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THR3E
(Review)
Based on the Ted Dekker novel and directed by Robby Henson, Thr3e opens with a prologue introducing us to police psychologist Jennifer Peters (Justine Waddell), who is being terrorized by the Riddle Killer, a serial loony who’s taken offense to Peters’ writing.
Ending with the prerequisite tragedy which will ensure the character’s investment in the subsequent narrative, this opening sequence gives way to seminary student Kevin Parson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Marc Blucas), whose thesis on the nature of evil is nearly overdue. Just when he’s about to get cracking on it though, he is inexplicably targeted by the Riddle Killer, who blows up Parson’s car to prove he means business.
We then quickly make the acquaintance of Parson’s teenhood friend and sweetheart, Samantha Sheer (Laura Jordan), and his aunt, Belinda (Three’s Company’s Priscilla Barnes) and her terminally dysfunctional household, as the film steadily gets into gear and moves towards its marginally effective climax (whose plot twist may or may not grab you, depending on how closely you’re paying attention, and how familiar you are with this type of psychological thriller).
And given the presence of that last minute plot twist, it’s clear that this is the kind of movie that hinges entirely on whether that curve ball works for you. Personally, I thought it was handled a lot better here than in other films (Hide and Seek, for one).
It is, however, a success both qualified and relative.
The effectiveness of Thr3e’s climax is compromised by a number of things.
Firstly, there is no art at all to the narrative structure, and the proceedings are riddled with awkwardly placed flashbacks.
The flashbacks are then made even more problematic by terrible performances from the supporting cast playing the younger versions of some of Thr3e’s main characters.
Wince-worthy performances can also be found amongst much of the rest of the supporting cast, including Waddell and Barnes. When the Riddle Killer (whose voice distorter gimmick comes off as a lame rip-off from far superior grandmasters like Scream’s Ghostface and Saw’s Jigsaw) calls Peters a bad cop who wrote a bad book, he neglected to mention, “Oh, and by the by, you’re a bad actress too.”
Barnes meanwhile, acquits herself far better in Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (reviewed here: Archive March 2007). As Thr3e’s loony Belinda, she’s mostly borderline burlesque, as are the other members of the nuthouse she calls home. Here, the dysfunction feels more contrived than authentic, again diluting the potency of the story’s climax.
Beyond the bland storytelling and the largely questionable performances, there is also the particular problem of having a climax that by its very nature, has to be talky, as opposed to one characterized by action. Even if you didn’t see the plot twist coming (and you can, if you take careful note of the peculiarities of how some characters act), it’s still a distracting thing to be conscious of the fact that, Boy, these are some Chatty Patties, huh? (And when one of the characters is played by Bill Moseley, who on occasion sounds like Tom Gottlieb—who does VO work for You Don’t Know Jack and trashy reality dating show, The Fifth Wheel—the distraction level gets pretty high.)
There are also some details that aren’t even addressed, such as how Kevin’s stalker became so knowledgeable about explosive devices. (Of course, I guess all that was required is a copy of The Anarchist’s Cookbook, but I would have appreciated a mention at the very least.)
Fortunately, there are a couple of good things to write home about. Laura Jordan as Sam is possibly the best actress in the lot, and Blucas is at least tolerable as the film’s protagonist. Though they don’t completely make up for the majority of bad performances in Thr3e, they at least go a long way to making sure the audience isn’t constantly groaning and rolling its eyes in exasperation.
Ultimately, Thr3e is not as bad as many of the other psychological thrillers of its ilk, though it could have been significantly more effective had the direction and acting been given more attention.
Parting shot: Thr3e is from FoxFaith, Twentieth Century Fox’s faith-based division handling the company’s “growing portfolio of morally-driven, family-friendly programming,” their tagline: “Films You Can Believe In.”
It’s funny though, the fact that Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are part of that portfolio.
(Thr3e OS courtesy of wildaboutmovies.com.)
