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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Demonic Déjà Vu, November 10, 2007
"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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After Dark finally comes through, October 24, 2008
The after Dark Horror Fest is a very appealing concept to horror fans, which we definately are. We were first introduced to this in 2006 where a handful of independent films were realeased under this festival only being shown in certain theaters. Since none of these theaters were close we had to wait until they were released on dvd. Unfortunately the wait was not worth it in any sense. Even for b lovers these films just plain [...]. Each one was a huge let down. The trailers made them look like films the horror indusrty needed but wound up being worse then most of the hollywood junk pumped out. This year we almost didn't bother but for the sake of b had to give horrorfest one more shot. The first viewing was Mulberry Street - After Dark Horror Fest (2007) which turned out to be pretty decent and far better then any of the prior years garbage but still not great. This time we picked up The Deaths of Ian Stone and couldn't be more pleased. This film could stand on it's own in the theaters and be killer. So if you compare it to any of the After Dark films none even come close to this.
We start off at a hockey game where Ian Stone is in control of the puck and moving down the ice for a buzzer beater. He shoots and scores but the ref waves it off saying the clock ran out of time even though it clearly stopped with 2 seconds left. Despite his protest the game ended and he had no idea why. There was still two seconds left but nobody would recognize it (keep this in mind for things to come). After the game Ian is in the car with his girlfriend talking to her about the game then drops her off when he notices the clock in his car stopped. He pulls away and drives down the street where he see's someone lying in the middle of the road. He's hesitant but get's out of the car to see if the person is alright. One he walks up he can see that is no person laying there, it's more of a creature and runs back to his car. When he looks up the creature is no longer in the road. As he tries to pull away the creathure crashes through the windshield and rips him out placing him on the train tracks where he is run over. He then wakes up at a desk where he is asked to update some spreadsheets. So at this point you assume he's had an awful dream but thankfully that's not the case. The woman who was his girlfriend in the situation before now works with him but is just a co-worker. He goes home to his apartment where a different woman named Medea(Jamie Murray, Bill Murray's daughter) is his girlfriend. Stick with us it will make sense soon. He begins to talk to her about his hockey days in college and she says he never played hockey. He say's he'll show her his yearbook as prove he was # 17 on the team. He opens the book and sees there is a #17 player but it's not him, he's nowhere to be found. The next day he is approached by a man who explains to him that he is being stalked by forces who want him dead. The catch with it is that when he dies he immediately awakes but living a completely different life. Everytime his watch [...] stops that means they are coming for him. Yeah awesome. As he argues with the man he has no choice to believe him because one of the creatures snatches the old man up. Ian runs like hell as anyone would. These creatures are some of the creepiest looking things we've seen in ages. They look like large spirits but with skeleton faces and are smokey black with huge razor sharp hook hands. Once he gets back to his apartment he explains to his gilfriend something is after him then he gets a hook through the stomach. Yeah his old lady is one of them and explains this will continue to happen to him.
In each death he starts a new life. He still looks the same and carries the same name but has very different situations. However in each situation his original girlfriend (not the creature one) is part of his life. He is then approached by the old man again who informs him he must not let these spirit creatures kill the girl. He has to protect her or else he has no chance of saving himself from this torment. The film continues at a rapid pace keeping you on the edge of your seat. We don't want to give any more away because we feel this is definately worth checking out. It has scares and suspense with an excellent original story.
So as you can tell this one comes with a strong recommendation from us. It's actually a legit great film. Going into it we were simply looking to be midly entertained by some horror b but were completely stunned by a great work. These creatures in the film were some of the best ever. Extremely creepy and very real looking. Not quite sure what the budget of this film was but the end result was nothing short of genius. For any horror fan who seeks a very original plot with minor gore and true suspense this one has it. We're sure any of out fans would love it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"...The Clock Stops -- They Come For You...", June 20, 2008
The first time I watched this, I enjoyed it. Some part me believed it was because my crush on Vogel was at its strongest. So after letting a week go by. I decided to watch it again, just to make sure Vogel wasn't the only reason I enjoyed it. So I ventured out and rented it. Sufficed to say, TDOIS is still a good movie.
The story begins with Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) as a hockey player in a University somewhere in the UK (Britain). He appears to make the winning shot until its revealed that the clock has stopped... two seconds before its supposed to. Everyone, including Ian himself, is confused and upset with the end result of the game. After giving his girlfriend, Jenny (Christina Cole), a ride home he finds a body on laid out on the road. However, when he goes to the man's aid he is attacked and dragged onto train tracks, where he's killed. Moments later, Ian wakes up in a office with no recollection of the previous night; Jenny is no longer his girlfriend, but a fellow colleague.
Nothing appears off to him until his girlfriend, Medea (Jamie Murray), tells him that he has never played hockey, even if Ian remembers otherwise. To make matters worse, his brand new watch stops working the very next day. On the way to work, he is confronted by a mysterious man who tells him that he will be killed again, but he won't die. Upon learning this, Ian is pulled in and out of several lives whenever he is killed by his shadowy stalkers. The big question is why?
Watching the movie for the first time was confusing. I wasn't even aware the main character had died until the old man said something to imply that he did. Of course, almost twenty minutes into the film you catch onto the process really easily. And in some way that does detract from the movie, but the characters are what kept me interested; That and not knowing if Ian [and Jenny] would survive his many encounters with the "Harvesters" (corrupt creatures that feed on fear ...and pain during violent deaths).
A lot of people like to compare the movie Groundhog Day, but the title character isn't reliving one day and life, so much as he's jumping from one life to the next, thus making it a little more like Quantum Leap than the aforementioned film (ironically starring Bill Murray). Also, the movie really isn't much of a horror movie, its more of a thriller. This is not say that it isn't scary; it had jumpy moments, all of which did scare me the first time around. There was plenty of "gore" to make the easily squeamish uncomfortable, but a lot of it isn't shown. However, when the film reaches its climax, it kind of borderlines on Sci-Fi a bit.
The performances from all actors involved in the film are strong. I think this is what kept the film from dying for me. Mike Vogel proves he can carry a movie on his own, with him as the primary focus; He plays each role his character is given with believable ease. The fear, panic, and confusion in the face of his own demise was also pretty convincing. The supporting cast delivers exceptional performances as well; Particularly Jamie Murray, who plays his lover, Medea. My only problems with her character is that she seems to flip-flop between scorned lover, to twisted interrogator for her kind, who enjoys pain for pain's sake.
Christina Cole (from What a Girl Wants) does what she can with her character Jenny and does it well. I would've loved to have seen more of her, but I suppose her screen time was limited to maintain anonymity. The old man (the actor and character's name escapes me) is probably the most interesting minor character, who acts as a sort of guide for Ian once he starts believing him.
The creature and special effects for the most part, were done well. The late Stan Winston and his studio made the Harvesters pretty believable on a low budget. The CGI skillfully masks any problems one might have with the creatures. Everyone looked great in their make-up (assuming there was actually a non-CGI Villain-Harvester), except Mike Vogel. His Harvester variation was terrible and hardly convincing. It was a little hard to buy his performance when he was made up like that. I don't know why they just didn't model him after the others. On a final note, the story is a bit weak and the ending lies somewhere between rushed - yet somewhat satisfying (though I may be biased). If you can look past its short comings then I suppose you can still enjoy the movie. --- [A 4 out of 5]
June 19th, 2008
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