'Adrenaline' I first watched as a child, being in a painful, half-sleeping state, and for a long time thought that I just dreamed of this film. Not that it had some schizophrenic plot, but it just seemed so stuffy and monotonous that I logically assumed the improbability of the existence of such a piece of dullness. But 15 years after I first watched it, I happened to stumble upon it on one of the online cinemas for the poor. There was no limit to my joy, I almost threw myself out of the window from the raging feelings.
But in the end, it was not as boring as the devil as it was painted by my young brain. It's a normal movie, it's just very, very cheap, in all aspects. Approximately 85 percent of the timeline is devoted to how two pairs of cops from the apocalyptic year of 2007 are chasing a mad mutant vampire. They pursue him mainly through some shabby corridors and dark sewers, moving from wall to wall at the speed of a contoured snail and hurling guns at the camera. It looks not as tedious as I thought before, after all, there is some kind of action, and sometimes tension is successfully escalated, just periodically I want the heroes to finally powerfully and spectacularly shoot at someone, but alas - the budgetary is not the same. Money from the director-writer Pune was enough only for a couple of semi-decent actors, and it is worth noting that despite the general bi-movie atmosphere, Christopher Lambert and Natasha Henstridge play surprisingly well. The rest of the cast didn’t really stand out, and the only storyline that was interesting to me was related to the aforementioned personalities. In general, this movie should be praised at least for the fact that it does not look like a third-rate hack, I liked the depressive atmosphere of an impoverished, disordered city in which poor cops have to maintain at least some order amid panic due to the rampant terrible virus. Yes, the speed of the plot development 'Adrenaline' does not correspond to its name at all, in places it can be called rather 'Chloroform', but if you include it somewhere in the background and look at the screen only in the moments of the appearance of Lambert and Henstridge, then this movie will not cause any special negative.
I have impressions from this modest artwork about as if I looked at the void for an hour and a half, and, naturally, all three. It is a great invention in such cases.
I have respect for Albert Pune, because to make films for modest budgets, which even now are perceived as full-fledged blockbusters, is not given to many. Not many people feel the style and irony. Pyun is characterized by gambling, he has a lively handwriting, thanks to which many moments cut into emotional memory. So, at least, Mean Guns and Nemesis I appreciate quite highly, they are worth watching if you want to relax and take a break from everyday life.
If you go back to Adrenaline, then first of all you can see that this is a thriller in the style of ' Alien' and ' Predator', i.e. people against a certain creature, superior to their physical strength and a number of other parameters. The main nonsense is that the mutant, acting here as an antagonist, does not frighten or inspire. Imagine how much the impression of the Predator & #39 would have changed if he had sat down in the first scene with his participation? The correct answer is that he and everything in the film would be impossible to take seriously. You have to respect the viewer’s perception a little. But Pyun in Adrenaline somehow thought the opposite, because the above scene is present in it and causes an easily predictable effect.
The movie universe is completely abstract, half dystopian, half post-apocalypse, something like that. But this does not matter at all, the voiceover text in the introduction is not enough to create a sense of the appropriate atmosphere. The film is locked in some brick catacombs and tunnels, the locations look as random as possible. You could just as well do the same thing about today, the difference would be intangible.
Suspense is created by old-fashioned methods, i.e. mediated as if threatening camera movements, recording the walking and crawling of characters back and forth in real time. Interestingly, this is similar to watching dry paint. Especially when they first showed the 10th approximately inspection of the room by one group of characters, and then a similar operation is not much shorter duration already with the participation of others. Pyung, of course, deserves a nice stick for such a slut. Speaking of hacking, I'd rather not mention the local ' action scenes' because this is the epitome of squalor, last shot in the 50-60s.
Of course, not without some lights in the darkness of this tiring craft. It is clear that Lambert and Henstridge are essentially useless, since they got pale character-functions with no backstory. But still, they look good in a pair, more plastic than would look in their place unknown average actors. Diwoff brings his devilish charisma and is sometimes amusing.'We won't deal with this problem, because if we send a large number of police officers there, panic will rise' for example, remembered.
