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The Deaths of Ian Stone
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Review #564 of 365
Movie Review of The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) [R] 88 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.75
Where Viewed: AMC Westminster Promenade 24, Westminster, CO
When 1st Seen: 12 November 2007
Time: 6:10 pm
DVD Release Date: 18 March 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Directed by: Dario Piana (They Only Come Out at Night )
Written by: Brendan Hood (They)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Mike Vogel (Poseidon) • James Bartle (debut) • Andrew Buchan (debut) • Christina Cole (Casino Royale) • Michael Dixon (Cashback) • Jason Durran (Casino Royale) • Michael Feast (Penelope) • Jaime Murray ("Dexter") • Bill Nash (Can You Take It?) • Jeff Peterson (Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand) • Marnix Van Den Broeke (Hogfather)
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After Dark HorrorFest 2007, The Deaths of Ian Stone stands out as being more of a cross between The Forgotten and the Bizarro World's version of Ground Hog Day. It all begins with Ian Stone (Mike Vogel), an American hockey player in London bearing the sweater number of 17—perhaps not relevant—missing the game-winning goal as time ran out. He gives his girlfriend a ride home; but, enroute to his own flat, he encounters a body in the middle of the road. When he tries to help the body startles him. Jumping back into his Jeep®, he attempts an emergency phone call, but gets plucked through the windshield by some pincer-bearing creature that tosses him down and in front of a freight train. He awakens fine and intact at his desk job in some business firm. Loaded up with work and more work delivered by a co-worker named Jenny (Christina Cole), he stays late to get all of his reports done. On his walk home, a man acting like he's been terrorized, rushes past him only to die 30 meters later in the arms of a crowd of people. Back at his cool loft flat, he can barely concentrate; but then his girlfriend, Medea (Jaime Murray) comforts him.
"… provokes unexpected thrills and chills that will have you watching your rear-view mirror with more concerned paranoia than usual during your drive home."
She's gotten him a present, but he'd prefer some other action first. She obliges and then he opens the gift which is a stunning and expensive digital watch. His memory fails him a bit as he maintains to her that he used to play hockey, but his yearbook shows a different person is #17. He's confused, and that night some ominous figures and apparitions seem to be haunting his flat. He wakes up late, dressing on the fly, he's nearly to work when he spots some of his former hockey teammates outside the bus. Leaping off to catch them, he runs into a crazy man who babbles about how there are entities like demons or ghost who have been killing him every day for a long time trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Obviously, he doesn't believe the obvious lunatic, until he seems to be the only one who knows about his previous hockey life and that time pieces stop just before these entities will show up to try and kill him again as they've been doing for days and days. He's so freaked out when the Gray (Michael Feast) is abducted before his very eyes, he runs all the way back to his flat and bolts the door. Medea questions why he's home, but eventually, in her arms, she spears him right through the gut with her big, black pincer. She apologizes for having to do this to him, but she claims it's necessary as she slits his jugular. He wakes up, this time as a cab driver and so on and so on as the mystery deepens. The only constants are that he dies, and his college girlfriend, Jenny, keeps popping up in the most unlikely spots. Halfway through, a huge twist throws everything out of balance as Ian Stone must strive to get to the bottom of the nightmare he's now living.
As far as horror movies go, The Deaths of Ian Stone is vastly edgier and more psychologically terrifying than a lot of recent horror / fright films. With marvelously scary black death creatures haunting the scenes and a genuinely interesting mystery and twist, the plot rises above the run of the mill. Director Dario Piana using Brendan Hood's screenplay, has created genuine suspense and fear using a creative new mythology that might have come from the mind of Chris Carter only, there's no Agents Mulder and Scully in sight. In fact, Ian has not one but himself really, to help himself. Mike Vogel fans will thoroughly enjoy his leading role here, and he more than adequately endows the character with powerful good looks and charm. He doesn't go overboard emotionally as an inexperienced actor might have tended to do. Jaime Murray is sassy, sexy, and a bit of a bad girl cross between Kate Beckinsale and Carrie-Anne Moss right down to the red vinyl suit. Christina Cole could have been a bit less mousey at times, but otherwise the cast was good. In the end, the film provokes unexpected thrills and chills that will have you watching your rear-view mirror with more concerned paranoia than usual during your drive home.
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Cast Members
Mike Vogel • James Bartle • Andrew Buchan
Christina Cole • Michael Dixon • Jason Durran
Michael Feast • Jaime Murray • Bill Nash
Jeff Peterson
Director
Dario Piana
Writer
Brendan Hood
Review-lite
The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) [max of 150 words]
Unexpected chills and thrills from this Dario Piana-directed After Dark HorrorFest 2007 hybrid of The Forgotten and a Bizarro World's version of Ground Hog Day. In this case, hockey player, Ian Stone (Mike Vogel) discovers he's part of an elaborate plot whereby creatures from the underworld must kill and re-kill him every day. Two women, Medea (Jaime Murray) and Jenny (Christina Cole) have something to do with his conundrum, as does a kindly but ominous older gentlemen named Gray (Michael Feast). Halfway through, a huge twist throws everything out of balance as Ian Stone must strive to get to the bottom of the nightmare he's now living.
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1 comment:
I really liked this movie too! I thought it was tons better than P2! I don't know why The Deaths of Ian Stone didn't get a regular theatrical release instead of just horror fest! The harvesters were so cool. This was like an amazing X-Files episode on steroids!
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