Human Condor The classic motif of the “dead” killer who returned for revenge is not new and has been beaten many times, ranging from the maniac who directly returned to his promises and ending with the imitation and copying of the image by one of the key, or even secondary, heroes of the film. In the center of the plot of the new film by Wes Craven is a psychopath suffering from a split personality, who, according to legend, returns 16 years later to get even with all the teenagers born on the night of his death.
The main character is a simple school loser, with a huge passion for condors - scavenger birds, according to legend, absorbing the souls of the dead along with the flesh. Such terrible tales the film is filled with about the entire first third. That we are told stories about maniacs and the obligation to beat his stuffed, the psychotic red-haired nun thunders about the hellish fire, in which everyone will have to burn, and all in the spirit, straining the audience imagination for the lack of a delicious visual.
Honestly, such a game of imagination does not stop and with the development of the main action, with the motives of the slasher, Craven completely forgets about its spectacular advantages. Most murders take place somewhere out there, behind the cameraman's attention, while there's blood in the shot, or there's nothing happening at all. Just somewhere on the other side of the story are many characters, one way or another in the plot appearing, as if the final editing of the film deliberately cut the most interesting. No erotic scenes, no spectacular dismemberment, no expressive scenes that can be remembered in a positive way and remain in memory. Although a condor person can claim such an episode in full. But at the same time, Craven hopelessly, but confidently, literally time-by-time quotes that “Scream” or “Nightmare on Elm Street”, and some elements of the film also resemble “My Bloody Valentine” and both “Halloween” by Rob Zombie.
The script is not devoid of at least some share of originality, and sometimes the characters, usually reaching the finale or even staying alive according to the laws of the genre, are cut dashingly and rapidly, and to the finale they use such a collection of motifs that the signature twist “guess who the killer” is not even under the power of the creators of the film, issuing instead of something logical and interesting, the action of the finale is too prolonged by dialogues.
Focused on schoolchildren, the film in separate scenes will be able to hold a degree of necessary atmosphere, without straining false elements, as it has now become fashionable. And pulling the strings reigning in the frame of tension, almost always justified action does not take long. And the slasher turns out to be not boring and quite watchable, but at the same time very much inferior to many modern genre crafts, turning out to be a passing film, but which should not be missed by fans of the genre, well, and Craven fans as well. Probably Craven just does a little warm-up before the fourth “Scream”, so that there and plenty of fun over the genre, and at the same time visually fill the film with all expressive genre clichés.
5 out of 10
Original