It's not quite The Cabin in the Woods or Scream, but I recently ran across an interesting 2009 thriller with meta touches on Netflix.
Messages Deleted is from the pen of Larry Cohen, screenwriter for a host of memorable thrillers and B-movies including Q, Phone Booth, It's Alive and Captivity.
Messages stars Matthew Lillard, Shaggy in the Scooby Doo films and now pretty much the voice of Shaggy in Scooby animated films. He's Joel Brandt, a screenwriting instructor and struggling screenwriter.
Things start to go awry when he discovers a message on his home answering machine from a guy with a gun to his head.
Soon, Joel's embroiled in the investigation of a string of murders that mirror movie cliches.
Of course he becomes a suspect, and of course he has to begin to unravel a puzzle that seems to tie his past to an escalating series of murders.
It has a lot of elements we've seen before, but Lillard's always interesting, and he's helped along by Deborah Kara Unger as a detective on the case and Gina Holden as a student and ally.
The body count rises, Brandt grows frantic and with the help of his student, he realizes the events seem to be reflecting a screenplay written by a former student.
Death implements of variable sorts, movie coverage talk and other mayhem unfurl before the reveal.
It's not quite stupendous, but it's an interesting exercise especially if you're a bit of a film buff.
Messages Deleted is from the pen of Larry Cohen, screenwriter for a host of memorable thrillers and B-movies including Q, Phone Booth, It's Alive and Captivity.
Messages stars Matthew Lillard, Shaggy in the Scooby Doo films and now pretty much the voice of Shaggy in Scooby animated films. He's Joel Brandt, a screenwriting instructor and struggling screenwriter.
Things start to go awry when he discovers a message on his home answering machine from a guy with a gun to his head.
Soon, Joel's embroiled in the investigation of a string of murders that mirror movie cliches.
Of course he becomes a suspect, and of course he has to begin to unravel a puzzle that seems to tie his past to an escalating series of murders.
It has a lot of elements we've seen before, but Lillard's always interesting, and he's helped along by Deborah Kara Unger as a detective on the case and Gina Holden as a student and ally.
The body count rises, Brandt grows frantic and with the help of his student, he realizes the events seem to be reflecting a screenplay written by a former student.
Death implements of variable sorts, movie coverage talk and other mayhem unfurl before the reveal.
It's not quite stupendous, but it's an interesting exercise especially if you're a bit of a film buff.
2 comments:
Hadn't heard of this one. I've not been watching much horror lately. Not sure why.
I don't know that it got a wide release in the U.S. I just kind of stumbled upon it.
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