So I just finished watching this and I just have to say it; it's a turd and represents everything wrong with modern Hollywood in my opinion.
Now I should preface that I fully understand all the corporate BS the films team went through. From all the physical props being thrown out, to the script going through the blender several times. However i'm just judging the end product, not how we got there.
I'm not so good with putting stuff into words so i'll try and break it down:
-On the basis of when this film is supposed to be set (1982), the casting and the way they portray/dress up the characters look off. They look like people from 2010, not '82. It kind of creates a mental dissonance in my mind, well, that and a lot of things in this film. I also cannot stand that they just had to shove in some American characters as the main duo, despite this story taking place on a Norwegian outpost; because apparently US audiences are too afraid of scary Europeans or something. And then finally on this point, shoving in British characters randomly to take the more antagonistic roles.
-The characters themselves extremely bland and have practically no development. I think this is partly because there were too many of them, but I don't think I can remember anyone's names; not even the main girl. The only sort of character traits I can point out are: main smart girl who is smart because she is smart. The strong male character that protects the girl because he is a strong male character and she is a girl. And the evil british scientist guy that doesnt care about human life because "muh science".
-Dialogue in this film is standard for the 2010's, and a complete stepdown from the 1982 film. I wasnt sure on how to write this section to properly get across what I meant, but basically I feel a lot of films these days, the writers don't know how to write interactions between people. Like, they don't sound like people at all, I feel like i'm listening to a script and it really pulls me out of the film. They just talk in strange ways.
-Tension. A big part of what made the 1982 film good is the fucktonne of tension that's built up everywhere over the course of the film, even when nothing is seemingly happening. This is also the main source of the fear in it, it wasn't all about the jumpscares or the creatures. It was the distrust of everyone and everything on screen.
In 2011, this get's thrown out the window. Things don't get built up, tension is not established; instead things just happen. "Oh the movies starting to slow down, throw in a random monster jumping out". There's no build up, and no pay off.
-As for the jumpscares themselves, which the film uses as it's primary vehicle of horror, they are just kind of bad tbh. They couldn't even get the jumpscares right, mainly because there's none of the tension mentioned about. Of the various jumps in the film only one give me a mild jump and it was in the first half of the film. The rest was just meh really, I did not feel fear during this film, it just simply wasn't scary.
-There have been entire essays on the awfulness of the CGI in this film, but I will say it again. The CGI is awful in this film and it looks like a X360 game. Also fucking everything is CGI, the backgrounds, the helicopters, it's just bad. You know you've taken a wrong turn when the props and setups in the 1982 elicit a much more horrific reaction then your 2010 effects.
-In addition and less talked about, the soundtrack in 2011 is just bland. I imagine in Hollywood they just have a CD of generic sounds and music for horror films that they use for all these movies. Music is extremely bland and nearly non existent, and the sounds for the creatures are a step down from 1982.
-A sort of nit pic on my end. But I can't stand the Cam filter they used for this film. Everything just looks so dull and sterile, this film has two colours; white and grey.
-Finally I guess, there's just no iconic cinematography in this movie. 1982 is full of it, tonnes of amazing shots that are very memorable; scenes like when they find the Bennings-Thing running away outside with the sirens blaring, and they all just circle around it as it wails while stretching out it's very not-human claws.
Here there's just.. nothing, no scenes strike any emotion in me. The only iconic thing is the main poster for the film, which just so happens to be the Bennings scene lol.
Well, there it is, my midnight tired thoughts and rambles on a fairly bad film.
EDIT: oh actually forgot, the film's story also suffers from Prometheus Syndrome when it comes to characters. I.E. super smart scientists acting like complete dumb asses to push the plot.
Now I should preface that I fully understand all the corporate BS the films team went through. From all the physical props being thrown out, to the script going through the blender several times. However i'm just judging the end product, not how we got there.
I'm not so good with putting stuff into words so i'll try and break it down:
-On the basis of when this film is supposed to be set (1982), the casting and the way they portray/dress up the characters look off. They look like people from 2010, not '82. It kind of creates a mental dissonance in my mind, well, that and a lot of things in this film. I also cannot stand that they just had to shove in some American characters as the main duo, despite this story taking place on a Norwegian outpost; because apparently US audiences are too afraid of scary Europeans or something. And then finally on this point, shoving in British characters randomly to take the more antagonistic roles.
-The characters themselves extremely bland and have practically no development. I think this is partly because there were too many of them, but I don't think I can remember anyone's names; not even the main girl. The only sort of character traits I can point out are: main smart girl who is smart because she is smart. The strong male character that protects the girl because he is a strong male character and she is a girl. And the evil british scientist guy that doesnt care about human life because "muh science".
-Dialogue in this film is standard for the 2010's, and a complete stepdown from the 1982 film. I wasnt sure on how to write this section to properly get across what I meant, but basically I feel a lot of films these days, the writers don't know how to write interactions between people. Like, they don't sound like people at all, I feel like i'm listening to a script and it really pulls me out of the film. They just talk in strange ways.
-Tension. A big part of what made the 1982 film good is the fucktonne of tension that's built up everywhere over the course of the film, even when nothing is seemingly happening. This is also the main source of the fear in it, it wasn't all about the jumpscares or the creatures. It was the distrust of everyone and everything on screen.
In 2011, this get's thrown out the window. Things don't get built up, tension is not established; instead things just happen. "Oh the movies starting to slow down, throw in a random monster jumping out". There's no build up, and no pay off.
-As for the jumpscares themselves, which the film uses as it's primary vehicle of horror, they are just kind of bad tbh. They couldn't even get the jumpscares right, mainly because there's none of the tension mentioned about. Of the various jumps in the film only one give me a mild jump and it was in the first half of the film. The rest was just meh really, I did not feel fear during this film, it just simply wasn't scary.
-There have been entire essays on the awfulness of the CGI in this film, but I will say it again. The CGI is awful in this film and it looks like a X360 game. Also fucking everything is CGI, the backgrounds, the helicopters, it's just bad. You know you've taken a wrong turn when the props and setups in the 1982 elicit a much more horrific reaction then your 2010 effects.
-In addition and less talked about, the soundtrack in 2011 is just bland. I imagine in Hollywood they just have a CD of generic sounds and music for horror films that they use for all these movies. Music is extremely bland and nearly non existent, and the sounds for the creatures are a step down from 1982.
-A sort of nit pic on my end. But I can't stand the Cam filter they used for this film. Everything just looks so dull and sterile, this film has two colours; white and grey.
-Finally I guess, there's just no iconic cinematography in this movie. 1982 is full of it, tonnes of amazing shots that are very memorable; scenes like when they find the Bennings-Thing running away outside with the sirens blaring, and they all just circle around it as it wails while stretching out it's very not-human claws.
Here there's just.. nothing, no scenes strike any emotion in me. The only iconic thing is the main poster for the film, which just so happens to be the Bennings scene lol.
Well, there it is, my midnight tired thoughts and rambles on a fairly bad film.
EDIT: oh actually forgot, the film's story also suffers from Prometheus Syndrome when it comes to characters. I.E. super smart scientists acting like complete dumb asses to push the plot.
