Triangle (2009 film)
| Triangle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Christopher Smith |
| Produced by | Jason Newmark Julie Baines Chris Brown |
| Written by | Christopher Smith |
| Starring | Melissa George Liam Hemsworth Rachael Carpani |
| Music by | Christian Henson |
| Cinematography | Robert Humphreys |
| Editing by | Stuart Gazzard |
| Distributed by | Dan Films (UK) Icon Entertainment International |
| Release date(s) | 27 August 2009 (UK's Frightfest) |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Australia |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £548,909 (UK) |
Triangle is a 2009 British-Australian psychological horror film, directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Melissa George, Rachael Carpani and Liam Hemsworth. The film was released in the UK on 16 October 2009.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Jess (Melissa George) is a single mother to Tommy (Joshua McIvor), who is autistic. Encouraged by her friend, Greg (Michael Dorman), to take some time for herself, she joins him and his friends for a day of sailing. Soon, they get caught in a freak electrical storm which capsizes their boat, forcing them to seek refuge on a passing ocean liner. Once on board, they realize that the ship is empty. Jess, however, feels that she has been there before.
As the group of five explores the ship further, strange things begin to happen. Jess comments on having an incredible, constant sense of deja vu, footsteps are heard in the halls, Jess' keys are found dropped on the floor and blood trails are seen on the floor. A masked figure stalks the group while Jess attempts to piece together the unfolding mystery as well as survive. One by one the members of the group are killed until finally there is only Jess, who faces off against the figure, culminating in her throwing the person overboard.
After the masked figure falls in the water, the ship passes by the capsized yacht with the original five members of the group in exactly the same position as they had been earlier. Jess watches the group board and the events play out the same way they did before. Jess discovers that they are trapped in a time loop, and tries to stop the masked figure again (who is Jess from an earlier time loop) by changing causality. However, her friends still die, and it is revealed that this "choice" was merely the effect of a secondary cycle (as evidenced by multiple corpses of her friends dying in the "new" manner)
Jess figures out that the time loop resets when everyone is dead after observing a past version of herself throwing the masked figure overboard. Deciding the only way to save her friends is to stop them from getting on the boat, thus she must kill all their present counterparts in order to have the loop repeat itself. However, when events play out the same way again, she falls overboard when the new version of herself attacks her, and wakes up on a beach near home.
Jess reaches home and sees herself and her son. Sequences are shown that were not shown in the first instance of this scene, portraying Jess as a bad mother, verbally and physically abusing her son. Jess is disgusted at how she used to treat her son, and kills the Past Jess in order to take her place. Thinking it best to get out of town, she heads off with her son in back and the body in the trunk. She hits and kills a seagull, and after one of Tommy's outbursts, decides to throw it into a nearby ditch. Here she discovers many other seagull corpses, revealing that she is still caught in the time loop. When her attention is diverted, she accidentally sideswipes a truck, causing her car to flip over, killing her son.
Jess, in shock, stands nearby the crash site. A taxi driver approaches, and, with condolences, offers to take her somewhere else. She leaves with him to go to the harbour to meet up with Greg and the group: beginning the cycle again.
[edit] Production
The film was written and directed by Christopher Smith. The UK Film Council awarded public money from the National Lottery fund towards the development, production and distribution of the film, in eight awards totalling just under £1.5 million.[2]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical
Triangle was well-received critically, prior to and after it was released. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81% acceptable "fresh".[3] Empire gave the film a 4/5 stars rating, and called it a "satisfying mind-twister, with an unexpectedly poignant pay-off".[4]
Variety said that Triangle only makes some kind of sense on its own fantastic level.[5] Time Out reviewer Nigel Floyd praises Melissa George's "fearless, credible performance" that "grounds the madness in a moving emotional reality."[6] The Guardian critic, Philip French compared it to a "Möbius strip" in which the viewer "wonders how Smith will keep things going" and adds the viewer will "leave his picture suitably shaken."[7] Fellow Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw remarked Triangle is a "smart, interestingly constructed scary movie", complimenting Smith for "creating some real shivers."[8]
Less impressed was Entertainment Ireland's Mike Sheridan, who does praise George's "fine committed performance, but that can't shield the fact that this still an exceptionally non-scary horror, that will have you scratching your head more than jumping out of your seat," ultimately rating it 2/5 stars.[9][10]
Triangle was highly praised by The Movie Spot, giving it a 4.5 out of 5, saying "It throws everything it can to mess with you and twist what you are seeing around you."[11] Horror review site Bloodydisgusting.com gave it 6/10 mostly praising its craftsmanship but faulting its supposed obscurity.
[edit] Distribution
The film premiered in the UK at the London FrightFest Film Festival on 27 August 2009. Triangle was theatrically released on 16 October 2009, in the UK;[12] 30 December 2009 in Belgium;[13] 21 January 2010 in the Netherlands.[14]
Triangle was critically successful but was not a commercial success. Debuting at 217 theaters in the UK, the film grossed £260,626 on its opening weekend, resulting into a number seven debut in the top 10.[15] The following week, the film fell to number 11. As of 25 October 2009, the film has a domestic gross of £548,903.[16]
[edit] Home media
Icon Home Entertainment distributed Triangle through standard DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the UK, with a release date of 1 March 2010.[17]
[edit] References
- ^ "Director Chris Smith On Triangle". http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=894.
- ^ "UK Film Council - Awards Database". http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/awards.
- ^ "Triangle Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. 12 October 2009. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1212111-triangle/. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle (15)". Empire Reviews Central. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=136009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ Derek Elley (8 November 2009). "Triangle". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941566.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ Floyd, Nigel (21 October 2009). "Triangle (2009)". Time Out. Time Out. http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/87924/triangle.html. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ French, Philip (18 October 2009). "Bandslam". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/oct/18/triangle-occult-thriller-philip-french. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (15 October 2009). "Bandslam". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/oct/15/triangle-film-review. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ Sheridan, Mike (22 October 2009). "Triangle Review". Entertainment Ireland. http://entertainment.ie/movie_reviews/Triangle/6624.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Film review: Triangle". Scotsman. 15 October 2009. http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Film-review-Triangle.5739092.jp. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle Review". The Movie Spot. 23 March 2010. http://ny-themoviespot.blogspot.com/2010/03/triangle.html. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "A New Look Inside Chris Smith's Bermuda 'Triangle'". Bloody Disgusting. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17675. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle filmbespreking". Film Freak. http://filmfreak.be/index.php?module=filmfreak&func=viewpub&tid=1&pid=9856&title=Triangle. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle (2009)". Film1. http://www.film1.nl/films/33031-Triangle.html. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "United Kingdom Box Office for the weekend starting 16 October 2009". IMDb. 16 October 2009. http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/?region=uk&date=2009-10-16. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle (2009) Box office / business". IMDb. 25 October 2009. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187064/business. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Triangle Splashes Onto UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc This March". http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35951/triangle-splashes-onto-uk-dvd-and-blu-ray-this-march.
[edit] External links
- Official website at Icon Entertainment International
- Official soundtrack site at MovieScore Media
- Triangle at the Internet Movie Database
- Triangle at Rotten Tomatoes
- "Triangle" Site at PreparedToBeScared.com
|
|||||||||||
