Removal (2010)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Simply A Masterpiece

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The movie starts out with a man on prescription meds getting laid off from work. The next day he is involved in an awkward murder/suicide witnessed by Cole. We then cue credits. Cole (Mark Kelly) is now on prescription meds to prevent hallucinations. He works for a floor cleaning outfit and his condition has alienated him from his family.After working a week of doubles a tired worn out Cole is offered a job to clean a rich man's floors for an additional $5,000 under the table. Thinking of his wife and child, Cole reluctantly takes the job, cleaning floors to a decent soundtrack while having flashbacks to times with his family...and the murder/suicide.Oz Perkins plays Henry Sharpe, the odd man whose house Cole cleans. There are hints that Henry has murdered his family...the flashbacks get more intense as the film progresses. Enjoyable film.Good psycho-thriller. F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

REMOVAL is your standard psychological thriller set in a dark and sprawling old house. The main character is a cleaner who soon discovers his new place of work has some dark and disturbing murderous secrets to hide. While I appreciate that the filmmakers went out of their way to shoot something other than your bog standard CGI ghost film, the problem with REMOVAL is its familiarity. That, and the fact that protagonist Mark Kelly just isn't a very interesting actor.This is a film which thinks it is far more original and cleverly-written than it really is. I could name one or two obvious inspirations on the story but I won't as these would give the game away. Let's just say that the film should have given thanks to those movies in the end credits. What we have in REMOVAL is your typical low budget filmmaking, a just-about-adequate type of movie that never really grips or blows you away as it should. It does feel very talky and bogged down in places. The cast features TWILIGHT's Billy Burke, a cameoing Elliott Gould playing a psychiatrist, and a big role for Oz Perkins (son of Anthony). Kelly Brook is here too, and the quality of her acting doesn't seem to have improved with the passage of time.

I'll never fully understand exactly how people rate films here; try as I might, the reasoning eludes me...Anyway, DEFINITELY better than it's current 4.4 rating (especially if graded on the curve with so many other garbage films out there) Well written and acted; especially well directed. Very engaging and suspenseful. YES, we've seen this kind of thing before and NO, it's not the absolutely most original story out there, BUT, a well done film is a well done film, and that is SUPPOSEDLY why we rate and review films here, right...?The primary actor does an excellent job as the calm 'Cleaner' Cole. There is very nice use of photography and editing and excellent use of sound design to add to the strong psychological mood of the film (with the very minor exception of unfortunately one of my personal neurotic irritations where pouring drinks and other consequential sounds are SO bloody loud, MUCH louder than they should be - GOD I hate that!)So, if you like solid, competent, Psychological thrillers either with or without 'Twists' and as long as you appreciate good film making, then you should definitely enjoy this movie. BTW, that was the first time I've ever seen Oz Perkins (Anthony's son) who also co-wrote the excellent screenplay, and I felt that he carried the 'disturbed' torch well where his father left off. I would LOVE to see him do more Horror films, but he hasn't really done very many at all.Overall the movie is strong on mood if a bit lighter on substance. Not anything earth-shaking, but a decent, well done, enjoyable Thriller...

If NOT for the fantastic performance from Mark Kelly playing cleaner Cole Hindin (it helped that I had a huge crush on him during this, but that didn't alter my review), some good cinematography and a great soundtrack/score, 'Removal' (5/10) would be a complete waste. Why? Well, I can't say without spoiling the movie's over-used "secret" that I almost missed. I'll be honest, I usually see this coming, and I did kinda get it through the movie with the numerous clues. Part of the problem was the enormously bad acting from the movie's homeowner, Henry Sharpe (Oz Perkins). In fact, it was so obviously bad, you knew something was up. That said, again, Mark did such a good job, you'd think you were watching a Class A movie vs. the B-movie it was. It's worth a rental if you like those suspenseful (lite) thinkers involving a recovering and separated man, Cole, who witnessed his best friend, Eric, kill himself following Eric killing his own wife. Time has passed and now Cole's being summoned to conduct a solo yet "3-Person" cleaning job at a massive mansion overnight. Cole's suspicious of the owner's secretive nature regarding the quick/quiet job and the weird disappearance of his own wife. See it on the cheap.