As a result, watching this film I was disappointed, because I expected a pleasant pastime, and received only a number of unpleasant sensations. Don’t waste your time, don’t be fooled by Pyun’s name.
2 out of 10
American director Albert Pyun worked and works mainly in low-budget films, but his name, unlike many of his colleagues, can serve as a guarantee of quality. “Adrenaline: Fear of the chase” does not disappoint expectations, although for the director it is still uncharacteristic.
Albert Pyun has shot action films and fiction many times. He also has an unquestionable interest in westerns, as, like John Wu, he likes to shoot one-on-one shoots. But, perhaps, Pyun never made a movie where there was a suspense. Therefore, the viewer, knowing the early works of the director, such as Cyborg, Nemesis, will experience surprise, delight or disappointment.
"Adrenaline ..." is a thriller, and in the classic version. Making the background of the post-apocalyptic future, Albert Pyun came up with a plot about a mutant maniac who must be killed, because he is a carrier of a dangerous disease. This film does not destroy even the parallels with Tony Mailam’s previously released thriller “Mere Seconds” – it is Pune who counts literally for seconds, and the maniac has incredible speed and strength, killing everyone with a healthy knife and eating people’s hearts. Elements of cannibalism are neatly hidden, since the author’s plans did not include filming horror. The expectation of murder is much more frightening than the actual dismemberment. And most of the action takes place in one place - an old abandoned prison, where four policemen were trapped, who came to neutralize an unknown killer.
The director called for the main roles of the already experienced Christopher Lambert and Natasha Henstridge, then only declared herself in the “Minorities”. In such cases, it is common to say that the actors coped well with the roles, and complement each other perfectly, but this is not Pyun’s case. His film is by no means an actor. The name accurately reflects the content, since almost all timekeeping is an endless action, where even dialogue is minimized. Is that bad? For someone, yes. But the thriller, as created by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1920s, just suggests an alarming expectation, that is, it is suspense. And those viewers who want to look at the night tickle their nerves, should not miss this long-standing work of an experienced director. It keeps in suspense from beginning to end and rushes rapidly, like a roller coaster. To increase the tension, the director even introduced a time limit, which reminded the ingenious “Rope” or John Badem’s parallel thriller “At the Last Minute”.
Kill or die - such a slogan could be "Adrenaline..."
7 out of 10
There are times when one project is a bit like another. Maybe it's a couple of scenes or a big dialogue in the script. It happens that one film borrows too many parts from another, and this can be seen even with the naked eye. In a similar situation was the horror film Albert Pune “Adrenaline” with Christopher Lambert and Natasha Henstridge in the lead roles. What happened and what kind of film this project is like - about it right now.
2007. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia, a wave of unrest begins. This leads to the infection of parts of Europe first, and in the end get to the United States. People in panic, infected are closed in quarantine zones, stretching for tens, maybe hundreds, kilometers and cities, and those who have not yet become infected or are in public service or dead. The number of survivors is falling sharply every day. One day, an unknown infected person escapes the quarantine zone, brutally dealing with everyone in the camp. He is ruthless, extremely strong and very dangerous. The maniac leaves behind only traces of dozens of corpses, cut or torn to pieces. A police rookie, part-time mother is a loner, Delon and her partner are assigned a simple task - to find a psychopath and, if possible, solve everything peacefully. Arriving at the scene, in an old, seemingly uninhabited house, the police find many bloody bodies and the monster himself. Delon manages to escape, and her partner is beheaded. Arrived to help a group of experienced cop Lemieux becomes only new players in the deadly game.
