420 Reviews: The Bunny Game, Absentia, Cell Count, and Citadel

The Bunny Game:

A lot of folks seem to think that if a flick is subversive, it’s automatically good. Not the case. This flick is extremely repetitive, and that, not the subject matter, is what made it hard to watch after a while. What did make it watchable was an outstanding performance by lead actress Rodleen Getsic in a very demanding role. For a much better film in a similar thematic vein, see In a Glass Cage. 1 severed thumb up.

 Absentia:

Absentia has a slow building, creepy atmosphere that never relents. It also had that rarity of rarities in horror nowadays, a multidimensional heroine that the audience can actually get behind. The “is it real, or is it all in her mind” conceit is handled far better than I’ve seen in a while. It may sound odd, but I do kinda wish they had left the whole thing even more unexplained. One and a half severed thumbs up. 

 Cell Count:

This mix of body horror and prison flick hits the mark. The stark white sets create an effective cold, clinical atmosphere. Plus, they’re a good backdrop for the messy effects. The cast is solid, especially Christopher Tonye as Dr. Victor Brandt, the best evil scientist since Dr. Heiter. The ending went a smidge haywire, but it looks to be setting up for a sequel, so I’ll go with it. One and a half severed thumbs up.

Citadel:

Citadel had a good setup (that needle stabbing was pretty cringe inducing), and the bleak urban landscape is a great setting visually, but it fizzled fast. The problem with this flick is that they made the protagonist, who looks like a strung out Harry Potter, such a whiney bitch that it’s near impossible to root for him. The priest is a fun character though.  It’s well shot, but sadly boring. One severed thumb down.