for first time actors.
overall, if you have 2 hours to waste before falling asleep, pop this in, but you'd be better served by re-watching one of the SAW movies, or even Smoking Aces 2 (a much better film, with less holes, and a better ending).

The best part about Nine Dead is that it keeps you in suspense. The downside? It's been done before in the 2007 film Fermat's Room.

The story is centered around nine strangers who have been kidnapped and handcuffed in a room. Every 10 minutes, their kidnapper will kill one of them, until they realize what they all have in common. Their situation is also complicated by the fact that one of the nine strangers doesn't speak English.

The biggest problem I have with the film is that the film's concept has already been tackled by several movies, including La Habitación de Fermat. In Fermat's Room, four strangers are trapped in a shrinking room that will crush them to death, unless they can discover what they all have in common.

The majority of the cast has worked primarily in television, and there's nothing particularly special about the cinematography. While the film was suspenseful, the film's open-ended conclusion will disappoint many viewers. Not to mention that it was virtually impossible for the kidnapper to know how many of the strangers were connected. Even though I'm straight, I thought the director's choice of which character just so happened to be a pedophile was an unnecessary stereotype and in awful taste.

Overall, the movie is worth a buck to watch through Redbox. But considering it's light on originality, I'd consider giving it a rent before deciding to buy the DVD.

Yes, this film is clearly a bit of an homage to the Saw series, but it is different enough to be interesting. The characters are decent enough, if a bit generic. However, the plot itself is very good. Granted, it's a bit unrealistic insofar as the killer managed to find out the relevant information that not only started the scheme, but also linked many of the nine captives to the background story. However, the film is very suspenseful and builds up quite nicely. However, I agree with just about all of the other reviewers in that the ending came out of nowhere. The writers clearly intended it to be open-ended, but either that type of ending doesn't work well for this film, or the closing shot could have been done much better. Still, a very solid piece of work.

This movie is one of the best thrillers I have seen in years. Tight, fast moving, intense drama. The film makers only made one critical error --- they left out the ending. It's like they ran out of money or something and simply said 'okay, that's a wrap'.

With an ending, ANY ending, I would have given this film a 5 star rating. Alas, I can only give it 1 star for being one of the most frustrating films I have ever wasted 2 hours of my life on.

Give this one a miss ... if you're not into frustration.

A masked maniac locks nine strangers in a room together and reveals that he will kill one of them every ten minutes until they can figure out the factor that connects them all. As the clock starts to tick, the desperate prisoners scramble to solve the malevolent mystery in time to save their own lives. The acting, sets and story are quite average. Yes the movie is a lot like the idea of Saw. Actually not that bad, but not that good either.

Anyone who like any of the Saw movies should like this one. The actors did a good job, and the story is fairly creative. 9 people living different lifestyles are all kidnapped and bought together for one common purpose, and their job is to find out what that purpose is. Every 10 minutes one will die until they can tell the man, who bought them there, why they are all there or until they are all dead. The movie keeps you guessing up until about half way through, but as you get closer to the end, you figure out more and more. The ending is very disappointing. not really what you would expect. It really takes a lot out of the movie.

Great idea for a movie. I love the story! Kind of like the saw series, but it has its own originality. A masked kidnapper kidnaps 9 people for one reason, and gives them a limited amount of time to figure out what that reason is. One person will die every 10 minutes until they figure out why every one is there(including the ones that are dead already), or until they are all dead. The story behind the reason he kidnaps them is well thought out and the acting is really good. I would've given this movie five stars if it wasn't for the ending. That was the only thing about this movie that I didn't like.

Ok, film makers, I know you read these reviews:

Where was the ending? That was lame as hell.

The movie was good but you ruined it with no ending.

How can I recommend a movie to anyone when it just ends?

Weak as hell. You should be ashamed.

Would have been a solid three stars (and a recommendation) with an ending.

For a movie like this, you need to have certain things done right, or it doesn't work.

Consistent characters:

How would people act in a situation like this? Not like these characters. Most of them bounce back and forth from being insanely antagonistic to wanting to work together, often within the same scene. It became laughable when one character would start insulting another and the one who was just insulting the same guy is now defending him. These characters had more personality shifts than Sally Field in Sybil.

Meanwhile, it isn't until the first character is killed that anyone looks at all scared. You've just been kidnapped, hooded, and chained to a pole? Of course rolling your eyes and looking indignant is what everyone would be doing.

Movies like this are all about the characters so they need to be consistent and real. Fifty percent of the lines could have been said by any of the characters because there wasn't an ounce of depth or individuality.

"Realistic" plot:

The reason this is in quotes is because it doesn't have to be realistic in terms of the real world, but realistic in the world of the movie. If the characters can do something that no normal human being could do, it has to be explained. This movie fails because no one could ever track down these nine people because of the connection they all share. Only four of them are plausible, the rest are laughable. I won't spoil anything, not that it matters, but I'll make up a similar example. Say you were in the car with your grandmother and she asked you what you did that morning. You said you read the book "Red Leaves." She says, "I've never heard of that book." The conversation ends there. In the car next to you a woman heard your conversation, and she was also reading that book. She's distracted and crashes her car and dies moments later. The bad guy in the movie would have been able to find your grandmother and chain her up for asking what you did that morning. He'd also know the book you were talking about.

Appropriate ending:

It can be happy or said. Clear or ambiguous. But not nonsensical or for the sake of a final shock. Don't build up so much to an ending, just to change the game suddenly for a cheap thrill. This ending would be the equivalent of Rosebud in Citizen Kane being a talking cheeseburger.

There are tons of these high concept character study movies that are so much better. Forget this one.

Save your money. Go get Netflix. This movie is available there as a Watch Instantly title. It's worth watching, but be prepared for a colossal disappointment in the abrupt ending.