The film was directed by Albert Pyun, known for several sequels of Kickboxer and has an eternal love for cyborgs. Deciding to move away from both, Pyun decided to make a horror film. It turned out, to be honest, not successfully, and to a greater extent very much resembles the picture released four years before this project, “Counter Seconds” by Tony Mailem, only slightly secretive and edited. Not to say that Pyun turned out a horror movie in general - it's more like some kind of chasing after the villain. You can agree, you can adapt well, events develop within a few hours, without interrupting anything else. Yes, the Boston police would have laughed a lot at this film, and it is true that some scenes look extremely stupid and comical from the outside, and multiple blunders do not improve the film’s life. The most noticeable mistake is that the heroes then recharge after 2-uh-3 shots, then shoot as much as 8 times and do not recharge, continuing the pursuit. Strange detail - in Boston, the police travel on "fours" and "Nivah", and the police unit for some reason - the flag of Romania. What the hell is that? Maybe Pyun-director can be forgiven a few details, but here Pyun - a screenwriter forgave nothing. The script is not just like the script of Counting Seconds, it is literally imbued with it, just as Mailem’s film borrowed several details from other works. It's also a sad future. Also a brutal killer maniac. The police officers (but not so tough) are chasing him. There are many questions to the script, two of them are most interesting:
1) The situation is not entirely clear - the order to deliver the infected only alive, but in the end, scientists tell the hero that she would kill the mutant as soon as possible! What does that mean? After all, if the order was given to destroy his many victims could be avoided.
(2) Incomprehensible behavior of the maniac - he hides, then hangs in one place to be discovered and runs on. And so throughout most of the film. Of course, it may seem that he is luring the police into a trap, but thanks to their already very strange behavior, this is only possible in the second half of the film. The incomprehensible behavior of the maniac is that he constantly shoots in the legs and hands of his victims, instead of killing them all and ending it all. Despite this hopeless approach, sometimes you can hear a few not funny jokes (although the joke with the eye is an exception, she really pleased). The characters are spelled out bluff, more - less normal described the main character, Delon, only about her the viewer knows at least something. Apart from the fact that this scenario is very, very similar to the “counted seconds”, you can say “weak, but fine”, but with such a coincidence there is nothing left to say very bad. The cameraman George Muradian made the right swing at the atmosphere, giving the picture the gloomy tones of the underground prison and its surroundings. It was good, atmospheric, right. Muradian does not use special techniques. The music of Anthony Riparetti tries to close the box of the transmitted atmosphere, but no matter how hard the operator and the composer try when working with the atmosphere, this will be extremely small, the whole claim to the script.
Not a bad cast selection. The only diamond in this impenetrable abyss was Christopher Lambert, who played the role of Lemieux. Christopher plays as it should, for his hero really want to worry to the end, which can not be said about Natasha Henstridge, which in the film is prepared the main role, or another patron in the actor's clip. It is terrible to realize that without Lambert this project would have been even worse, because no one could save the sinking ship. Lambrath could not, he was able to keep it on his hump for a long time. There is nothing more to say, actors, like heroes, are few here, no one shows the necessary, natural play.
Total:
“Adrenaline” is too weak a film where you can appreciate the work of the operator, the composer who managed to cast a shadow of a gloomy atmosphere on the project, and the acting works of Christopher Lambert. There is nothing else in this movie. No intrigue, no interest. There is only boredom and a desire for a speedy completion. The fact of great resemblance to “Few Seconds” (it is worth repeating once again) does not give Pyun’s tape a happy future, so it is better to get acquainted with the film by Tony Mylen, and then, if there is time and desire, get acquainted with this incomprehensible and ridiculous project.
Thank you for listening!
The atmosphere of dampness and hopelessness is present in every frame. Funny fact that in the scenery of the film Pyun, in the same year, made his other equally significant film “Soldier of the Apocalypse”. The gloom of the film’s tones is also emphasized by the fact that Pyun shot a number of his films in the territories of the then civil war Yugoslavia, which increases the feeling of hostility.
Albert Pyun was able to embody on the screen the atmosphere of impenetrable blackness creeping into the windings of the underground corridors of reason. Where the guardian of the law is by all standards an alien being. And the owner of the underground land is strong and ferocious.
Pyun's darkest and, alas, most underrated film.
An alternate reality. 2007. Nineteen years ago, the Soviet Union collapsed, and as a result, Mother Anarchy marched through Europe, summoning under its banners the wretched, the wretched and the offended. Surprisingly, a great number of such people gathered, as a result of which the official government was overthrown, cities turned into ruins, and ordinary people, instead of doing agriculture, know themselves, beat up policemen, break cars, and blow up houses while demanding that the government feed them. This is how Albert Pyun saw the future of the earth, a man who is able to issue interesting or not very interesting ideas to the judgment of people and himself to destroy these ideas because of a lack of imagination, common sense and creative streak. Amazing man, yes. So amazing that he should team up with Uwe Ball and start making films together, and maybe they will have something good.
