It’s sophisticated, it’s well written, and it will definitely keep audiences thinking hours after the movie has ended. Spoiler alert, below.!
Melissa George gives an outstanding performance as Jess, a troubled and disturbed woman who is tasked with taking care of her difficult autistic son. Hoping for some time off she goes on a boat trip with her friends and what seems like a relaxed trip suddenly becomes a harrowing fight for life as they’re all hit with a mysterious raging storm that sinks the ship and leaves them at the steps of a cruise ship that’s seemingly abandoned. What occurs is a story that unfolds before our eyes presenting a take on fate, destiny, karma and what little choice many of us have in our lives.
As the friends board the ship, they find themselves being hunted by a masked figure with a shotgun who is relentless in its pursuit to murder each and every one of them. But as the situation becomes more and more dangerous, Jess finds that she holds the key to ending the madness and then suddenly finds she may be at the mercy of a rift in the space time continuum. But is it really something supernatural that keeps her on the ship constantly boarding it to find her friends die one by one under different circumstances or has she lost her mind? Is it all one large case of deja vu, or did the storm introduce a scientific element that finds Jess’s universe in a complete loop? And what does the white seagull represent in the scope of her time paradox? What Christopher Smith(Director) does is gradually slip us in to a more dramatic angle revealing the full depth of Jess’s character and forces us to decide what is occurring in this film.
Christopher Smith only seems to be going uphill with a horror thriller that works as both a perception bending mystery and a ponderous drama that adds more and more layers of depth and dimension as it develops. Truly it’s one of the hidden gems of 2009. Definitely worth checking out if you are one who seeks a slasher and gory/mystery movie.