Review of Needle (2010) by Billy B — 18 Mar 2012

A man inherits a unique box after his fathers death, and soon after his friends start to die, one-by-one.

This is another shining example of why Australian horror films just don't work. Like Dying Breed, Black Water and the worst horror film i've ever seen, Prey, Needle has alot of potential to do big things with it's premise, but it fails to really have an edge. The entire movie was just predictable, although the twist ending I didn't see coming until about half and hour before it was revealed. Whilst it had some great effects and visuals, the movie never really took off and left me bored out of my brain after a while. The death scenes were definately the best part of the movie, but they couldn't save it.

The plot is simple enough, but when writers don't expand simple plots they have a generic horror film that will never stand the test of time. These days horror films need something unique going for them, but the whole voodoo killer gets old. The added value of having a lesbian couple was clearly something they used in the marketing to get people interested, which really says it all.

The acting was below average. Jessica Marais, or more commonly known as Rachel from Packed to the Rafters, is just a shit actress in general. How people love her is beyond me. She's as plain as an Arrowroot biscuit, although towards the end she did get a tad better. Michael Dorman was almost as generic.

Overall Needle is another boring, predictable Australian horror flicks that lacks any real suspense. My rating is 2/5.