SonOfSalem

I watched this movie because of Micheal Rooker. He's the kind of actor who always brings integrity to his roles, no matter how weak the material might be sometimes. He's a professional and I admire him.

Hypothermia had the makings of a great horror feature. I found the acting to be adequate by most of the cast, and some of the dialogue was interesting and I soon found myself carried along and kind of enjoying it. Also, the fleeting glimpses of the creature through the ice, ratcheted up the tension nicely.

Then this guy shows up in his truck. His character is the cardboard incarnate of every bad character that ever existed in ass-hole form, and after a few minutes his true obnoxious role in the movie became apparent... he was there simply to hold together a rapidly disintegrating plot.

When his son, Stevie Cote Jr, is pulled through the ice and mauled by the creature, he develops a kind of telepathic connection with it; or more accurately, it with him. But this is not fleshed out properly and all it serves is to confuse the viewer, especially since the understanding of the ending hinges on this connection.

And even though the actors tried, they could not save themselves or the movie from what was to emerge from beneath the ice... when it made it's appearance, I laughed so hard I thought I'd either dislodge a tooth or pass out; truth be told, at the time, I really wasn't sure which might come first, because I was too busy trying to stifle a nose bleed as one third of my blood volume tried to escape through the follicles in my head.

Just imagine for a moment, every single crappy creature you have ever seen. I know you've seen a few. Now, I want you to completely discount any misgivings you may have had about any or all of those creatures because, compared to this creature, they were masterpieces born of such creative genius as to be simply visually profound. The "Monster" in this movie is so bad, it would make the creature from the black lagoon look like the "Alien" in Ridley Scotts masterpiece. It will forever be, branded into the deep dark recesses of my Amygdala; and may very well haunt me, until the day I die.

If you are visually orientated and /or a fan of Ridley Scott, or Micheal Fassbender go see it now. Go. If however you like a bit more kick from your drug of choice, you might end up leaving the cinema with no more than a slight buzz..

Personally, I found the writing and structuring to be pretty bad. It feels like a rushed lukewarm patchwork of a plot, held together by largely disinterested actors. And I don't blame them. Micheal Fassbender does indeed stand out, and I am a big fan of his. His portrayal of the tragic Bobby Sands was both moving and visceral, and I always get a strong sense of professionalism from him; a kind of controlled efficiency that may or may not have helped land him the part of David.

Idris Elba, another excellent actor, capable of deep intensity, who has had two seasons of the British detective TV show Luther under his belt, completely wasted and unchallenged by his cookie cutter role as captain Janek, bewilderingly sporting a fake American drawl that took with it, the last chance for his character having any kind of possibility for the expression of depth, facilitated by his tough East London accent.

I thought Noomi Rapace was very good and stood out, but nothing like her form in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy. When she is more comfortable with English speaking roles, I think her confidence and self expression will make her shine once more.

The characterization as mentioned above, sometimes slapped logic, feasibility and believability right in the nut-sack almost from the get go. I just felt very little for them and it barley changed for me all the way through the movie. So why am I so hard on this? It is just a movie right? It's because I don't like snake oil salesmen; they are far too numerous in my opinion and I certainly don't approve of one of my favorite directors working in their employ. Prometheus has been touted to be something it very much is not, what with the hyped deep philosophical nature of its subject matter, mass marketing, like Guy Pierce doing the Ted Talk, and clever trailer manipulation, (* but all movies do "the pitch"*) yet it fails to even come close to living up to said hype.

Instead, what we get is stilted dialogue dressed in all these metaphorical/pseudo intellectual fortune cookie snippets of wisdom and weak introspection tacked onto weird episodic structuring that sometimes, folds back on itself rather unnecessarily lending a feeling of repetition that keeps reemerging during the movie,(remind you of "Lost" anyone?).

And then there is the science...

In conclusion, If you are a fan of hard sci-fi from the likes of Ian. M. Banks or Isaac Asimov, Sagan or Clark you may be more critical and less forgiving than most. My rant about the writing is fuelled by my love of this hard sci-fi that unfortunately, I thought this was going to be. So it's probably my fault. I was after all, a willing participant in the con.

I give this 5/10 I hate giving any movie attached to Ridley Scott such a low score.

