Okay, the movie itself, removed from anything isn't bad at all. Good production values, decent fx work enhanced with some (budget) cg work, nice camera work, good sound and score, etc. The characters are contrived and two dimensional, but thats not the actor's fault. They don't write their own lines. For the most part, they do as much as they can with what was given to them, and at no point distract from the story. Ah the story. What if Mason Verger from "Hannibal" watched Saw 2, and decided to copy it nearly scene for scene, character for character? Well that would give you this little flick. Generally these copycat movies take a premise and at least alter it (the asylum's under cutter films immediately come to mind: The Hillside Cannibals, The Paossesion of Gail Bowers, When a Stalker Comes, Snakes on a Train, etc) This one however just blatantly rips off Saw 2. Right down to the surgically implanted key, and the Dina Meyer character. Copying a theme is bad enough, but going so far as too copy specific scenes in hugely successful films, and then having them released a year later is just pathetic. I mean had this film been released before, or concurrently with Saw 2, it would be something, but a year later? Come on now. At any rate, if you can put aside the blatant lack of originality, or if you are a horror fan who hasn't seen the Saw franchise, you will probably enjoy this, but if you have seen it, then pass this one.
Review of Are You Scared?
