CITADEL: 2012: HORROR: --: This movie had its moments. Fledgling director, Ciaran Foy, attempted subtle use of suspense and terror to evoke fear and it didn't completely disappoint.
The acting by Aneurin Bernard was actually pretty good and the lighting, sets, backgrounds, music and character selection was on par. The movie had it's fair share of scares, so let's get to some of the elements of this new director's movie.
Good use of lighting, camera shots, and other things show the director's skill.
From the beginning, it grabs you due to the fact the main character's wife is assaulted by what look like children in hoodies. She goes into a coma but the baby lives and therefore the father is left to care for the infant. On top of that, he lives in an area that is dilapidated and seems to hold some sort of devilish secret. Finally, he suffers from panic attacks and is scared of everything.
Look they're in hoodies!
Not the ideal place to live, the settings are dreary but that adds to the atmosphere.
The beings that inhabit the building in which Tommy (Aneurin Bernard) live aren't quite human but aren't zombies. They sure act like them though and many of the scares are taken directly from Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead, or other movies of that ilk. So they work because they startle you, but there is nothing new or original in the way they worked. It was a zombie movie that wanted to deny being a zombie movie. The fact that the main character is a male caring for an infant doesn't alone separate it from all the other zombie/ living dead movies.
This scene delivered a scare, but it's used in many horror movies.
They're not zombies, but they sure act like them.
The rest of the plot is basically aimed at blowing up the building that they inhabit. OK, that should be easy enough to do, but the main character fears everything from a bottle clanking in the distance to wind rustling leaves on the ground. Come on, this is just stupid.
I have an idea you scared moron, just blow up the building! Yhea, that's new!!
I'm giving the new director some leeway here and giving the movie a slight pass because it did have some scares (when the creature lunges at Tommy but is chained and the initial abduction scene). But other than some gloomy camera shoots and dreary music, this movie was a passe take on a very crowded zombie horror genre:65%
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