OK... lets say, Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch smoked a sackful of 'Gaia Essence', a ripe ole bag of the stuff. Then, Andy Warhol dropped over with a flask full of 'Dream Mana' and the three had a right old time bouncing crazy ideas and concepts and decided after three straight days of inter-perceptionary travel, to make a movie... 'Beyond the Black Rainbow' is probably as close as you might ever get to seeing the labors from any such fictional collaboration.

I loved it. I can't wait to watch it again. If you believe you have an open mind, or consider yourself to be even remotely intelligent I would advise you to give this a chance. The devil is in the details. There is a new talent among us, and we as film fans should be grateful that someone like Panos Cosmatos has the balls to do things his way and present something that at the very least, is something f***ing different and refreshing.

I'll leave you with this, take from it what you will, I once showed one of my favorite sci fi's to a friend who is a die hard Star Wars fan, he hated it and thought it was stupid and slow; it was 'THX 1138' by George Lucas.

I watched this movie recently. When it was over I sat in silence, thinking. Although I come from the town where it was shot, I had never watched it before. Parts yes, but never in its entirety. I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in making movies and especially those who as yet, are not completely lost to the cold logical grip of cynicism; it may just bring you back from the edge.

I continued sitting in silence, wondering what it was about the movie that had so taken the reigns of my thoughts. I replayed the gritty fight scenes in my head, and the beautifully naive love triangle. The awkward line delivery and the wonderfully spiritual woodland scenes and inventive use of locations. And then it hit me; I felt like I had been looking at the sun without realizing where the light was coming from. It was James Bennett.

Fatal Deviation lends some insight into a personal journey, of a road chosen and taken that has a far greater resonance than the negative derision that has resounded rather unfairly in my opinion from some of the movies obvious constraints; a journey that has embryonic dreams fuelled by a powerful heart and an "iron will" that refuses to say no. James Bennett hunts his dreams with a rocket launcher. And to be honest, in my opinion, the man should be regarded as an inspiration.

Remember your classics? Dickens wrote about people like him. And speaking of classics, "No retreat No Surrender" probably one of the most underrated martial arts movies of all time springs to mind. I doubt if James will ever settle for meagre rations. I think he will always ask for more...

It's easy for some to stand in shadows, sum up an individual by their "so called" failures; it's harder for those same to bring those failures into the light; because bound only by fracturing testimony, we know most would crumble beneath even modest scrutiny. In the shadows, the finger never rotates inwards. I know because I lived there for a very long time.

I give it an 8/10.

Fatal Deviation was filmed in and around Trim Co, Meath.

James Bennett has a slew of credited and uncredited work, and is appearing with Johnny Depp and Timothy Hutton in a new movie about "The Lone Ranger".

You got dreams? Don't sit there and complain, or mock the decent people. Either get up or shut up. Or perhaps take a page from James... hunt them down with a rocket launcher.

Some movies ask of your time like others seldom dare to try. These are the most rewarding, in my opinion, because, having allowed ourselves to be so absorbed and entrenched in their sagas, our empathic connection with their characters can almost make us feel like we are intertwined and we can come away feeling enriched for having shared our time with them. I felt this when I watched "The Pianist" and "The Deer Hunter". And I felt this when I watched "Bedeviled"

The English definitions of the word bedeviled are many, but prone to obvious seething similarity; (to worry, annoy, or frustrate, to torment mercilessly, plague, to possess with or as if with a devil, bewitch) every one of these are but glimpses into what awaits the viewer in "Bedeviled." What I found most disturbing of all for myself, was that I was cheering for the character possessed of them. You'll understand... or you might not. But some people deserve whats coming to them, in this world, or the hell they have dutifully manufactured in the next, no matter how they cloak themselves to appear like they don't stink of the blood they have washed themselves in.

The character Bok-Nam is a terrifying study of a fracturing psyche. And for her tormentors on the island, hell hath no fury like the storm that is raging towards them.

The Korean title of this movie is: Kim Bok-nam Salinsageonui Jeonmal; which translates to: The Whole Story of Kim Bok-nam's Murder Case. Soe Yeong Hie (Bok-nam) won best actress at the Korean movie awards and the movie itself won best screenplay.

-{ A great percentage of the best horror movies are foreign. Don't be afraid of them! }-