Skip to main content

Damaged 2.0 review

By June 21, 2009August 26th, 2014FromPersonal, Uncategorized

Great (and very funny) review of Dark Mirror by Louis Fowler at Damaged 2.0

louisfowler.blogspot.com

Some highlights:

Being Hispanic myself, I know I can be overly critical of movies with Latinos in the lead role. We tend to allow ourselves to be embarrassed in ways that would make even AMOS ‘N’ ANDY say “Seriously fellas, take it down a notch.” Mainstream studios tend to cast us as either gang-bangers or hotel maids and when we actually make our own movie, it’s for the lowest common denominator, typically crappy shot-on-video comedies with names like C[H]ULOS IN DA TAQUERIA or SPRING BREAK VATOS, with characters that come off like third-rate Homies figures and with half as much personality. What’s wrong with casting a Hispanic as just a regular guy? Maybe an accountant? They just happen to be Hispanic…can we move out of this cinematic barrio, just once?

… Deftly mixing a handful of honestly scary moments with one truly unpredictable twist after another, director Pablo Proenza excels in the type of classic filmmaking Polanski did in the 60s—the kind you wish Polanski himself would return to. The whole thing is a thinking man’s mind-screw with no easy answers.

… The cast is great, especially Lisa Vidal as the aforementioned Deb—it’s pretty much her show to carry and, when the ending is uncovered, without giving away any spoilers, you’ll fully realize the whole power of her performance, because, man, I had no clue. None.

… DARK MIRROR: a mature, thought-out scare film that doesn’t talk down to me or treat me like an imbecile. That’s all I ask.

There’s a lot more at louisfowler.blogspot.com and he’s got some hilarious asides.