Review of 13 Sins (2014) by Ryan P — 27 Jul 2014

13 Sins plays with an intriguing idea and sometimes shines with creativity and a mixture of horror and comedy. However this effort ultimately has an imbalance that wounds its success. Elliot is a loving brother and fiance, after losing his job for not having enough "balls" he finds himself locked in a game, in which if Elliot completes 13 tasks given to him, he will not only win enough money to sort all his problems out, but any mess left in the process will be cleaned up.

Its a sound premise, but the film spends the first act of the film hammering you over the head with cliche after cliche. Elliot is a loser, he was bullied at school, his dad hates life... E.T.C. The film soon finds its footing and once the challenges begin, an enjoyable and fun film emerges from what seemed like a doomed outing.

Challenges range from hilarious to completely obscene and laterally end up fatal, its predictable but at least it tries. The film also has a subtext running through it around the origin of the game and how long it has been going on for, however by the final act, not only is this not really explored but its barely wrapped up in any worth while manner, leaving you to ponder its inclusion in the first place.

The cast are solid enough, The best performances coming from some of the bigger stars in this movie. Elliot himself is just likeable enough as our protagonist but his transformation during his events is too savy and readable, a somewhat more subtle approach may have made him a more thought provoking and perplexing character.

There are enough effects and some slabs of gore to keep horror fans happy, but this film really doesnt want to tread that ground too much. In fact had it have rid itself of some of its cliche and sincerity we could have had quite a satirical classic on our hands.

This is a fun film, its paced decently and holds your attention, however you cant help but get the taste of over stepping the runway out of your mouth.