Review of Chained (2012) by Jason C — 07 Jan 2013

Chained was a conflicting watch for me. I had just returned home from a long day and writing, was a bit moody and probably shouldn't have watched a brutal, realistic horror film. Alas, Jennifer Carpenter's work speaks to me (LOVED her last movie 'Surveillance'!) so I felt obliged and had a watch.

The movie started off in a gripping and harsh manner. A kidnapping and murder pretty well opens the flick up. But Chained had a bit more going for it in which it carried a deep character study on both kidnapper and his victim.

The progression this carried on the relationship was very ranged and my main hook to this piece. It went from repulsive, to intriguing to somewhat caring and loving (term used very loosely. The actors had a huge responsibility to make these characters work and it was magnificently done.

Vincent D'Onofrio looked and sounded like a sick killer to the tee but also carried a nuance of affection to him. He was absolutely brilliant in the role (did he physically change for it?) and the fact that he had me question a few times what I thought of him meant he worked wonders.

Eamon Farren gave an extremely sympathetic and pitiful performance as the victim. I wanted him to get the hell out of there the whole time. Evan Bird also gave a great show as the younger Rabbit. He tugged at my heart at a certain point and the fact that he wasn't on screen very long should say something.

I hope he got spoiled rotten after his shoot because he had a tough role to encounter. Round that out with smaller performances by Jake Weber, Julia Ormond and Gina Phillips and you get one awesome cast.

Lynch showed quite a bit of flair off in the beginning then toned it down as opposed to her previous flicks. It worked in the films's favour. The mood she gave off more than made up enough style. There was tension and a sense of dread every single second the movie was running and it had the effect it was supposed to on me.

I also loved the scene transitions she used between the past and present scenes. Another great job from Ms. Lynch! On top of this, I'm also very impressed by how restrained the movie kept when it came to the gorier moments.

There was gore here but most of the grislier scenes were implied, giving it a more sophisticated feel than the average movie of this type. Rounding out the good parts is a score by Climax Golden Twins (haven't heard them since Session 9!) and a few plot twists that really surprised me and you get one provocative horror flick! On the downer end, the editing choices were somewhat off at times.

There were a few awkward cuts here and there that left me confused as to how or if the previous scene ended. There was one particular dumb move done by a character that left me scratching my head as to the 'why' behind it.

Was nothing that took me out of the movie, but thought my pointy ass should mention it. Lastly, I'm still conflicted as to how I feel about the ending of the movie. It worked on me at the time, but the more I think on it, the more I'm unsure if it worked in its favour.

Regardless, it left me with something, so I can give it that. Chained is a sick movie with restraint that had me more fascinated by the characters within the picture than affected by the carnage at hand.

That was a brave move that worked in its favour for me. A well done flick that I will recommend for those who can watch it. Just make sure you're not in a 'dark place' when you do. I'll not be watching this one again.

Once was good enough...