Search - Lockout on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/15/2016...

Crazy twist and turns. A must for horror fans!

This is Horror.

Horror Man | Nebraska | 07/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is Horror in every degree. Not wanting to spoil too much, I'll give ya just a taste of what your in for. Man gets fired from his job, has to move from the city to a small farm house with his wife and her sister. With no income their forced to find a very cheap and run down house some where in rural america. When they move in they start to notice that the house isn't in the best shape, but this doesn't stir them away. They still have a great sex life, and manage to make best from worst. One day the water lines are blocked and the man of the house decides to see what the problem is, he heads to the basement to fix the problem. When he sees water dripping every where, he moves in for a closer look. What he then sees is a small hole in the wall just below the leak. He decides what the hell, and sticks his hand in the hole then all of a sudden....... Like I said, I dont wanna spoil this movie. I loved it and had few flaws to it. Acting was around par level. Begining was a little slow but movie takes a huge turn. Has mystery, suspence, comedy, gore, drug abuse, sex, and a plot. I would give it 5 stars but I can't do that for a Horror flim. If ya love horror this is a must. If ya love a good thriller this is a must. If ya want some shock treatment this has it."

Things are not always what they seem

Desiree | Missouri, USA | 03/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You've got to have some patience with this one because from the beginning to the middle you are thinking how there seems to be at least two plots with holes racing here and there. Things just get more and more bizarre. This is one of those flicks you just have to take in every bit though, follow it along with attention and about the last fifteen minutes or so it starts pulling together enough with things for you to figure out just what's really going on...and if you are still wondering about some things, don't worry because the end hits you like a brick and all is revealed. It's all in the end that makes it worth it."

Spanish Speaking America's Psychosis Conspiracy!! You've Be

E K Maxmias | Close enough to Detroit! | 09/26/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Usually, ripping on a film is kind of fun (despite the flood of "No" votes such behavior attracts). And rest assured; I am going to rip this as it truly deserves. However, I'm actually going to feel bad complaining about this movie for a lot of reasons. I guess I should crank up the shredder and start the ripping...

-DECENT ACTORS PLAYING DULL PEOPLE
Do you know what the basic problem is with playing people as realistically as possible? They're just damn dull!! That's right; you, me and just about everyone else in this world would make a dull movie character. That's why most films are about remarkable people or ordinary people in remarkable situations. This film has a lot of ordinary people doing a lot of nothing for about the first hour. There is lots of complaining, introspection, and driving around. Yet, these are people we've all seen or met or know. The actors actually did a very good job. The problem is the story didn't give them much to do for the first hour.

-A CLEVER STORY THAT BORED ME TO TEARS.
How's that for being conflicted? The biggest problem with this story is that all the boring and seemingly incoherent events that take place in the first three quarters of the film only have meaning during the last 5 minutes. Until then, even though I suspected it was getting to a point, I was still bored. As it turned out, all the little introspective moments and seemingly mundane events were actually building a case for mental breakdown. It was still boring.
Aside from my boredom, I really had trouble buying into the motivation for some of the people's actions and some things never do get properly explained. A guy just loses his job and his first reaction is to move from his Chicago suburban apartment into his rundown, isolated Wisconsin farm house, and his wife also thinks it's a good idea. Yea, that would cheer me up too. What about that hitchhiker? She's alive, she's dead, she's alive, she's dead... ...WTF? Trust me, that never makes sense. This is the first reason I'm sticking it to this film; Good story, bad screenplay.

-I SUSPECTED HOW IT WAS GOING TO END AFTER 20 MINUTES
I'm going to say some stuff now that could very easily spoil this movie if you are inclined to watch it. I won't say anything specific about how this ends (which is key), but just by telling you what I noticed, you may figure it out. SO BEWARE. This is a poor mans version of "High Tension" without the high tension. There, I spoiled it. If you haven't seen that particular French film (which I happen to like), then just let me say that it had a big cheating ending. You know; you couldn't know the killer because you were seeing events through the wrong eyes? "High Tension" ticked off a lot of people when it ended. "Lockout" will tick you off after the first 20 minutes and then it will tick you off again at the end. The worst ploy used was the voyeuristic mystery camera in the bushes, watching the protagonists from afar. It turns out there is nobody watching at all. That's really cheap! The funny thing is, I suspected who the killer was very early in the film. I just needed to wait and find out how they were going to explain it. It turns out they couldn't do it without cheating. This is the second reason I'm deriding this film; Cheating on a grand scale while still being predictable.

-MEANINGFUL SEX AND MEANINGLESS GORE.
Let's talk about sex, baby!! Sorry about that. Would you ever want to see yourself having sex? I wouldn't. It rarely works out as well as in the movies, visually speaking. One sex scene is like watching yourself (I would suspect). The important thing is what's going on in their minds and not in the bed. Another sex scene simply explains the mindset of a character in order to explain later events. Also, a mysterious dark couple partakes in asphyxiation-sex which surprisingly has a purpose. So, the sex scenes are full of meaning.
The gore in this film is close up and graphic. I really didn't see any sense to it at all. The implication of brutality would have done more for me. The gore here was the definition of "gratuitous". If you see no problem with that, keep in mind it really only occurs in the last 20 minutes of the film and only a couple of times.

-WHAT"S ALL THIS ABOUT SPANISH, DOC?
I'm not certain what the point of this was but every authority figure in this film was Spanish speaking. The lead character gets fired by his Spanish speaking boss for not knowing how to speak a second language which gets the ball rolling in this film. Are there a lot of Spanish speaking doctors in Wisconsin? Is all this part of the psychosis? In the end, it turns out to be some mysterious Spanish American psychosis conspiracy. You think I'm joking? I think the Director was. However, this joke was completely over (or under?) my head. Obviously, I'm not sure what he was getting at. But don't think I'm joking; it is part of this movie.

-BUT I DO FEEL BAD.
Director Ricardo Islas is a remarkable character himself. Here is a guy who made his first horror film at the age of 16. He literally hoodwinked a south-of-the-border TV station to produce his film if he got enough sponsors. Of course, he did. The funny part is, all involved agreed to make his film because they were convinced he'd never get it going. After watching his interview, I fell in love with his attitude and love for horror films. He actually did a great job making this very low budget independent horror film. He did a good job of directing his actors. He even had a very thoughtful concept. If only it could have been more interesting and less deceptive. I didn't agree with his use of gore either. I normally cut slack for low budget films, but Islas clearly knows how to use his limited resources. It's funny; I think everyone who made this film has a lot of talent. Yet, I would not recommend this film due to its lack of entertainment value and unfortunate deceptions to move the plot.

Actors......4 Stars
Idea.........3 Stars
Execution...3 Stars
Fun..........1.2 Stars
Cheat........1 Star

Average....2.44 Stars
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