One way or another, a terrible disease is raging in the world created by Albert Puhn. At the same time, the disease is so terrible that it is not transmitted by airborne droplets, nor through blood, nor even through saliva. It is better to ask Dr. Albert Pyun how the disease spreads, I am sure he will be able to find an answer to such a burning question. So the essence of this disease is that a person becomes stronger, more dexterous, tenacious, and his touch brings death to others. Of the side effect, it can be noted that the face of the patient suggests thoughts of dried plum, as well as the desire to eat raw meat, usually human. And one such subject escapes from a military hospital, interrupting all staff and patients. To stop such a dangerous and unpredictable person, two policemen are sent - a burned-out sergeant who never looks around and a young cadets who can shoot only one person with a gun - herself! Oh yes, the creepy subhuman simply has no chance!
In fact, this plot is limited, for the simple reason that the remaining time heroes and villains will climb through the ruins of an abandoned prison, exchange meaningless dialogue, and sometimes demand that they send reinforcements, which *drum shot* immediately falls into the clutches of a mutant, which suddenly dies. But even in this scenario, you can turn a low-budget craft into a candy. Ultimately, contrary to public opinion, I love Alien 3 very much, where the film also took place in a confined space, and people were forced to play cat and mouse with a monster that appeared straight from Lovecraft’s nightmares. Unfortunately, nothing really happens in this movie. The heroes simply walk through the dark labyrinths of tunnels of the old prison, while I would like to draw the viewer’s attention to the fact that the police first drove the infected person to prison, were able to return to the place of work, take a couple of pistol clips, although combat shotguns would not interfere and did not think to take a map with them. Why? The infected person did not escape from prison, so you had time to dig through the archives and find everything you needed. Are comrades dreaming of a Darwin Prize? If they dream of it, they will get it. I also don’t understand why the police and scientists don’t pay much attention to the fact that there is a monster running around the city that can turn people into vomiting with eyes. You see, the rebellion of the locals is more important to them. Yes, if this monster appears on the streets and if he finds a way to reproduce sexually or budding, then armed barefoot will be the least of your problems.
As for the actors, this film is certainly worthy of Natasha Henstridge, the owner of a pretty face, but devoid of acting talent completely, but for Christopher Lambert I was very offended. It is a shame because he is a really good and talented actor, but participation in such films does not paint him. It does not paint because his characters were deprived of both character and intelligible dialogue. I’m not even sure that Christopher Lambert’s character uttered more than two dozen phrases throughout the film. But at least he tried to play, unlike his colleagues.
As for the musical accompaniment, then let’s say the howling of the March cat can be called music compared to what could be heard in this film.
Summing up, I want to say that the film turned out gray, boring and ugly stupid. And the moment when the infected shoots at the police, and the heroine of Natasha Henstridge looks at it calmly instead of covering her partners is a vivid example of this. Therefore, my advice to you is to save your time and nerves and do not watch this film even for the sake of Christopher Lambert, as here the actor is not himself.
2 out of 10
Director Albert Pyun attracted to his next project for the main roles of quite famous actors, apparently, hoping thereby to raise the level of the picture. The film is set in 2007 in Boston, USA, where a colony of refugees from Europe was formed. The prologue describes a crisis that has plunged Europe into anarchy, starvation and disease, although this has little to do with further action.
In the Boston colony, completely separated from the rest of the world, a bloodthirsty mutant is introduced, moreover, capable of infecting all mankind with some dangerous virus. And now the main characters from the police have to chase him through all sorts of slums. Boston of the future was filmed here in Slovakia, obviously for reasons of economy. In the same year, Albert Pyun shot another similar film “Omega-dum” (“Soldier of the Apocalypse”) with Rutger Hauer in the title role, by the way, also in Slovakia.
But there are fans of such directors and films, as they are called, the category B-movie. Despite the frank low-budget, almost complete lack of plot, the picture managed to collect $ 37.5 thousand at the American box office (funny, of course, the amount).
3 out of 10