So, finally, I got around to watching UK/Australian horror/chiller ?Triangle? on blu-ray. The film stars Melissa George, still looking lovely but a wee bit frayed around the edges, as a single mum (of an autistic boy) who heads out for a much needed day?s break on a yacht with some well-to-do chums. Following a sudden surreal storm, the Scooby-gang find themselves rescued by a mysterious old cruise liner, rusted and apparently deserted. As they creep around looking for someone to help them, they discover they aren?t alone, and one by one they get bumped off. So far, so normal?nothing exciting or too scary, everything a little bland and by the numbers. But then the film hits you with the first of its twists. Sold to us by the PR people as ingenious, I?d call the twists clever, but not truly original. It is quite hard to review the film any further without having to discuss the various twists, suffice to say ?timey-whimey? is a good clue, repetition is another and it is rather enjoyable watching the tasty Melissa George go all to hell.
The film builds up to its existential, twisty ?ah so THAT?S what it was about? ending well, but by the time you get there you are thinking more about going to the loo or a tasty cup of tea. But it is a clever ending, and one you most probably won?t see coming. The reveals are genuinely original and while in no way are they horrific, they are Twilight Zone chilly.
The film on blu-ray is gorgeous. 75% of the movie is on board the cruise liner, but for once we get more than dark lingering shots of deserted corridors. The director boldly takes us inside then outside the ship, time and again, with the horror/terror/chills happening in the bright sunlight against the ship?s rusting hull plates as much as in the gloomy 1930?s d?cor interior. The sudden changes in brightness work very well on the blu-ray and the darker scenes are never so dark as to be impossible to see anything. The soundtrack is a work of art, with ships noises, creaks and bangs, waves and seagulls, cries and screams?everything coming at you from all directions but in a subtle and intelligent way. It is a beautiful piece of sound mixing.
The blu-ray includes some making of featurettes from Framestore, as well as storyboards. All in all it is a tight little package (no jokes about Melissa George?s rather small denim shorts, thank you!) well worth the money. It is not quite the ?ingenious/twisty? horror film I was hoping for, but it certainly stands out in the limited horror-on-a-deserted-cruise-liner subgenre. Well acted, well paced, good looking and brilliant audio?I give it 3.5 out of 5 and heartily recommend it to horror/chiller aficionados. Grab it in a sale and get yourself a slice of Melissa George goodness.
