13 Cameras

John Chard

As dreadful and as dumb as could be. I'm not normally one for calling a movie dumb, but where this picture is concerned it's a word that practically leaps out at you in every frame of this poorly constructed piece. A young couple awaiting their first child rent a house from Gerald (Neville Archambault), a grotty foul smelling man who has secretly installed cameras so as to spy on his new tenants... OK! Ignoring that upon first meeting Gerald a sane couple would run a mile - because with that there's obviously no film - but what we are asked to digest from that point on beggar's belief. How are we meant to react to a couple (and a film maker) who find a locked secret stairway only for them to not give it a second thought for the rest of the film?! It's actually insulting. The dumb set-ups and that of the character's behaviour continues unbound right up to the ridiculously staged finale. As for the acting on show... It's a big chance missed for something genuinely unnerving, maybe even for a bit of cerebral social commentary. Avoid this if you are looking for either of those things. 3/10 for a toothbrush scene that will either make you squirm or laugh in equal measure.