If you've ever stepped foot in a newsroom, know this: they're always cold. With that said, it's extra cold today! I don't know why it's like this this morning, but I've been shivering all day, and my fingers feel like they're about to go numb. I knew transitioning from Florida to Ohio was going to be rough, but yikes, I'm now very worried about what the winter has in store for me. Enough about me complaining; let's talk about...
Triangle (2009)
OK, this one will be difficult to review, but I'll do my best. It's a weird movie and a bit of a mind-f. I'm struggling with how to talk about it because the fun in the movie is seeing everything play out. It's discuss without getting into spoiler territory and this movie is probably better to go in fresh. Normally I don't mind giving out spoilers for weird movies because it's unlikely anyone will watch it. I've seen the numbers; I get fewer interactions for lesser-known movies. This is a cool one, but I need to tread lightly because part of the fun is the story unraveling itself and I can imagine it's more enjoyable if you don't know what's going to happen.
We start the movie with a young single mother and her autistic son. She is clearly at her wits end with everything as she packs to go on a boat trip for her, her son and some of her friends. We then fast forward to the boat and we get to know the cast of characters that she'll be cruising with, including Liam Hemsworth! When she shows up she seems a little dazed and explains that she dropped her son, Tommy, off at a special needs school. In the middle of their trip, the wind suddenly dies on them and they're hit with a sudden and powerful storm that tips their boat. All but one resurfaced and they're left to drift on their overturned boat until they come across an ocean liner and then hop on.
While exploring the ship, they find it abandoned and then one by one they all get killed. It's not until the main character, Jess, confronts the masked killer that things get weird. This is where I run into problems because if I talk about anything else I'll be giving it away. So I'm going to give some thoughts on certain things and see where it goes...
I liked the twist and how it played out. And... never mind, I changed my mind. I literally can't talk about this at all unless I get into the details. So if you don't want this spoiled you can skip the rest of this paragraph. As the bodies keep dropping, Jess comes face to face with the masked killer. She manages to knock the baddie into the water, but not before some muffled pleas from the killer that you purposely can't make out. After the baddie disappears, Jess looks over the side and sees herself and her friends on the overturned boat calling for a rescue. She then watches everything she just experienced play out in front of her. Then it cycles again, and she's now the one who ends up in the mask and the one who gets knocked off the boat into the water. She's stuck in a wheel and every Jess that makes it on the ship becomes a terrified survivor, then a witness and then the killer. It's a never-ending loop that we jumped into in the middle.
That's all the spoilers I'm going to get into. But there's still more to see even after everything gets explained. It's also awesome because the movie shows, it doesn't tell. In most movies when something unexplained happens the protagonists always find an expert or survivor that's able to exposition dump the story for you. In this one, you learn by seeing, it's a refreshing take. Anyways, after all that, it's when she washes up on the beach that things really get crazy! It's a cool premise and it plays out in such a cool way. Despite her trying to "fix" everything, nothing goes the way she'd like. You're watching and wondering if she's on the right track because she's doing things differently than how she saw it, but then there's a scene that shows that nothing changes and no matter what she does, it's always going to end with her in the same place. It's such a cool moment when you realize this. As for the reveal, it takes a lot to shock me in a movie, like genuine shock, but the reveal is such a jaw-dropping moment and it's brilliant. It's a very disturbing visual and the fact that the dying woman, Sally, doesn't even react to it while Jess desperately tries to comfort/tell her it wasn't her is SO good. When you see that scene, I can't begin to imagine how I'd react if it happened to me. It's so unique, I can't say enough about how good this scene is.
I also have to commend the entire cast. All but one of them are Australian (the other is a Brit) and their American accents are well done. At no point does their native accent poke through. It's well-acted all around with Jess being the highlight. She plays manic desperation perfectly that you root for her, but you wouldn't want to have her over for dinner.
The movie has a Groundhog Day/Happy Death Day feel to it but eventually explains why this is happening to her. While Groundhog Day is better without an explanation and I thought Happy Death's Day explanation isn't the greatest, that's not the case for Triangle. I loved the explanation. Not only does it go supernatural, but breaks out the Greek Mythology. It's so sad when you realize she's going to be doing this forever.
But, as much as I liked the explanation, it kind of falls apart a bit if you think too closely. Still, I have no problem overlooking it because it's very cool and sometimes it's better not to overthink things. It's not a "scary" movie but does have some tense moments and packs a jump scare or two. Like I mentioned earlier, it's a trip and when you see everything she goes through, knowing she's going to be doing it again... and again... and again it makes you shudder.
8.5 Dr. Chainsaws!
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