The film “Scenario” is a visual aid as a bad director and an unfinished script can spoil a potentially good idea. Initially, the film did not claim any originality or high artistic value for cinema, but had every chance to become quite watchable, tense thriller, but, alas, all hopes were shattered about the hulking performance of his duties as the ideological inspirer of the whole process, Mike Levin.
It seems that having taken on such important aspects of filmmaking as writing, directing and editing, he failed to bring each of these undertakings to its logical conclusion. Whether he was in a hurry, or Levin’s character, it’s hard to say, I guess he thought his creation was flawless, interesting and intense. But, alas, this is far from the case. In the first third of the film, the events unfolding on the screen really cause interest, but not so much what is happening now in the frame as it is intriguing to expect that as soon as the plot gains momentum, it will attract all attention, make you empathize with the characters of the picture, look for a maniac or his accomplice among the characters and expect a denouement. But with each passing minute, hopes for this are increasingly fading.
The creators of the picture went too far with the monologues of the main characters, who were supposed to reveal to us their characters, views on life, but in fact, taking the lion’s share of screen time, turned out to be very long, tedious and largely meaningless and unnecessary. Probably, these scenes Levin tried to bring more drama to the plot, to make the viewer empathize with the characters of the film, but still gave the impression that the main purpose of these interviews was solely to increase the timing of the picture. After twenty minutes, you begin to wait for the dialogue and acquaintance of the characters of the picture to finally end, when they finally finish examining the interior of the house and the main action begins, in which the cunning maniac will lure gullible victims into his traps. But when the time comes to the first murder, the last hopes that the film can turn out to be of quality are dispelled like smoke. With the exception of a couple of mediocre murder scenes and one of the most ridiculous torture scenes I've seen in movies in recent years, all the other "bloody" scenes, apparently, to keep our nerves safe, decided not to show. But after an incredibly long start, you expect that the film will add to the dynamism and intrigue the further development of events, but nothing like this from the creation of Mike Levin, as it turned out, should not be expected.
But the illogical and absurd actions of the main characters at least spare. And if their indifference to the script of the film, the absence of the crew in the mansion and calmness about the fact that the car that took them to the place, disappeared in an unknown direction can still somehow be understood, then their reaction to the discovery of the first corpse was not sane. After burning for twenty seconds, they do not think of anything better than to have dinner and calmly disperse around the rooms for the night, having already safely forgotten about the find. The fact that it would not be bad to get out of the house and call for help, they, throughout the film, do not even think.
The musical accompaniment would not be bad for horror films about a maniac in a mask chasing students, but in this film it looked absolutely foreign body, because not only frightening moments, but also simple internal tension and intensity of the film is devoid. Not to frighten the viewer, not to force him to empathize with the heroes of the picture, the filmmakers did not succeed.
Although the characters do not produce the desired effect, it still seems that it is not the fault of the actors, but shortcomings in the script and direction. The cast is perhaps the only positive moment in the picture, it is pleasant to the eye, and the acting makes a good impression. Of course, they do not jump above their heads, but perform their duties conscientiously and professionally, especially for little-known actors. It is a pity that their works are lost amid flaws in the script.
Even a certain zest lurking in the ending of the film is not able to save the "Script" from a negative attitude towards him. Just a weak semblance of the original finale and a good acting game is not able to tip the scales in their favor, when the plot, devoid of dynamism and spectacular scenes, ridiculous scenery, empty dialogues, musical accompaniment that does not correspond to the events taking place on the screen, and the heroes, by the will of the authors, are forced to perform actions that are contrary to common sense ... Alas, a potentially good film turned out to be frankly passable and not suitable for viewing.
3 out of 10