On paper, this movie checked all my boxes for a good one: it is about space missions (a satellite crash); it is SF horror (even without reading the movie synopsis, I can tell by now just from the onset the various kinds of SF flavour) and intelligence agencies/espionage. What could possibly go wrong?
This is the synopsis from IMDB: “An American military satellite crash lands in Eastern Serbia and a team of US and Serbian agents are dispatched to secure the remains of the satellite, but when they locate the crash site all is not as it seems.”
First of all, the good things about the movie (there are a few).
It is a low-budget movie, and I generally favour them, because they’re forced to substitute special effects with something more meaningful. Overall, their dialogue makes sense (or better sense, if you want) and the suspense, when it’s there (not always the case), it’s more genuine.
Second, it is based in Serbia: for what I know about the country (which is not a lot, but more than the average movie-goer, since I’ve been there a few times and have good friends) is better portrayed here than what I’ve generally seen about Eastern Europe nations (who doesn’t remember the infamous Hostel?). This is probably due to the fact the director is the American-Serbian Dejan Zecevic, who sticks to the well-known saying to write (in this case, film) what you know.
Finally, the pace is good and you don’t get asleep, which has been the case of the latest SF movies I’ve watched. This one kept me glued, even though not with the feelings I wished.
Now for the bad parts, which can be summarised in one single sentence: (shattered) suspension of disbelief.
For a start, why in the name of the espionage gods should the CIA investigate satellite crashes in the XXI century? I mean, we live no longer in the Roswell Era, and, with all the things going around, I can think of someone different to do the job. Also, they’re not at home, but in Serbia, and they have the authorisation of the local government. It seems unlikely, or at least, it’s unlikely considering what’s given as a reason. Which turns out, not a lot, just an excuse to have the team going there. In a real case scenario, a European government would probably call ESA to help first.
But these are menial details: the worst thing is the plot, which has crater holes far worse than the Moon in the title and it unravels pretty quickly. I won’t elaborate to avoid spoilers, but I kept watching with wide-open eyes, and not for the horror scenes (as I would have loved to).
In a word, this confirms one thing I had in my mind since long: keep watching horror, but stop with SF movies. Most of them are so low-quality compared to written SF. The problem is that sometimes the two genres mix up, like Venn diagrams, and if you’re not Ridley Scott, you can easily mess things up.
The reviews have been pretty mixed about The Rift, some praising it, others being definitively harsh.
In case you want to give it a try (it is now on Netflix), this is the trailer:
I had to admit based on the trailer I would NOT watch this, as far as trailers go it’s pretty bad. Hope your next movie works out better!
You’re so right: my problem is that I actually don’t watch trailers (I found they spoil too much for my taste), but this also means I risk watching movies I’d rather not… like it in this case! I’ll probably should think better. 😀
Ah, no thanks. I think I’ll pass…. 😀
Thanks for the warning!
I’m sure you can do a better use of your time 😀
LOL
Indeed….
Thank you for your excellent review, Steph. It’s not one I’d rush to watch – despite the lure of the space – as I don’t do horror. But Himself might get a bit carried away – and now I know sufficient to forwarn him. Thank you, Steph.
Thanks Sarah…at times I think good SF movies are just so difficult to find 🙁
Oh I agree – so much harder than finding an excellent SF book! Which is frustrating because Hollywood is a very poor ambassador for the genre in general.
I totally agree!