The New Nightmare from the Co-Creator of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT Afghanistan, November 2001: Two months after 9/11, a CIA operative leads a hardcore U.S. Special Forces squad on a classified mission deep into harsh and hostile Taliban territory. Their objective is to locate a Muslim cleric with possible ties to a deadly cache of WMDs. But what they instead discover is a phenomenon beyond anything known to man. You cannot fight what isn t there. You cannot kill what doesn t live. And in a land ravaged by war and ruled by superstition, who or what is the ultimate enemy? Jonas Ball, Matt Anderson, Michael C. Williams, Jon Huertas, Jeff Prewett and Sam Hunter star in this new mind-blower of a thriller from director Daniel Myrick, co-creator of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.
Starring: Jon Huertas, Michael C. Williams, Jonas Ball, Mike C. Williams, Matt Anderson
Directed by: Daniel Myrick
Runtime: 90 minutes
Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
Amazon USAmazon UKIMDBReview: The Objective
Daniel Myrick, one of the directors of The Blair Witch Project, takes the helm for this horror thriller set in Afghanistan after 9/11. A CIA agent, Benjamin Keynes (Jonas Ball), joins with a group of America soldiers led by Hamer (Matthew R. Anderson) and heads on a special mission to locate a cleric named Mohammad Aban. They are helped by a local guide Abdul (Chems-Eddine Zinoune) who leads them through the harsh landscape where they have to contend with the threat of the Taleban, while trying to focus on their mission. As the group make their way deep into Afghanistan and into the mountains they begin to have some very strange encounters.
When Hamer’s men come under fire early on one of the American soldiers is killed but the group manage to take out a handful of the enemy who are on surrounding cliffs firing down at them. When going to check on the bodies of the enemy none can be found. Other bizarre encounters include sand in their water bottles and headlights coming towards the group only to separate and fly off into the night sky. The search of Mohammad Aban continues in the mountains but the further the men venture the more they begin to question their sanity with a series of unusual sightings. What have they found? Is it the work of the Taleban? Are the soldiers delirious from thirst and hunger? Or is there something even more sinister afoot?
The Objective has an interesting idea but it’s not exactly original and the execution is pretty woeful. Only one moment in the film may cause you to shiver. The rest of the time you’ll be twiddling your thumbs hoping there are some surprises. Unfortunately, the film is too predictable to offer anything worthwhile. I daresay I enjoyed this even less than The Blair Witch Project.
Verdict: 1/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 768 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.
