Review of The Reeds (2010) by Bryan G — 01 May 2010

Nick Cohen's The Reeds gave off the vibe that it was going to be a good old-school horror film. It follows a lot of the cliches of older horror films, primarily the slasher flicks of the 1980's. A small group of friends decide to take a little weekend vacation in a secluded area, bringing booze and a lot of raging hormones along the way. And the location that the film takes place in is a good remote and creepy one. But like the majority of horror films these days looks can be deceiving. Like one of the characters says in the film, "The reeds can play tricks on you!".

The Reeds is a rather difficult film to get through for many reasons. The first and most notable is the group of unlikable characters the film centers around. For starters they are all as cookie-cutter as they can get, and none of them evolve past their paper-thin introductions. It was brutal to have to sit there and watch this bumbling group of idiots throughout the film. Then there is the terrible acting supplied by the bunch of them. Whether it is happiness or sadness, anger or fear, none of these actors ever seemed to be able to deliver on emotions realistically.

I like a good mystery, especially one in a horror film. But the one in The Reeds is both mind-numbingly difficult to follow, as well as drawn-out. In conjunction with the terrible characters and weak acting, The Reeds also suffers from an empty, hollow feeling throughout its run-time. Occasionally the film will attempt to break up the monotony by adding in some brutal violence, but none of it is enough to make up for the dull movie The Reeds really is.

I'm not completely sure I understand the character of Croker, the old man who rents out the boat to the film's central characters, but I did like the performance by Geoff Bell, who is one of those faces you might know but aren't sure exactly what you've seen him in before. Bell was the only one in the film who felt like he was bringing something to his role, even if the character is a bit confusing. Maybe if the film could have focused a little more on Croker, or at least had more actors of his caliber, the experience might have been another good one for the 8 Films to Die For series.