Tia Pennant-Lewis
I stumbled across this film a few days ago and was immediately intrigued by the concept. Just the other day I was saying to my friend how desperate I was for a good film with an original idea, something really refreshing.
Most of the great films I’ve seen lately have already been part of a franchise. Recreator struck a chord because the concept was different.
The science-fiction thriller sees a group of teenagers uncover a deadly secret that leads to a bizarre and terrifying encounter with superior clones of themselves.
Trapped by their stronger, faster and smarter duplicates, Craig, Tracy and Derek must try to figure out how to escape, all too aware that they are in danger not only of being killed, but also replaced.
Okay, so the concept is a bit mental, but like I said, it’s different. Truthfully I expected the film to be terrible but actually found it to be surprisingly clever and well thought out.
No matter how clever however, the film was bound to be, like the concept, a little bit insane. Admittedly there were a few hammer horror-esque moments; an abandoned cabin in the woods, no phone signal, the pulling back of the shower curtain and some zoom ins of creepy objects, i.e. taxidermy.
Some of the special effects brought back Evil Dead memories as well, particularly in the opening scene. There was even a touch of Frankenstein in there what with the experiments and the lightning.
As an Evil Dead fan, I enjoyed it as one of those so bad it’s good situations. I’d like to stress however that the whole film wasn’t like this and there were in fact some good aspects.
Clever editing was involved for instance, which I always appreciate. Even when the film got really weird I was impressed by some of the technical work.
The stars of Recreator were fairly unfamiliar names to me but as I have said before, there is nothing more refreshing than seeing good up-and-coming actors. The three main roles played by Stella Maeve, Alexander Nifong and Jamal Mallory-McCree were well performed.
Some of their lines felt a bit forced and even comical but I put that more down to the film and how absurd it became in parts, rather than their acting. I was generally impressed by their performances, especially since each actor had to play two different versions of the same character.
I cannot deny that Recreator was slightly ridiculous but it was also unexpectedly enjoyable. I didn’t know how it was going to end, which was gratifying and there was even a twist at the end which though not completely shocking, did surprise me a little.
Give this a watch if the concept appeals to you; it is much better than you’d expect, but do be prepared for a little ridiculousness (though with this film, I think it works!)
7/10.