Cut (2010)

Memorable, crazy movie

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The story takes place in a cottage located deep in the wilds of the Lake District, in which a group of friends have returned following a party. In this isolated retreat, the tired party-goers' nerves get the better of them. And soon they find that the urban legends they were dismissing only moments before, are becoming a horrific reality.Cut has made history in being the first ever movie to be filmed in one continuous take which is an achievement in itself, however this came at the expense of the movie. The story is non-existent which made the movie feel like stuff was just happening for no reason, it didn't answer any questions whatsoever. The acting was abysmal, especially from Danielle Lloyd, I've seen better acting at a five-year-old's nativity play. However, there was only one remotely good actor in the movie and that was Michael Socha, Zach Galligan was a surprise to see but even his acting talents isn't good in this terrible movie. The sound effects were a joke and the fight scenes were unrealistic. The characters were very badly written and the script is even worse. The worst thing about this movie is, without a doubt, it's audio. Sometimes you struggle to hear what the characters are saying but most of the time, you really didn't care. Also the music is abysmal, whenever there was going to be a tense scene, the music would suddenly erupt very loudly making it even harder to hear the characters. Also, the movie ended seriously bad, it could have been much better.I must applaud Cut simply because it was filmed in one take and I can appreciate the effort that must have gone into the camera-work but there really is nothing positive I can say about this movie. Everything about it was weak and nonsensical which is a shame because with a proper script, a better story and better sound editing, it could have been a good little movie. Another annoying thing about the movie is its poster. Model Danielle Lloyd is on the poster making us think that she's the main star in the movie when in fact, she was in it for less than five minutes, talk about misleading! Read more reviews at: www.dudedazzmoviereviews.wordpress.com

I have to admit I was enticed by the synopsis that mentioned the film was shot in one continuous take. The truth is most of it is, some 62 minutes worth of it, and that alone is reason enough if you buy into the gimmick. After all, you will have to put up with a curiously amateurish opening (done for a reason of course) that had some really deliberate bad acting just to get you into the mood for what's going to unravel, because the next action sequence won't turn up until half an hour later.Set primarily within and around the confines of a mansion, I felt the story was nothing to shout about, being but a narrative piece that seemed secondary to the technical aspects of the film. Written and directed by Alexander Williams, ample time got devoted to introducing the group of 6 characters one by one, and there were some really uninteresting dialogue going on that had me switching off in some parts as they were really going on talking about uneventful back stories, suffice to know that they are in the home of someone else's uncle, and the introduction also allowed us to have a first hand look into all the rooms, nooks and crannies that will be useful come later in the film.Basically, once we get past the introduction, things start to pick up. Suffice to say that our group somehow finds themselves terrorized by a group of clown face paint wearing thugs who are out for blood and will stop at nothing until everyone in the house is killed off. Equipped only with things found in the house and used as makeshift weapons, the narrative then unravels itself in real time as we are supposed to root for the individuals to get out of their predicament.Taking place pretty much like a stage play, one must salute the technical brilliance of the film, having shot most of it in one single take, and you can imagine the kind of logistical nightmare that presents itself should any one part just failed to make the grade, or someone was to miss the cue. Sure there could be other films already made which employed similar techniques, but to me, it is still a marvel to wonder at the sheer determination for anyone wanting to pull such a film off, and the countless amounts of time and dedication that went on behind the scenes (some as seen during the end credits) to ensure things get worked out to perfection.

