Hidden 3D (2011) Review

hidden 3d reviewSynopsis:  Susan Carter experimented with an insect toxin that physically manifests addiction so that it can be removed, but things went wrong when the antigen took on a life of its own. When she dies, she leaves her converted-monastery rehab center and whatever may be inside, to her son, Brian.

Leslie’s Review:  I have a confession to make. I did not watch Hidden 3D in 3D. I watched basically the way I watch all horror movies, on my computer in regular, old 2D. I can’t do horror movies in the theater, and I certainly don’t do them in 3D (except that one time I watched The Birds at Disney when I was 8, still not over that). Really loud noises and jumpy scenes freak me out, but when I can turn the volume down and the screen isn’t fifty feet tall, I really enjoy select horror films.

Hidden 3D one got reamed, hard. But I don’t totally agree with all the people that bashed it on the interwebs. The CGI is definitely not perfect, and the acting isn’t exactly oscar worthy, but I have seen low-budget, horror movies with far less imagination.

I read somewhere that the original writers dropped the project due to a difference of opinion with the producers, so that explains some issues with the storyline. It’s still a decent, if rehashed idea.

Storywise, I was worried about cliched tropes such as the rehashed haunted house story where the couple sneaks off to have sex, but tropes do exist because they fit the formula, and the writers here at least try to give them a little something extra.

The house is a rehab center converted from an old monastery with hidden caverns. The young lovers are interrupted by strange noises before they can actually have sex, and fueled with Ecstasy, they are not sure if what they find is real or simply the result of a bad trip.

Maybe I was seeing past the final execution to what the original writers may have intended, but as a viewer who can appreciate not-so-great horror and going in with absolutely no expectations, I wasn’t disappointed.

The best part of this movie, by far, was the cinematography. I now want to see everything Benoit Beaulieu has done. Almost every shot is beautifully framed as if for a still photograph instead of a moving picture, and the experiment with color tinting suits both the remote, snowy setting and the creepy atmosphere.

While watching this film, I jumped several times, cringed from some of the small, tight spaces, and was thoroughly creeped out by parasitic, childlike creatures without being horrified by unnecessary gore or checking my watch during a climax that ran on too long. I don’t think I can ask for much more than that.

Watch it for free on Hulu here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/595499

Director: 

Origin: Italy/Canada

This post was originally written by Leslie Shaip. You can follow her rants and movie reviews on her blog: Gallimaufry


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