Sunday, March 31, 2019

Shifter – review

Director: Jason Xavier

Release date: 2011

Contains spoilers

You’d be forgiven for wondering if this was a werewolf film (with vampires). It is not – the shifters referred to in the title are vampires who can shift from one body to another (so we are in the realm of vampiric possession), not only that but also alien vampires – which I’ll get to.

Unfortunately, it isn’t a great film, by any stretch. Performances ranging from histrionic to so laid back the actor might be horizontal (and was, often). As such it isn’t actually a shock that I stumbled over this posted to watch for free on YouTube.

out of the grave
It starts with two guys, Ramos (Damon Calderwood) and Kronin (Shawn Stewart, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency), the latter chasing the former. They get to a cemetery and Ramos is less running and more limp running. Kronin gets to him, beats him silly and rips out his heart (though it looks more like some random offal than a heart). He tosses it to the side and buggers off. Ramos’ body vanishes and a hand bursts out of a grave, a man (Ryan (Pale Christian Thomas)) pulling himself from the earth.

the gang picking Carry up
That last scene seemed poorly photographed but it noticeably improves as we see Bailey (Nathan Dashwood, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency & Stan Helsing), Michelle (Nicole Watson) and Robyn (Lia Como) pick up Carry (Janessa O'Hearn). They are going to a cabin owned by Carry’s parents but she is not happy as last time there her brother collapsed and went into a coma… for three years. He died 7 months ago when her father turned off life support.

Bailey and Terry
Be that as it may, they are going to meet Robyn’s cousin James (Drew Taylor) and his girlfriend Clea (Tamara Prescott) and also friends Terry (Brett Wise), Nigel (Wade Gibb) and a couple who I could guess at the names of (we do hear, I didn’t make a note) but as they’ll be dead in a couple of scenes who cares. And here we have a major problem with the film – it sets up a cabin in the woods scenario but has a large cast who are just too numerous to do anything meaningful with and whose characters (the guys at least) are mostly interchangeable. Nigel is a jock, but still an affable pot head and Terry and Bailey are two comedy character pot heads when one would do. They are also a major part of dragging the viewer out of the film.

effect of hot water
So horny couple go for a walk and are killed by an unseen assailant who is Kronin. The others end up playing strip poker until Robyn ends the game (just before Carry strips naked) because she is worried and sends the three stoned friends out to find the couple. They return instead with an unconscious man they found and Carry faints – it’s her brother Ryan, who we saw rise from the grave. He has, it turns out, amnesia and a line of sharp nails appearing when he washes his hands in hot water (heat produces vampiric effects). So what has happened?

Shawn Stewart as Kronin
Ramos and Kronin have been opponents for years. Each knows some vampire tricks, but not all of them or the same ones (Ramos can create other vampires, Kronin cannot), because the one who made them, Master Ling (Kenneth Chan), restricted their teachings individually – Kronin later killed Ling. When Ramos died he shifted his life force into a suitable vessel – Ryan’s corpse (it was remarkably not decayed given 7 months in the ground). Ryan/Ramos eventually gets both the vampire’s memories back and Ryan’s, good news for Michelle who used to date him. However, Kronin is still about and wants to finish him off for good.

the alien
We discover that Master Ling was a Chinese farmer who witnessed an alien crash. The creature merged into him and they became one – so the vampires can possess bodies (and enter a symbiosis, I guess) but need to drink blood to replenish the host body. If the vampire essence leaves the body the vacated host crumbles to dust. How they can then create other vampires is glossed over but generously we can suggest a bit of vampire essence will develop into a separate entity. Ryan turns three of the friends (on request) to help him fight.

laid back vampire
So, the acting is pretty darn bad. The interchangeable stoners are pure comedy and it is too much (and not funny). The dialogue is awful – faced with vampires they continue to get on with asking for strip poker and getting stoned, their unnatural reaction destroying any suspension of disbelief. Carry flies into histrionics every so often but has no underlying simmer to make it seem reasonable. As for Ryan, he is the most laid-back vampire (and narcoleptic – replenishing energy by just switching off). The laid-back attitude infuses the whole performance and seems unreasonable (and very different to the flashback Ramos). It’s bad all the way round.

newly turned 
The story is simply cabin in the woods with a touch of ten little Indians. Honestly, I didn’t care one way or another (for the humans or either vampire). The background of alien vampirism and possession lifts this up slightly. But only slightly. A search should find it on YouTube if you wish to give it a go or it is on amazon (US only as I write). 2 out of 10. The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

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