Reeker (2005)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Dave Payne

Writer:

Dave Payne (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 2006 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

If you can't breathe, then you can't scream.

Plot:

Strangers trapped at an eerie travel oasis in the desert must unravel the mystery behind their visions of dying people while they are preyed upon by a decaying creature. |

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Bad Smell | Stabbed In The Chest | Recreational Vehicle | Caravan

Cast

Devon Gummersall	...	Jack
Derek Richardson	...	Nelson
Tina Illman	...	Gretchen
Scott Whyte	...	Trip
Arielle Kebbel	...	Cookie
Michael Ironside	...	Henry
Eric Mabius	...	Radford
Marcia Strassman	...	Rose
Les Jankey	...	Trucker
David Hadinger	...	The Reeker
Carole Ruggier	...	The Mom
Paul Greenstein	...	The dad
Paul Butcher	...	The Kid
Steven Zlotnick	...	Officer Bern (as Steve Zlotnick)
Christopher Boyer	...	Officer Mansfield

Also Known As:

Dead People 2 (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | France:-12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Institution, The

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jack ties his string to the RV and walks over to a nearby bluff, as he runs back down the bluff the headlights of passing cars are visible on the roadway behind him.

Quotes:

Nelson: You afraid of the dark?
Trip: No I'm afraid of psycho desert crackheads who hunt small animals with Dahmer's garden tools.

Movie Connections:

Followed by No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker (2008)

A sick mystery in horror clothing

I went to one of those secret test screenings they do here a lot in Los Angeles.   I knew this was a horror, am a big fan, but had never heard of it.  We were urged not to talk about the story until it opened, especially the surprise ending. If their so worried about the big twist, then don't screen it!  

The movie opens on a family traveling in a minivan demolishing a deer on the road. Then they encounter a mysterious noxious gas that maims their dog and nearly decapitates the father.   The first 3 minutes is totally sick and whack.    

Then these college kids, strangers, share a ride through the desert.  I especially liked the blind guy and the music obsessed geek. When their truck breaks down and they get trapped at a motel, the movie really takes off.    It veers into weird, funny, scary, strange to totally messed up.   A psycho ecstasy dealer (who I recognize from "Resident Evil") is after them  -- or isn't he? There are sightings of mutilated dying people -- including a hilarious and gory appearance of a "half a trucker."  An old man shows up in a RV looking for his missing wife.   And I don't even really need to say it, but, someone or something is killing them off one by one...    

It's the mystery that really makes this light years better than most horror films I've seen recently. Unlike THE GRUDGE, this one makes sense. I'll admit, I'm still trying to sort out all the little details of what really happened.   I worked my way back through the movie all night and it's even better in the morning.   Not all the special effects were finished and the sound wasn't done either, so I can only imagine Reeker will get even better. Two mangled thumbs up!