(Review)
Based on the Ted Dekker novel and directed by Robby Henson, Thr3e opens with a prologue introducing us to police psychologist Jennifer Peters (Justine Waddell), who is being terrorized by the Riddle Killer, a serial loony who’s taken offense to Peters’ writing.
Ending with the prerequisite tragedy which will ensure the character’s investment in the subsequent narrative, this opening sequence gives way to seminary student Kevin Parson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Marc Blucas), whose thesis on the nature of evil is nearly overdue. Just when he’s about to get cracking on it though, he is inexplicably targeted by the Riddle Killer, who blows up Parson’s car to prove he means business.
We then quickly make the acquaintance of Parson’s teenhood friend and sweetheart, Samantha Sheer (Laura Jordan), and his aunt, Belinda (Three’s Company’s Priscilla Barnes) and her terminally dysfunctional household, as the film steadily gets into gear and moves towards its marginally effective climax (whose plot twist may or may not grab you, depending on how closely you’re paying attention, and how familiar you are with this type of psychological thriller).
And given the presence of that last minute plot twist, it’s clear that this is the kind of movie that hinges entirely on whether that curve ball works for you. Personally, I thought it was handled a lot better here than in other films (Hide and Seek, for one).
It is, however, a success both qualified and relative.
The effectiveness of Thr3e’s climax is compromised by a number of things.
Firstly, there is no art at all to the narrative structure, and the proceedings are riddled with awkwardly placed flashbacks.
The flashbacks are then made even more problematic by terrible performances from the supporting cast playing the younger versions of some of Thr3e’s main characters.
Wince-worthy performances can also be found amongst much of the rest of the supporting cast, including Waddell and Barnes. When the Riddle Killer (whose voice distorter gimmick comes off as a lame rip-off from far superior grandmasters like Scream’s Ghostface and Saw’s Jigsaw) calls Peters a bad cop who wrote a bad book, he neglected to mention, “Oh, and by the by, you’re a bad actress too.”
Barnes meanwhile, acquits herself far better in Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (reviewed here: Archive March 2007). As Thr3e’s loony Belinda, she’s mostly borderline burlesque, as are the other members of the nuthouse she calls home. Here, the dysfunction feels more contrived than authentic, again diluting the potency of the story’s climax.
Beyond the bland storytelling and the largely questionable performances, there is also the particular problem of having a climax that by its very nature, has to be talky, as opposed to one characterized by action. Even if you didn’t see the plot twist coming (and you can, if you take careful note of the peculiarities of how some characters act), it’s still a distracting thing to be conscious of the fact that, Boy, these are some Chatty Patties, huh? (And when one of the characters is played by Bill Moseley, who on occasion sounds like Tom Gottlieb—who does VO work for You Don’t Know Jack and trashy reality dating show, The Fifth Wheel—the distraction level gets pretty high.)
There are also some details that aren’t even addressed, such as how Kevin’s stalker became so knowledgeable about explosive devices. (Of course, I guess all that was required is a copy of The Anarchist’s Cookbook, but I would have appreciated a mention at the very least.)
Fortunately, there are a couple of good things to write home about. Laura Jordan as Sam is possibly the best actress in the lot, and Blucas is at least tolerable as the film’s protagonist. Though they don’t completely make up for the majority of bad performances in Thr3e, they at least go a long way to making sure the audience isn’t constantly groaning and rolling its eyes in exasperation.
Ultimately, Thr3e is not as bad as many of the other psychological thrillers of its ilk, though it could have been significantly more effective had the direction and acting been given more attention.
Parting shot: Thr3e is from FoxFaith, Twentieth Century Fox’s faith-based division handling the company’s “growing portfolio of morally-driven, family-friendly programming,” their tagline: “Films You Can Believe In.”
It’s funny though, the fact that Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are part of that portfolio.
(Thr3e OS courtesy of wildaboutmovies.com.)
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