Customer Reviews

Sublime (Unrated Edition)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

Due to the the intensity of the reaction to this film by fans of the horror genre (who are so disturbed as to spoil the story in their reviews) I thought I'd throw this in, for what it's worth:

SUBLIME was an experiment on nearly every level. Raw Feed is a Warner Bros. experiment to make "horror" films within the BROADEST definition of the genre. Films designed to be released directly to DVD.

John Shiban, Tony Krantz and Daniel Myrick would each make a film in 15 days for a budget of roughly 1.5 million dollars. Any one of them essentially could do whatever they wanted to do - to play into the genre, to satirize it, to bend it. Mr. Krantz's notion was to take the present atmosphere of fear and doubt that has pervaded our world; the very real statistics about "health care"; and the horror of the Terry Schiavo case, and make a movie.

My involvement in the film came out of my close friendship with Tony. Inspired by an Ambrose Bierce short story "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge"...the mystery of coma consciousness...the idea that when you close your eyes, your visual experience is limited to what you can remember...we crafted the script.

*******SPOILERS*******

Trying to capture our version of a fear-and-incident-inspired "coma consciousness" led to the film's intentionally languorous and lurid pace. It was a specific choice. Right or wrong, we were determined to stay true to George's vision: George is stuck in a 10-month-plus Persistent Vegetative State within which all of the things that he worries about manifest. His only respite is when he closes his eyes and remembers his "last supper"; and many of his coma-realities are inspired by incidental details experienced that night:

Is Jenny actually unhappy in spite of what he wants to believe by "looking into her eyes"? Is she going to leave him? Will his colonoscopy go wrong? Is his daughter experimenting with her sexual identity? Why is his son so fascinated by fear and evil? Is his partner going to stab him in the back? And what about the Unknown - the utterly unaddressed racism, abuse of minorities, and fundamentalist Islamic-terror that we've all been taught to fear? George is a version of a successful Everyman who worries about a lot without choosing to examine much.

He thinks it's enough to look in someone's eyes to know their truth. Well, clearly, it isn't.

And what happens when you lose complete control of your destiny and are stuck in a world of fear made manifest? Well, if your guardian angel happens to be a demon incarnation of "the dark unknown" who will guide you through a confrontation with your fears...that journey might just free you to make a tough decision and take control of your detiny again. And that's what George does, tragically, at the end.

As for the symbology of the film, it was governed by the myth-base of a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant - it's entirely Judeo-Christian. And we piled it on with a shovel. It's on the nose because it's familiar, learned pretty much during adolescence, and it's all that George knows.

It was extremely satisfying to indulge in the lurid Grand Guignol tradition of this film. Commercially, it was risky, because we were straying from the current tradition of the horror genre.

Shooting the film in 2:35, framing and pacing the story the way we did was utterly intentional.

Could it stand to lose 10-15 minutes for the sake of modern day attention spans? Sure.

Is its subject matter, approach and execution inappropriate for the "horror genre"? Possibly.

Sublime is more in the tradition of psychological thriller/horror. The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Angel Heart, Jacob's Ladder, Memento, Eyes Wide Shut.

Sublime is not a pleasant movie.

If it's an experiment that failed for some and succeeded for others, I'm glad. I'd much rather that the film inspired strong opinions - even dismissive ones - than just lie there like another derivative grade B grindhouse gore-fest.

Everyone involved in Sublime took a chance...and we're all very proud that we did. Five star proud.

I am a physician who has dealt with people going through similar experiences. This movie is quite thought provoking in this regard. I tend to agree with a prior reviewer that those who trash it are either looking for a slash movie or do not have the intelligence to realize the implications of this movie. This movie is quite deep on a number of levels. The acting is excellent, the photography is excellent, the plot is intriguing and thought provoking. I would highly recommend it to people who like to do some thinking while watching movies. And to those who watch a lot of movies and enjoy something out of the ordinary. Exraordinary in fact.

For what it's worth, I enjoyed Sublime. Was it a tad too long....absolutely, but that is a forgivable point. I believe that this film is getting bad reviews primarily because it was marketed to the wrong crowd. I think that had this film been presented as a psychological thriller with some supernatural overtones, I think it would have been received much better.

The acting is quite impressive, and so is the writing and cinematography. Kudos to all of the individuals who were involved in the making of this film as I find that they have all gone above and beyond their call of duty considering the time and budgetary challenges that this movie presented.

