Movie Review: Reaper (2014)

Synopsis: While hitchhiking to California because of a sick mother, Natalie is picked up by an alcoholic businessman who checks them into a motel and tries to take advantage of her. She gains the upper hand and escapes with his wallet and car keys. More good fortune befalls her when she is able to steal a bag of money from a mob boss (to help pay for her mom's surgery). However, car troubles result in her returning to the motel, where she needs to deal with mob henchmen, a machete-carrying drug dealer and an escaped cult leader known as the Reaper, who has supernatural powers after surviving the electric chair.

Who's in it? The movie stars Shayla Beesley, Danny Trejo, Jake Busey, Vinnie Jones and James Jurdi.


Review: After what turned out to be a long week, I decided to treat my wife to a slasher film this weekend. It took me a few minutes to find this one, but it turned out to be halfway decent.

I think the thing that I really liked about this film was the fact there were no good guys. Natalie (Beesley) was probably the closest to being one, because she was motivated by getting home to her mother. But, mostly because she was greedy to the point she was crossing some lines, it was hard to tell if she would wind up surviving or would also be one of the Reaper's (Mike Michaels) victims.

I was especially intrigued by Danny Trejo's character, Jack. Compared to everyone else Natalie met in the movie, he was actually a pretty nice guy. He rescued her from the side of the road, paid for a motel room for her and was willing to drive her wherever she needed to go while asking for nothing in return. But, at the same time, he was a bit of a wild card because he was a drug dealer and Natalie inexplicably tries to steal from him too.

The uneasy alliance between him, Natalie and Brad (Jurdi), who she also stole from, did keep the movie from becoming predictable because any one of them could betray the group and make things more difficult. On top of it, Reaper was actually a fairly decent villain, he looked menacing and it seemed as though nothing could harm him. That did create a lot more suspense than I was expecting in what was obviously a low-budget movie.

Final Opinion: There were times when I wanted to wring Natalie's neck for being kind of stupid but, overall, I thought this was an entertaining movie and would recommend taking the time to watch it if you are bored one evening.

My Grade: B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah. All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical. Who's in it? The movie stars  Angourie Rice ,  Reneé Rapp ,  Bebe Wood ,  Tim Meadows and Tina Fey . Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with eac
Read more

Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei , Lena Olin and Anthony Head. Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up
Read more

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more