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Overall Rating : 4/10
Directed By : Fred Calvert, David J. Negron Jr.
Lindsley Allen
Suzete Belouin (Inland Empire)
Michael Brainard (All My Children (TV) )
Axelle Cummings
Supplied By : MTI Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : June. 15, 2009
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| PLOT One night, a female demon attacks Rick, a contentedly married man. Under her spell, he takes a beautiful young woman, Ariel, off to an isolated cabin for a weekend fling. There, bizarre and frightening things happen, and accidentally Rick kills her. But she doesn’t stay dead. He soon realizes that she is the demon that first attacked him and he must defend himself by killing her again… and again... But, no matter how many times he kills her, she keeps coming back. When he finally escapes and returns home, he discovers that his life has disappeared into a nightmare of madness, lust, adultery, and coldblooded murder. |
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| THE REVIEW KILLING ARIEL is basically told in flash back as our main character Rick recites a story to Doctor at some sort of institution, it is the story that he recollects, that we watch through out. While a child he watched as both of his parents where killed in a murder suicide. But Rick was never convinced that his parents died at their own hand as he would often see as he describes as a "naked man", one that his Father would also write about in his journal, it turns out that the guy was some kind of sex demon and would come to take control of Ricks Mother. The demon is in fact and incubus, a demon that influenced his parent's even though and mood. In the story we move on to present day and for Rick who is now an insurance agent, has since put those events behind him, he has a loving wife and kids and is at this point, a loving family man. But his haunting memories of the ghosts of his past soon come back as one night he is seduced by a sexual charged female demon. After the experience, he is overcome by a spell of some kind as he begins to act very strangely. His family and especially his wife no longer are his first priority, as he begins to develop a thing for another woman, a woman named Ariel. In difference to his wife, Ariel is fresh and exotic, so it's not long before Ariel sweeps Rick out of his everyday life. Rick eventually takes his new lover up to his childhood cabin where they plan to spend many a passionate night, but almost as quick as they arrive, things begin to go weird for Rick. Rick begins having many macabre visions, most of them revolving around his past and the harm of his wife and kids as well as his own. After awhile it's certain that the incubus he feels was responsible for the death of his parents is indeed trying to get to him and that Ariel, just may be a servant sent to aid him. KILLING ARIEL is told in such a way that while watching, it doesn't take long for us to realize that what we are watching is purely build up for what is supposed to be a shocking ending. Except for KILLING ARIEL, by the time we get to that place in the film most of us will likely be to exhausted to be shocked by anything, no matter how far it goes out of its way to do so. The film starts off well, starting with us taking a glimpse of what happened to Rick as a child concerning the death of his parents. We then move on to when he has this altercation with the demon and becomes a different man. Everything was good for me up until the two central character, Rick and Ariel reach the cabin when Rick starts having these reoccurring "nightmares". I don't know how to explain it other than to say that these dreams are reminiscent of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, in which the character believes that the visions are real but later waken up to realize that it never really happened. This happens a lot to Rick in the film, it's ok for a little while but sooner than later it gets a little boring, the only thing that keeps it remotely interesting is when Rick finds out that Ariel may be a Demon that is trying to kill him. It's after this that Ariel is put through the ringer by Rick who tries to "get rid" of her in various ways, all of which leads to no avail. Rick in attempt to kill Ariel shoots her with a shotgun, buries her and beheads her among other things, watching him fail in all of the attempts can be quite humorous and for a low budget film, the effects are actually well done. This film is not terrible by any means but is in my opinion too confusing for it's own good. After a relatively well paced start it eventually drifts off into being a confusing and repetitive plot that hampers what could be an otherwise more enjoyable film. |
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| GORE
METER 5/10 There's gunshot wounds, blood splatter, a beheading an impalement, etc |
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MUSICAL
SCORE 2.5/10 As for the score, I didn't notice anything that really stood out, in fact, I can only vaguely remember it now, it's your typical suspenseful background. | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM KILLING ARIEL is quite repetitive after awhile and a little confusing, but that's not to take anything away from the production of the film. Because overall, for a low budget film, it's pretty well made. The problem lies in the script however, because for one, the incubus just shows up out of nowhere, we never once find out why it's chosen Rick's family as it's target to haunt. And too, the dream sequences may be there to offer a swerve in the plot, but they happen too often and result in little of nothing, they don't do much yo progress the story along, it goes in circles essentially, with no real resolve. This DVD will be released on June 16, 2009 |
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