A proper script and better sound editing might have saved this effort from going horribly wrong. As for the story, it doesn't deserve describing - nothing happens that we haven't seen a dozen times in other films. People behave in the usual, expected dumb horror film character manner. Events happen that are meant to be scary but, most of the time, are not.As it is, the "one continuous take" thing is a gimmick, nothing more. It doesn't add to the story or the suspense. The camera operator should get better paying gigs, but the rest of the crew should not be so lucky. Directing is hit and miss - I am sure it was extremely hard work to choreograph the entire 65 minute take, but the acting is so off that it kind of kills all the other aspects of direction. Especially after the mid point does most of the acting degenerate into insanely theatrical territory. In fact, the whole production seems like a stage play, and the performances are uniformly reminiscent of one. Dialogue at first sounds clever but soon becomes annoyingly so, and is most of the time very on-the-nose. And that is only when it can be heard, because at times sound mix is so bad, the soundtrack and noises drown out the actors' voices.Fight sequences are ridiculous - I am sure it is awfully difficult to stage fighting when there are no cuts, but in this case they would have been better off not showing anything at all. Most of the fighting resembles very drunken bar brawls with old school slapstick fight sounds added.Music is diabolical - I am not sure if it is meant to be ironic (the fact that the rest of the film seems to be played out straight suggests otherwise) - but the extremely loud eruptions of staccato effects are not scary at all. If anything, they are distracting and terribly irritating. There is zero tension.I can only recommend this film to hardcore horror fans. The single take approach may be of some interest to film students or professionals, but content-wise "Cut" is a waste of time and talent. At least they spared some money on editing.

The title of the movie is 'Cut', leading viewers to believe that the film is a conventional horror flick, and that the killers and bad guys like to cut their victims. Similar to how the first SAW film involved someone using a saw to literally saw his own leg off. However with 'Cut' the title of the film has a closer relationship with the way that the movie is filmed, in that it is done in one seamless single take, there are no cuts or edits. At least with the visual portion of the film there aren't. According to the IMDb trivia section for the film it took 36 attempts before a final cut was satisfactorily completed.An interesting concept, to cut a horror film in a single take, but it's nothing revolutionary (plays have been recorded in one take and put to film for decades for example). The execution for the acting, directing, cinematography is actually alright for a movie done without a break from start to finish. The actors get their lines across convincingly, the special effects are well masked, the camera follows the action quite well. But things are never as good as they could be for a few reasons, some ridiculously bad decisions are made by the protagonists (a tired cliché for the horror genre), and the music is entirely distracting and almost comical.The basic premise of the film is that a group of friends take a vacation in a remote cabin or home and some psychopaths terrorize them. It's been done too many times before, the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th, The Strangers, the recent remake of Last House on the Left, and U.S. version of Funny Games, are four recent examples where a group of people, or a family, is terrorized by a few deranged individuals. Even the pizza delivery aspect of this film was just done in 'The House of the Devil' which came out only a few months ago. The only thing new about this film is the single take aspect. Every aspect of the plot is directly borrowed from some other film and it seems like the writers didn't even care.But the worst part of this film is without question the audio post production, specifically the music. I don't understand the idea of filming a movie in one take only to sabotage the entire affair by drowning out the dialog with blaring music and adding in loud orchestral stabs and hits to try to scare the audience. Early in the film a character turns out the lights to scare his friends, the flick of the light switch coincides with the loudest blast of trumpets and drums in the film, deliberately put there to scare the audience. I swear it sounded like a howitzer cannon was being fired next to my ear. Relying on such a lame tactic to scare the viewing audience was met with laughter from myself and all of my friends. And that cliché and obnoxious horror orchestral score that constantly leads the audience into when they should be scared or nervous is entirely distracting and comical in this film.Characters in this film cannot turn a door knob, open the curtains, or brush their teeth without a thunderous trumpet or drum hit absolutely erupting from the speakers. At one point a character approaches a curtain to open it, and it sounds as if the entire country of China is playing the violin. I guess the intent was to scare the viewing audience but everyone around me, and myself, mostly ended up laughing. I doubt eliciting laughter was the intention of the film's creators.And yes, like most modern horror movies, the characters are insanely stupid. Always splitting up into groups, failing to lock doors and windows, failing to secure themselves. And in general putting themselves in harm's way more often than not. The excuse that the film's writers will give is that the protagonists have been drinking all night and that's why they are acting dumb. They are drunk. But the actors are clearly sober in the film and not once do they slur any of their words and they seem to have complete control over their motor functions.If you are into film production or writing, or are a big horror fan, then you should probably give this film a go. But if you're a casual movie person looking for a film to watch with friends then I can't recommend this really. A decent effort, maybe it will lead to better ideas, but nothing spectacular. 3/10