A couple of things: one-word titles can be confusing, and I need to start writing down where I get movie recommendations. Trying to live reasonably on an editor’s salary, I can’t afford purchasing movies all the time, so I stream what’s free, now only when it’s on my list. That’s how I had the misfortune of watching Shiver (2012). I’m not sure it was the right movie, but I couldn’t find any others by that title near the top of IMDb and I couldn’t remember where I got the recommendation. Although it uses many standard horror tropes, this flick veers a little too much into torture porn for my liking. Also it’s very poorly written and many of the scenes are improbable (to put it mildly). The police are totally incompetent (how many times can a serial killer’s intended victim be assured she’s safe by police when they can’t even get the perp to prison in good order?), almost to a Keystone degree.
And this isn’t some Hannibal Lector, either. He’s kind of a psychopath that’s been making a living selling jewelry to his eventual victims. Of course he’s a sexually frustrated guy who was bullied as a kid. See, there are some moments of trying to establish some kind of social commentary, but the writing and most of the acting keep getting in the way. The violence toward women goes unremarked, and that’s probably what most requires comment. So I’m sitting here scratching my head trying to figure out who, or what, might’ve suggested this movie to me. Or is there a different Shiver? Did somebody leave the “s” off the end? (I’ve already seen that one.) I really do need to keep better records.
Bad movies come in many varieties. This one was disturbing from any number of angles. I don’t tend to watch serial killer movies. Violence against women bothers me a lot. Every main character had a bad childhood. (One of the stories is simply told and then dropped.) It’s a movie that might helpfully come with trigger warnings. As I watched I wondered. I wouldn’t been watching this if someone, or some respected publication, hadn’t recommended it to me. Who and why? Since I watch movies on weekend mornings, mostly, a bad one can start the day off on the wrong foot. Someone, or some source, suggested Shiver. Or maybe someone forgot a letter. That’s the problem with one-word titles.
