Review of D-Tox (2002) by Harry W — 04 Oct 2013

D-Tox is a fairly basic film, a simplistic mix of psychological thriller with the slasher genre an elements of crime drama, and it's level of enjoyment is basically standard.

Frankly, I find it largely underrated as a film. I enjoyed D-Tox, because it was a simple thriller which did have a good horror atmosphere because it's thrills and setting are great, and the premise holds elements of The Shining and of The Thing to it because of how its about a serial killer taking advantage of a location separated from the world by a snowstorm, which provided entertaining nostalgia. The premise was also interesting because of how it has police officers dealing with issues in a detox clinic, but since they get thrust into involvement with an insane killer in a grim and impenetrable fortress of imprisoning walls and psychological horrors, which is essentially a role reversal that renders the police officers the prisoners that must fend for themselves without the help of the authorities, regardless of the fact that they are indeed officers themselves. When you look deeper at the plot in D-Tox, it's better than you'd think.

Plus, D-Tox is stylishly created as it features great cinematography and strong editing, as well as being matched with strong lighting which kept things visually dark but easy to see which enhanced the atmosphere. It has a good feel of a prison story, which makes the multiple genres that it leaks into be fairly effective.

But what I probably liked most about D-Tox was the fact that it is a Sylvester Stallone film which is different to his usual films and is a branch out for him where he must work with a complex character. This is one of the reasons I find D-Tox so underrated, because Sylvester Stallone does a great job during arguably the slowest point of his career after experiencing such success, and it's one of his better dramatic performance. As Sylvester Stallone is one of my favourite actors, he is the whole reason I watched D-Tox. And as a person who appreciates his underrated performances in more dramatic pieces such as Over the Top and the remake of Get Carter, I find D-Tox to be another one of these films. This one is a stand out as it has Sylvester Stallone seriously dealing with the psychological drama, as opposed to shooting his way past it. D-Tox is an example of him branching out and doing his first psychological thriller since the masterpiece First Blood, and he shows that he's still got it. Any Sylvester Stallone fan should check D-Tox out, because it is an enjoyable and underrated piece which succeeds as a good dramatic effort from Sylvester Stallone as well as being a good slasher film.

D-Tox is good, but not great. It's essentially standard entertainment as is somewhat predictable and lacking in clever twists or turns.

One issue with D-Tox is the fact that the actual titular detox centre is supposed to be a symbolic prison to the fears and anxieties of the characters forced to confront their issues there, but director Jim Gillespie makes this so damned obvious that he essentially drills the idea into your head in the same manner that the serial killer drills into his victims' eyes. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, and although it's beneficially atmospheric for the horror atmosphere of the story, it's intended symbolism is so blantantly obvious.

Plus Tom Berenger also should have gotten a bigger role, because he's an excellent Academy Award nominated actor and received a large credit for his role in D-Tox, but takes on a small role. Of all the actors I felt like he should have received a bigger part, and if he did I may have enjoyed myself more than I did.

The same went for Kris Kristofferson, although he had a smaller credit. Still, I would have liked to have seen him more.

And lastly, it's title is lame. Whether it's released in your country as D-Tox or alternatively as Eye See You, it could have had a cooler name.

But nevertheless, D-Tox is a basic and decent thriller with a good cast, good visual appeal, a good atmosphere and a great effort from Sylvester Stallone. Most certainly did not deserve to lose nearly $50 million at Box Office.