As films like "127 Hours" and "Buried" have proven, it doesn't take huge set pieces to set yourself up for a tense-filled and intriguing mystery drama experience. "Rapid Eye Movement" works with the same constrictions as those films. While it fails to fully work its way to be more than just being average, it was at least a weirdly fun and enjoyable psychedelic two hour romp that left us surprisingly satisfied.
Photo credit RapidEye Productions LLC.
Rick Weider (François Arnaud) is not having his greatest moment. At the cusp of losing his job as a radio host, he is also trying to save his marriage. Out of desperation, Jim decides to do a "wake-a-thon" to promote his show and also help those in need while doing it. He ultimately decides to raise funds for research on SMA (Spine Muscular Atrophy). But when a mysterious caller continues to harass him constantly during the event, what started as a gimmick is ending up to be a life and death situation.
Photo credit RapidEye Productions LLC.
"Rapid Eye Movement" is a tale of two opposites. On one hand, it had a great concept and at times it was showing a lot of potential. But on the other hand, it failed to really develop its narrative beyond being basic and sadly predictable. It also had a lot of downtime in between spending a good chunk of the film having nothing develop in terms of plot. By the time the climax arrives, the reveal falls with all the time spent on nothing. The film had awesome camera work showing clear, crisp, bright images of its actors up-close and even New York. But its visual effects were disappointing bordering amateurish. The film was crazy but came off grounded and the acting was good but not great. Overall, "Rapid Eye Movement" needed more polish to be frank. But what we get here passes. There's just a nagging feeling that it could have been better with more time and probably a bigger budget to fully show its vision.
Photo credit RapidEye Productions LLC.
Rating: 3 reels
Why you should watch it:
Awesome camera work and visuals
Captures the intense and crazy concept of not sleeping for days
Why you shouldn't watch it:
The film needs a heavy dose of polish in every aspect
The climax falls flat
"Rapid Eye Movement" arrived in select theaters across the United States last month on August 9, 2019. For those who missed it, it is also available through major digital outlets including iTunes, Amazon, etc.
Why you should watch it:
Awesome camera work and visuals
Captures the intense and crazy concept of not sleeping for days
Why you shouldn't watch it:
The film needs a heavy dose of polish in every aspect
The climax falls flat
"Rapid Eye Movement" arrived in select theaters across the United States last month on August 9, 2019. For those who missed it, it is also available through major digital outlets including iTunes, Amazon, etc.
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