Salvage (2009) Reviews

• Starts Out Well -- But Ultimately Disappoints

  henri sauvage2014-02-20

  For about the first forty minutes or so, this wasn't a bad movie at all. Neve McIntosh plays the distraught mother convincingly and Shaun Dooley does a fine job as a one-night stand who winds up really regretting that impulse. Despite a few minor stumbles, the film develops an engrossingly claustrophobic atmosphere of terror and paranoia. Which then crumbles under the weight of its muddled storyline and pedestrian plotting. For example, one particularly annoying "twist" occurs when they have Dooley attacked and pulled out of sight by the (still-unseen) monster while he's trying to climb into the attic, only to pop back up outside a few minutes later with no visible injuries and only a slight limp to show for the encounter. I guess mutant hell-beasts are like bears: play dead and maybe they'll leave you alone. The director was certainly smart not to show us much of the creature -- because what you do see isn't particularly frightening. (In fact, it reminded me of nothing so much as one of the boogeymen in the old Laurel and Hardy film, "March of the Wooden Soldiers".) But that's forgivable, so long as you don't climax your story by having your fearsome super-fast, super-strong monster -- which in the last hour and ten minutes has offed several of her neighbors and made mincemeat out of some heavily-armed special forces dunderheads -- summarily dispatched by a fireplace poker! I get the "frantic mom protecting her cub" angle, but it has to make you wonder what all the fuss was about. Maybe they should have equipped those SAS guys with sticks with a nail in them instead of assault rifles. And I know people don't always act reasonably when they're under extreme stress, but a daughter who looks her mother square in the face while deliberately locking her outside -- when she knows a savage, murderous creature is lurking about -- then just turns and walks away, all on account of some abandonment issues? That's cold. It completely destroyed any sympathy I might have had for the selfish, spiteful little drama queen. This was a good try. I'd have no hesitation about checking out another film by this director. It's not so bad that I'd urge people to give it a miss entirely, but it's disappointing to see a movie which initially had so much going for it end up missing the mark so badly.

• incredibly mediocre

  Coventry2013-09-18

  "Salvage" is an adequate enough horror flick, but it's unmemorable and you promptly get the impression there are easily thirteen of derivative movies like this in a dozen. It can depend on a fair share of goodwill and enthusiasm from the entire cast and crew, but there undeniably are more flaws than trumps, including an incoherent and clichéd script as well as bland character drawings. The latter element really bothered me, in fact, because it makes the whole (already grotesque) script become completely implausible. In the very beginning of the film, a teenage girl talks about her mother like she's a careless and irresponsible tramp that has forsaken her poor and helpless little daughter. That image appears to be confirmed when we first see the mother, banging a random guy whose name she can't even remember, but then immediately after – and for the rest of the film – it turns out she's actually a very intelligent and courageous woman that risks her life multiple times in order to rescue her estranged daughter. What? That doesn't make any sense at all, and then I haven't mentioned the loud-mouthed chauvinist one-night-stand guy yet, who actually turns out to be a remorseful family man. But anyways, in the middle of their dispute, their street and pretty much the whole sleepy little coastal town, is brutally disturbed by heavily armed soldiers on a violent manhunt for something (or someone) terrifying. That same morning, a container washed ashore nearby and whatever creature or force that escaped from it is out on a bloody rampage. "Salvage" is quite similar to George A. Romero's classic "The Crazies", except that it has camouflaged soldiers instead of eerie men in white laboratory coats and a whole lot of redundant talking going on. There is a small handful of decent gore and blood-splattering moments to detect, but definitely not enough to satisfy the true gorehounds. Some of the footage is obviously meant to shock, but doesn't manage to do so (like the intro sequence, for example). There are most definitely worse ways to spend 80 minutes of your life, but I wouldn't immediately recommend "Salvage", neither. Always be wary of DVD-covers that shout out words like "instant cult classic" etc.

• Cracking little British horror

  declanio2010-03-17

  I'm rather perplexed by the fact most of the reviews on here go on about the lack of budget, albeit in a positive way. Yes it's not exactly Avatar in terms of spending on effects etc but the cost isn't something that's terribly relevant with this movie. The limited setting - most of the action takes place in a cul de sac - adds to the claustrophobic feeling. And the gore when it comes has the claret flowing with gusto and looks pretty convincing. I did struggle a couple of times to understand the dialogue - a combination of muffled voices and regional accents - and although on one occasion this seemed to be a pretty key piece of information, in all it was fine. Definitely worth checking out and I shall be following the director's work with interest

• A small and scary gem

  glennondaniel2009-08-30

  I caught this little gem at FrightFest and absolutely loved it, one of the absolute highlights of the festival. Working on what was apparently a limited budget, director Lawrence Gough and his team have done a tremendous job delivering a well acted and shot little suspenser that firmly places strong characterisations and performances ahead of cheap shocks. That said, it does deliver its fair share of scares and is almost unbearably tense in places. I don't want to say anything about the plot as you will enjoy the film more going in with little prior knowledge. Suffice to say, the script cleverly (though without being heavy handed) works in some Romero-style prescient social commentary and compelling political debate. In fact, in the early stages it resembles a UK-set Crazies remake, before the plot takes a late and effective change in direction. If you like intelligent horror films, I recommend seeking this out, particularly if you can find a cinema screening.

• Small but perfectly formed (or nicely nasty!)

  MikeZonk2009-06-22

  A great addition to the flavour-du-jour domestic danger sub-genre (cf. Right At Your Door, The Strangers, Ils) as a small Scouse (that's Liverpool, non-UKers) neighbourhood finds themselves besieged by a mysterious murderous malcontent. This features all one could hope for from such a movie - flawed (jut like us) yet likable (er, just like us) characters (take note Eli Roth), suburban slaughter, a threat more hinted at than seen, with a side-order of allusions to domestic terrorism and sinister soldiers skulking to add some spice. I caught this flick a sweltering screening at the Edinburgh International Film Fest but if there's any justice in this bad old world then it'll be at a cinema near you in the not too distant!