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Open Graves is a blend of films. Ingredient films include: Jumanji, Final Destination, and When Animals Attack. Other ingredients to be put into the vivacious Eliza Dushku (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Wrong Turn) and some peculiar Spanish pop music. I knew this horror movie was being made some years back, but nothing solid ever came about for quite some time. The only clue I could find that made me know for sure that filming was actually in progress was a behind-the-scenes video on youtube, and it was narrated in spanish. It was still a long time after than video surfaced when Eliza Dushku had her say on the status of the film saying it is ready, but she really didn’t know anything apart from that. Ironically, a couple of days after that statement, it was declared that the foremost airing of Open Graves is going to be on the SyFy channel in two weeks (9/10).
Open Graves is simple in its entire plot. Jason, played by Mike Vogel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake, Cloverfield), comes into the possession of a boardgame named Mamba, which he tries to play with some friends on a stormy night. Mamba is a survival boardgame, which means the current players are eliminated after drawing the wrong card. Not long after the game wraps up, one of the friends dies in an ‘accident’ that mirrors the style in which he was discharged from the game. One by one, these accidents happen to other players, and it is left to the remaining players to figure out how to stop the game from killing them all…but, as usual, it takes the players awhile to realize something is very wrong.
I was super looking forward to watching Open Graves as I had been waiting to see it for a very long time. From all my waiting and anticipating – Open Graves was not all that good. I will begin with the unsatisfactory aspects and finish with the good aspects. There were several things in this film that made it…odd. For instance: This monk who existed from the time of the Spanish Inquisition for some reason lost both his legs. The dialogue at some portions is cringe. Every time a player “leaves” the game, they each recite a line such as, “I didn’t want to play anyway,” or “What a waste of time this was.” Either everyone around the table is a sore loser or the dialogue could have been better. Two other minor details which I found rather irritating were that the tans of characters seem to be changing during the movie and that a game piece, a tower, could not have possibly fit into the game package.
Let’s just get straight to the point: the CGI in Open Graves is downright terrible. It’s no surprise though because I’ve heard the budget was around $6.5 million. While I can overlook bad CGI from time to time, the way these graphics are implemented makes it far worse. They quite literally pause or slow the video just so they can put the graphics in. Because of that, the car crash scenes in the movie are downright cringe. And yes, during the car accidents, I’m afraid that there are two, because apparently they didn’t learn anything after the first attempt. One of the frequently used cliches in horror movies is a nightmarish girl is heard screaming as she climbs up the staircase instead of fleeing through the front door. Open Graves has taken this cliche and one-upped it with the boy who climbs up the log walls and instead of going out into the field, he decides to stay in there.
Open Graves is a blend of films. Ingredient films include: Jumanji, Final Destination, and When Animals Attack. Other ingredients to be put into the vivacious Eliza Dushku (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Wrong Turn) and some peculiar Spanish pop music. I knew this horror movie was being made some years back, but nothing solid ever came about for quite some time. The only clue I could find that made me know for sure that filming was actually in progress was a behind-the-scenes video on youtube, and it was narrated in spanish. It was still a long time after than video surfaced when Eliza Dushku had her say on the status of the film saying it is ready, but she really didn’t know anything apart from that. Ironically, a couple of days after that statement, it was declared that the foremost airing of Open Graves is going to be on the SyFy channel in two weeks (9/10).
Open Graves is simple in its entire plot. Jason, played by Mike Vogel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake, Cloverfield), comes into the possession of a boardgame named Mamba, which he tries to play with some friends on a stormy night. Mamba is a survival boardgame, which means the current players are eliminated after drawing the wrong card. Not long after the game wraps up, one of the friends dies in an ‘accident’ that mirrors the style in which he was discharged from the game. One by one, these accidents happen to other players, and it is left to the remaining players to figure out how to stop the game from killing them all…but, as usual, it takes the players awhile to realize something is very wrong.
I was super looking forward to watching Open Graves as I had been waiting to see it for a very long time. From all my waiting and anticipating – Open Graves was not all that good. I will begin with the unsatisfactory aspects and finish with the good aspects. There were several things in this film that made it…odd. For instance: This monk who existed from the time of the Spanish Inquisition for some reason lost both his legs. The dialogue at some portions is cringe. Every time a player “leaves” the game, they each recite a line such as, “I didn’t want to play anyway,” or “What a waste of time this was.” Either everyone around the table is a sore loser or the dialogue could have been better. Two other minor details which I found rather irritating were that the tans of characters seem to be changing during the movie and that a game piece, a tower, could not have possibly fit into the game package.
Let’s just get straight to the point: the CGI in Open Graves is downright terrible. It’s no surprise though because I’ve heard the budget was around $6.5 million. While I can overlook bad CGI from time to time, the way these graphics are implemented makes it far worse. They quite literally pause or slow the video just so they can put the graphics in. Because of that, the car crash scenes in the movie are downright cringe. And yes, during the car accidents, I’m afraid that there are two, because apparently they didn’t learn anything after the first attempt. One of the frequently used cliches in horror movies is a nightmarish girl is heard screaming as she climbs up the staircase instead of fleeing through the front door. Open Graves has taken this cliche and one-upped it with the boy who climbs up the log walls and instead of going out into the field, he decides to stay in there.
I did mention that there are certain positives, right out of the bat, that is not the most pleasant observation to make. I guess one positive is Eliza Dusku is as charming as ever. The game board made from the skin of a witch is frankly astonishing. The various areas of Spain which form the setting are stunning. The music also goes hand in hand. You can feel a rush to either dance or simply smoke a joint. But that is it.I did mention that there are certain positives, right out of the bat, that is not the most pleasant observation to make. I guess one positive is Eliza Dusku is as charming as ever. The game board made from the skin of a witch is frankly astonishing. The various areas of Spain which form the setting are stunning. The music also goes hand in hand. You can feel a rush to either dance or simply smoke a joint. But that is it.
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