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Mirage |
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Three
couples are having a vacation in the desert.
They've got everything they need; beer, a football
and each other. It really seems like this was a
great idea. What they didn't expect was to get
company from a psychotic serial killer in a black
jeep. The six friends soon find themselves running
for their lives, but there's no place to hide in
the middle of the desert.
Mirage is yet another proof that killers with cars
are creepy as hell. If a person with a big knife comes
after you, you can at least try to protect yourself,
but how do you protect yourself from a car - when
you're in the middle of the desert? Mirage creates
the ultimate nightmare scenario when it mixes "The
Hills Have Eyes" with "Trucks", and while it works
really well for most of the time, it felt as if there
was something missing.
Maybe the script wasn't long enough or maybe it needed
a small subplot, either way, it felt as if several
scenes were played in slow-motion just to kill running
time. Anyhow, Mirage is one of the few slashers from
this era which is actually worth watching. The movie
revolves around six teens who have decided to spend
some time in the desert. They indulge in dangerous
sex-acts (you'll see what I mean), heavy drinking
and football playing. It doesn't take long before
their party is interrupted when a psychopath in a
black jeep decides to show up. What does he want with
them? Why is he killing them off one by one? And
most importantly, who is he?
Bill Crain does a decent job with directing this
movie but it's easy to tell that he's a rookie. The
slow-motion scenes were tedious and I didn't really
get why so many scenes went from blurred to sharp.
Mirage would probably have been a much tighter movie
with a more experienced director. The acting is a
mixed bag, I thought Jennifer McAllister did a pretty
good job with her part as Chris. It was also nice to
see Kenny Johnson (from the awesome movie Zzyzx) in
a more vulnerable part. As for the rest of the
actors, I wasn't very impressed, it was average at best.
In the end, I think that Mirage is a pretty forgettable
slasher flick. Even though it's got a great concept,
it doesn't always work due to several reasons. It's
a good way to kill an hour and a half with but
I still prefer Highwaymen, Duel and Joyride over this.
Don't hate me now, but I actually think that this
could benefit from a remake.
There's a little gore here and there. We get slit
throat, some dismembered body parts, and arrow
through the head and some more.
The mellow, acoustic music really worked for some
reason. It created a great atmosphere and grabbed
the viewers attention.
Mildly entertaining slasher flick which is good
enough to kill some time with. It's not the most
original movie ever made, but on the other hand,
slasher flicks never are. If you're a fan of this
neat little subgenre, you might want to give Mirage
a chance. It's pretty good even though it could
have been a whole lot better.
Review By: AnthroFred
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