Recovery (2019) Directed by John Liang
Well, good news is that this movie is not a complete and total train wreck but it unfortunately doesn't exactly live up to its potential either.
And honestly, this movie really had some potential. It was original, with some pretty interesting and clearly had some good ideas in it. It's unfortunate that the movie doesn't really know how to use all of its interesting and original ideas, and turn this into a memorable and effective movie.
You can't really put this movie under just one category, which in my opinion isn't ever necessarily a bad thing as well. Most of time it means that the movie is being an original one, that really truly is trying to do its very own thing. This movie also definitely is doing its own thing, but I don't know if that in this case is a positive thing as well. It rather makes the movie a bit of a messy one at times, that also isn't being the easiest or most pleasant one to watch and follow, especially the second halve of the movie.
The idea of using a veterans trauma and troubles and set it against the backdrop of a horror movie sounds like a pretty good and interesting premise, but the problem with it is that it doesn't deliver on its psychological horror- and thriller elements well enough. The buildup is there, most of the times, but the payoff is lacking. The movie actually does a fairly good job setting up its mystery and tension, but once it starts to become apparent that the movie doesn't know how to deliver on any of it, it turns into a bit of a snoozefest.
And that's all a shame of course. Not only because the right kind of buildup and premise all seems to be there, but also because the movie obviously had some pretty talented people involved with it. As far as these cheap and independent type of movies go, this one has a pretty good and professional look and feel to it. And even though the dialog feels somewhat lacking, the acting still is pretty good. It's still remains a huge missed opportunity that despite of the decent buildup and acting, that the movie never fully succeeds at it at turning its characters into likable and interesting enough ones as well. It's one of the reasons why the movie fails to make much of an impression and doesn't become much of an engaging one to watch. It basically is hard to care for any of the characters, or to what ever happens to them.
But I just can't really hate on this movie. It's too original and features too many good ideas in it for that. That fact that it doesn't live up to its potential doesn't mean that the movie is a terrible one to watch as well. Just extremely forgettable, as well as still somewhat disappointing in the end.
5/10
Watch trailer
And honestly, this movie really had some potential. It was original, with some pretty interesting and clearly had some good ideas in it. It's unfortunate that the movie doesn't really know how to use all of its interesting and original ideas, and turn this into a memorable and effective movie.
You can't really put this movie under just one category, which in my opinion isn't ever necessarily a bad thing as well. Most of time it means that the movie is being an original one, that really truly is trying to do its very own thing. This movie also definitely is doing its own thing, but I don't know if that in this case is a positive thing as well. It rather makes the movie a bit of a messy one at times, that also isn't being the easiest or most pleasant one to watch and follow, especially the second halve of the movie.
The idea of using a veterans trauma and troubles and set it against the backdrop of a horror movie sounds like a pretty good and interesting premise, but the problem with it is that it doesn't deliver on its psychological horror- and thriller elements well enough. The buildup is there, most of the times, but the payoff is lacking. The movie actually does a fairly good job setting up its mystery and tension, but once it starts to become apparent that the movie doesn't know how to deliver on any of it, it turns into a bit of a snoozefest.
And that's all a shame of course. Not only because the right kind of buildup and premise all seems to be there, but also because the movie obviously had some pretty talented people involved with it. As far as these cheap and independent type of movies go, this one has a pretty good and professional look and feel to it. And even though the dialog feels somewhat lacking, the acting still is pretty good. It's still remains a huge missed opportunity that despite of the decent buildup and acting, that the movie never fully succeeds at it at turning its characters into likable and interesting enough ones as well. It's one of the reasons why the movie fails to make much of an impression and doesn't become much of an engaging one to watch. It basically is hard to care for any of the characters, or to what ever happens to them.
But I just can't really hate on this movie. It's too original and features too many good ideas in it for that. That fact that it doesn't live up to its potential doesn't mean that the movie is a terrible one to watch as well. Just extremely forgettable, as well as still somewhat disappointing in the end.
5/10
Watch trailer