I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys stories which challenge you and make you think and talk about what you just saw. If movies like Memento, Insomnia, Jacob's Ladder and anything that Lynch or Cronenberg have made adornes your DVD collection, then Sublime will make a good addition!

I'm not going to give away any spoilers here, the reviews below will all tell you everything you want to know about plot etc... But they also seem to be trying to acknowledge it as a dark intellectual film, that veers toward Cronenberg or Lynchian in style.

Do not listen to them, this film is shoddy as hell, it's like a bad student project that was just allowed to run and run, the pacing is so slow it kills any drama you could pull out of the story, there are no inciting incidents to spur the characters on and certainly no turning points in any of the acts, the story could've worked as a half hour episode of The Twilight Zone, but the whole piece plays like a monotonous monologue by some annoying guest at a party you've be trying to get away from all night. There's no thrill or chills here and certainly no brain food to chew over. The fact that the film looks like it was shot on a Sony Handycam only adds insult to injury.

If you must see this film, rent it, you'll thank me for it later. I'm donating my copy to my film school as a lesson in what not to do to create a psychological horror.

This is a love-it or hate-it affair. I was drawn to this package by the comparisons to The Twilight Zone, and the association with John Shiban (formerly of the X-Files). I have grown weary of the endless stream of copycat Asian horror and welcome something new in this genre. If you're of the same mindset, I'd suggest you give this one a serious look.

I can't go into too much detail without spoiling the plot, but suffice it to say that that action and psychology of the film spring from the mind of a middle aged white-bread male who is bedridden in a very strange ward in a hospital. There's little splatter or blood here (save for a surgical incision), and we the audience follow him as he goes from reminiscences - mostly family and friends - to the strange east ward of the facility.

Despite the rather limited location, the movie kept my attention from beginning to end. Clocking in at 113 minutes, things were just about right, and the creators freed themselves from the token 90-minute horror standard. The movie tackles issues of innermost fears, and while I think the race issue was overplayed, there is some interesting political satire thrown into the mix, which is explained in detail during the director\writer commentary. The soundtrack is noteworthy, particularly the use of ethnic\techno hybrid sounds in the percussion. Used unobtrusively, it enhances the visual experience.

So take your pick: if you are looking for troubled girl ghosts, serial killers with sickles, or the monster shtick, this isn't for you. If something more cerebral appeals to you, don't miss this one.

"Sublime" is a genre-buster in the vain of "Blood Simple" and "Jacob's Ladder;" exploring and applying the idea of fear holistically rather than producing it over and over in small portions. It's a very cool way to do a horror movie... and totally new.

"Sublime" is a thinker... not a slasher. It's a breath of fresh air into a genre that's overly-dependant upon physical shock value. If you love a movie that takes you by surprise, you'll love "Sublime."

I love horror movies, and it's sooo hard to find anything new out there, but this was. Thought-provoking, awful and great. If you are a health care worker, this movie will freak you out I bet. I don't want to give it away, but the ending really (really) made me think about things I don't want to think about...and again if you are in health care you will know what I am talking about, because you have wondered this very thing, and probably never came to a satisfactory answer...

Well, I picked up this movie after seeing some reviews and decided, why not? The cover art does not represent the movie at all. Blood and gore is down to a minimum in this movie. I guess what disappointed me most about this film was the lack of the "typical" horror movie elements. And I suppose that's what leads me to the classification of this movie as more of a psychological drama. For me, there weren't any scares and nothing to be feared. It was a look into the mind of a person in a coma. But with all that, it was interesting and I'm glad I purchsed it.

I saw this as a preview on another movie and noticed the guy from Ed (Thomas Cavanagh) was in this and thought how bad could this be. It is actually pretty well done, original idea, and played out to give you a hint of what happened, but not the full scope. It is by far not scary, but is quite entertaining in it's presentation and the unfolding of the plot. Simple plot summary, a young 40 year old man goes in for a routine procedure after his birthday party, and the routine is suddenly ripped away, and a series of odd events start to occur. Rent or buy this movie and fine out what happens next.

This excellent little gem is being 'panned' by the 'SAW' crowd. No this is not a slasher pic and not what is usually meant these days by 'horror' (which is mostly the genre that I'd term 'gore'). This is instead about the kind of real horror that can occur (and does occur) in the lives of ordinary people. What is really going on is not clear at first, and part of this is just pure speculation. Nonetheless, I'm just glad I had my colonoscopy before I saw this film....