CLONED: The Recreator Chronicles (2012)

You won't be disappointed!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I'm not giving away the complete ending, but Derek clearing wasn't the clone at the end. That was totally made clear in the house and woods after. So then why did he have the bandages on his arm? Obviously, either a case of bad editing or they changed the ending and missed that. If he was really supposed to be the clone, then they screwed up even more because it's anything but obvious, especially at the end at the hardware store. Totally not the clone character, therefore the clone is dead and the bandages are a bad mistake.And what the hell was up with the stuffed beaver with glasses? How many of those things are these on and near Baxter Island? There's a shot of one in the house along with deer. And then there's one in the hardware store by the door. Why? Is that some inside joke that we aren't supposed to pay attention to?The movie wasn't very good. It wasn't scary or even creepy really. It was actually kind of boring and the issue with the bandages just made things worse for me at the end.

*regarding clones*Cloned Craig: You're here, we're here. I have to rely on faith there's a reason. Original Tracy: But aren't you even curious? I mean, it's not like this happens every day. Cloned Craig: I should hope not. Otherwise, things would get pretty dicey down at the DMV.Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles begins on an island with Frank Miller (John de Lancie, Star Trek: The Next Generation) and his wife Elizabeth (Laura Moss) fixing to call it a night in their beautiful woodland cabin. The raging, midnight thunderstorm in the Adirondack Mountains produces a lightning bolt which strikes the home's septic tank outside. This reignites an old experiment by a scientist who used to live there. We reach the opening titles and are introduced to Tracy (Stella Maeve, The Runaways, Accused at 17), Craig (Alexander Nifong, Pretty Little Liars, Glee), and Derek (J. Mallory McCree, We Need to Talk about Kevin) on their way to the island for a hiking and camping trip the next day. Tracy has to use the bathroom after the long canoe ride to the island and has issues with letting loose outside. Naturally, she finds Mr. and Mrs. Miller's house. What happened the previous night (clones of Mr. and Mrs. Miller killing their originals) is intercut with Tracy making her way inside the empty house.Eventually, Tracy, Craig, and Derek all go to the house to use the bathroom, shower, and hang out, since the Millers seem to be gone. The Millers' clones return, the three teenagers flee, and a chase ensues in the woods. It's there where we learn of the teenagers' clones, which save them during all the madness.Shot in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles is an independent film with spectacular production quality (you'd think they had Hollywood's vast resources). According to director Gregory Orr, the idea began with the concept of three kids going into the woods and six of them coming out. Where does one take it from there? Any number of directions; and a director of less experience and talent may have failed where Orr succeeded.Where do Orr and his cast and crew succeed? In taking a well-written script and translating it to an interesting movie. It's as simple as that. Yes, the concept of cloning isn't exactly an original one, but it's used effectively here to drive home the movie's underlying theme of "replacement." Like most good sci-fi, it uses a scientific concept (one of which may be completely viable in the future) to assist in telling a story relevant to today's society. While we're not yet being replaced by clones of ourselves (or genetically altered, superior humans in general), you don't have to look far and wide to see people losing their jobs because of faster computers and automated systems. Cloned looks at this from more of a bio-tech perspective than a completely technological one, but its message isn't lost.Stella Maeve, Alexander Nifong, and J. Mallory McCree make for a great ensemble. They also demonstrate good range. It is a pleasure to see John de Lancie again, as well, since I imagine a portion of this movie's fan base will remember him from his iconic role on the various incarnations of Star Trek.Overall, I'd highly recommend the movie, not just for its concept and message, but more importantly because of its entertainment value.

When I watched "Recreator" it was without having heard anything about it prior to watching it. No impressions, no taints, no spoilers. The cover to the movie looked interesting, so it caught my attention.The story is about three friends, Tracy (played by Stella Maeve), Craig (played by Alexander Nifong) and Derek (played by J. Mallory-McCree), who goes camping on an island, when they run into a very mysterious couple that owns a cabin on the island. The island once was the home to a scientist who dabbled in cloning, and things on the island take a turn for the worse.I will say that the story in itself was interesting, although there were some major plot holes here and there. For example, how did the three friends get cloned? And how come the cloning process is that fast?As for the acting, well I think they had some good enough names to the cast list, and the three leading actors were actually doing alright jobs. Most memorable in the movie was Alexander Nifong, in my opinion.The movie was nicely shot though, lots of good camera work. And the dialogue was fair. The movie moved ahead at a good, steady pace, and there weren't really any overly dull moments. However, for a thriller, the movie was sort of anti-climatic, as it didn't really build up much suspense, much less peak in thrilling manners."Recreator" is good entertainment, although the ending was quite predictable once you are let in on what is really going on. "Recreator" is well worth a watch if you like movies that aren't overly realistic.

I was not getting my hopes up on this film, as I think this kind of film has been done before, and it is nothing really new, but in some ways it is. But I thought it was entertaining enough for me to give it a positive spin, don't view this for blood and guts, titties, as it is not a horror film, and sorry no nudity scenes.If you watch this with a light hearted approach then it is not bad entertainment, it flows just fine, no real slow boring moment, but no flash bang pace either.The acting is OK, and a solid enough story line, but no Oscar winning performance either, give it a go, you can watch a hell of a lot worse.7 out of 10 for me