This is under J because of the lead character Jonathan.
Director: Brian Hanson
Writer: Richard Handley, Brian Hanson (Screenplay) Andy Warrener (Story)
Starring: Frankie Muniz, Blake Webb, Chelsea Edmundson, Richard Handley, Cullen Douglas
Plot: After a one-night stand with a mysterious and beautiful woman, Jonathan falls ill and starts to believe that he’s the victim of a sinister supernatural plot.
Tagline – When Nightmares Become Reality
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Black String starts when lonely store worker Jonathan (Muniz) turns to a sexy singles hotline, ending up with a date with the beautiful Dena (Edmundson) leading to a one-night-stand, the morning after Jonathan notices a rash on his chest, before starting to see people react to him differently.
Jonathan is left to go on the run to unlock the truth, which will see him needing to turn to the supernatural, one that will look to escape from before it is too late.
Thoughts on The Black String
Characters – Jonathan is a troubled lonely young man who in an attempt to find some connection finds himself calling a singles hotline, meeting a beautiful woman and finding himself infected with something. After he becomes infected, he starts acting more paranoid to everything in his life, determined to prove something is out there to get him. Eric is the best friend that had given Jonathan a chance to work in his shop, he will listen to his concerns, even if he gets hurt along the way. We do get to see the different doctors that try to help along with the different people who might offer different advice.
Performances – Frankie Muniz is left to try and carry this movie, which he does struggle with, with certain reactions being too over the top and not looking like he is part of the bigger picture. The supporting cast isn’t the strong either.
Story – The story here follows a young man that finds himself questioning everything about his life after a one-night-stand leaves him with a rash, with him needing to seek medical help, supernatural help and try to figure out the truth before it is too late. This story does feel like a much weaker version of ‘Drag Me to Hell’ with the seemingly running down of time to see if Jonathan in this case can escape something happening to him, while people around him seem to think they are losing their mind. The story does however create an interesting look for what could be happening, which is one aspect of the film, which could be seen as something we needed to see a lot more.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film when used is the best part of the film, seeing what might be coming will add levels of fear throughout the film, while the mystery is more about what might be happening, we seem to get pushed down one path too heavily.
Settings – The film puts us into the everyday life of a mentality unstable man, which will show us certain parts of isolation he suffers, how work can be his only interaction and how a story placed in his head could open up doors he never knew about.
Scene of the Movie – The creature idea.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Over top acting doesn’t help.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror mystery that does have a great core idea which could put it on a par with ‘Drag Me to Hell’ only for the acting and storytelling process never connecting on the same levels of the idea.
