Directed by: Joe Lynch
Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Summer Glau, and Peter Dinklage
Plot: A demon is summoned when some fantasy cosplayers use a real incantation.
Review:
In a world where the geek has inherited the Earth, where superhero movies make billions, where British TV imports border on mainstream, where geek themes, genres, and tropes are mined to sell romance novels to the MTV demographic, where an entire industry is put under the internet’s proverbial microscope ever since pitting Indiana Jones against aliens, LARPing (live action role playing) is a facet of fanboyism still generally mocked, even by my own geeky self. There is just something inherently funny about a bunch of people cosplaying in the woods pretending bean bags are lightning bolts, even though I’m sure it is just as fun as your average laser tag or paintball game. However, many stories about it usually come around to how fun it is by the end: like the underrated raunch-com Role Models or a very special episode of “Supernatural” guest-starring geek queen, Felicia Day.
Then the extended trailer for this do-it-yourself horror/comedy descended on Comic-Con and blew everyone’s minds. It featured a cast made of the stars of geek friendly television like: “True Blood’s” Ryan Kwanten, “Firefly’s” Summer Glau, “Game of Thrones” Peter Dinklage, “Community’s” Danny Pudi, and, of course, Steve Zahn (because really, who doesn’t like Steve Zahn?). It also featured a tongue-in-cheek tone looking to land somewhere between the near-perfect Ghostbusters and the “splat-stick” of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy.What really made it stand out in comparison to past depictions of LARPing, was it put them almost immediately in the shoes of the heroes. What could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, a lot!
Ryan Kwanten plays a mechanic-slash-heavy-metal-frontman who just had his heartbroken by his long time girlfriend. To cheer him up, his doofus accidental millionaire best friend (Zahn) and his stoner buddy (Dinklage) smoke him into oblivion and shanghai him to the role-playing match. There, with the help of an evil looking book of magic they didn’t think was real, they accidentally raise a succubus from Hell who makes quick work of all the nerf swords and plastic armor that everyone is packing. It is up to the trio, along with Glau’s swordmaster and the tank-size delusional cousin she’s baby-sitting, to defeat the demon.
The now infamous trailer shown in 2011 was a bit misleading. Kwanten’s would-be reluctant hero was kind of an unlikable dunce. Steve Zahn’s geek doesn’t just border on socially awkward, he has mastered it, while Dinklage’s perpetually stoned sidekick is an obnoxious caricature of Cheech and Chong. The three don’t have much chemistry unfortunately, which sucks because about half the movie is actually dependent on them having it. While they are mindlessly wandering around trying to keep to the LARP script, the demon, taking form of Kwanten’s ex, is killing members that separate themselves from the group. When the two stories finally connect, the demon transforms into a horrible foam suit Syfy monster that isn’t that scary. So, basically the story fails at being both funny or scary, which sucks considering the hype and the talent of the cast.
Granted, the movie had some serious distribution problems getting bought up by an upstart company that according to the director, hacked up his original flick, but I have trouble thinking that more scenes would make this train wreck better.
Rating: 1/10
