Director: Mickey Keating
Writer: Mickey Keating (Screenplay)
Starring: Lauren Ashley Carter, Dean Cates, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, John Weselcouch
Plot: A family intervention goes horrifically awry within the snowy confines of an isolated lake house.
Runtime: 1 Hour 16 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Lacks the Punch
Story: Pod starts when brother Ed (Cates) and sister Lyla (Carter) go to the remote cabin of their brother Martin (Morvant) who has always been on edge, but this time Ed believes he has gone over the edge. Arriving at the cabin they learn Martin is having another one of his paranoid episodes as he believes he is being followed by a pod monster, Ed tries to talk him around, while Lyla is willing to follow the story.
As the intervention goes on Lyla and Ed continue to discuss the best course of action for their brother as we are left to see what the truth will be.
Thoughts on Pod
Characters – Lyla is the loose cannon sibling, she enjoys a drink and a party and is tired of her big brother trying to protect her, once we hit the cabin though she is generic woman in trouble screaming a lot. Ed is the doctor and big brother of the siblings. He wants the family together to help on edge sibling and stays calm through the film through each decision going on. Martin is the former soldier that has returned a different man, he has been in and out of hospitals and now living alone his paranoia can only grow.
Performances – The performances in this film are focused on the three main actors, if we are being honest none of them set the world alight here, with Lauren Ashley Carter being completely over the top with her reactions, Dean Cates being very bland with his actions and Brian Morvant never hitting the marks of a true crazy person.
Story – The story here feels like it should be focusing on the relationship between the siblings, as we have the two left to decide whether their brother is insane or there is something happening in the cabin, the balance is shown early on but then soon just becomes a creature feature which fails to deliver because of the abrupt style of anything happening. There was a large part of potential here, but the bickering doesn’t make you care and the conspiracy theory all becomes something we have seen.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film comes in the final 15 minutes and never draws us into being scared and like the mystery side of the film just doesn’t become the important side of things like it should do.
Settings – Most of the film is set in the cabin which does plan into the isolation and paranoid idea.
Special Effects – The effects are used well and only when needed with most being practical dealing with creating the pod.
Scene of the Movie – What is in the basement.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We didn’t explore the different life styles of the two siblings.
Final Thoughts – This is a lacklustre horror mystery movie that doesn’t use its strengths well enough through the film.
Overall: Lacklustre Horror Movie.
Rating
