"Subterano" is a rather nice and somewhat enjoyable slasher entry.
**SPOILERS**
Developing a new computer game, Todd Cunningham, (Nikolai Nikolaeff) is unable to get his father Mr. Cunningham, (Shane Briant) out to see it despite promises of doing so. Inviting along friends Angie, (Kate Sherman) Max, (Scott Swalwell) Slick, (Jason Stojanovski) and Monkey, (Veronica Segura) they head out to a nearby apartment complex to check it out, only to realize they're trapped with Conrad, (Alex Dimitriades) Grace Stone, (Tasma Walton) Ian Cleary, (Chris Heywood) and Elaine, (Anne Tenney) in the facility. Forced to wander the sub-levels of the building, they soon realize they're being forced to play the game Subterano, a popular game where they're forced to battle several mechanical toys that are killing them off, and they have to fight back in order to survive the deadly game.
The Good News: This one wasn't that bad and was pretty interesting. The main factor here, and what gives it many good points is the way it uses the rather fun concept. Having killer toys from a video-game hunt down stranded victims in a parking garage, as a recreation of the game, is a lot of fun, really inventive and manages to earn some great points for the film. The first is the unique concept, and another is the really cool special effects for the toys. There's different ones in here, and each of them are nicely designed, unique-looking to tell them all apart and even manage a cool visual trick now and then. They play a big part of the great-looking effects overall, and along with the computer simulations for everything manage to help out enormously. They also make the confrontations really fun as well. There's two main types in here, the creepy kind or the straight-up action kind. The first confrontation in the walkway and the encounter with the scorpion-version are played for suspense and work well-enough, putting into motion the sense of what's going to happen before they do rather nicely. As well, the chase with the exploding cars and the discotheque sequences are done for pure action and they are incredibly exciting and exhilarating, coming off as rather enjoyable. The final confrontation within the darkened structure has a healthy combination of both, mixing a really healthy amount of suspense and action to an incredible scene. It's an extended fight, allowing plenty of opportunities for some god times as it rolls along. The last plus to this one is the rather nice and violent kills on display. There's a brutal stabbing in the throat with a knife, a needle drilled into the head, one is set on fire, wire rope is tied around the ankles and both feet cut off, a rather nice slicing done with a metal wire and a rather nice decapitation, among others. Not the greatest set, but certainly enjoyable enough. These here are the film's best points.
The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot of flaws to this one. One of the biggest issues is that the film has an absolutely convoluted and confusing story, since there's an incredible amount of sub-plots that run through it. There's at least four main stories in here that are documented, each getting their own introduction that takes up at least five minutes or more, meaning that there's several scenes that are there mainly to bring up the specific plot before being shuttled off for something else. It just makes the whole thing incredibly disjointed and very hard to get through. The only other big flaw here is the fact that the film decides to explain a lot of the situations through a lot of video-game jargon, meaning that, often-times, something comes off as far more confusing than it should be. It could very well have been an adequate explanation for what was happening, but the use of the special language not many are familiar with can become a hurdle. These here are all that's really wrong with it.
The Final Verdict: Nowhere near the worst slasher of all time, but if thought about for too long, it does tend to drag the film down. Really recommended for those who are intrigued by the concept or can get through a film without being bothered by the flaws, but that's of major importance to you, heed caution with this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
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