Not like I'm an expert on executions or anything, but aren't they supposed to shave most of your hair off, apply some sort of dielectric grease at the contact points and then stick this thing in your mouth for when you bite down? Could have sworn they do it something like that, but maybe they had budget cuts (at the prison that is, as this movie is cheap as hell). And who would have thought that some chick who doesn't look a day over 30 could come up with some sort of death-defying formula in some tiny lab in a prison with no assistants? She should have been working for Theranos. Anyways, if you can get past that you have the plot about the prison warden using the development of this rejuvenating formula (using prisoners as guinea pigs) as a means to supplement his income and I guess he needed it, seeing as the movie shows entire blocks of empty cells when the main characters are trying to escape. And who said there was overcrowding in prisons? The movie isn't entirely awful, just mostly, with a predictable plot, lackluster action, and lousy acting all around. I've seen worse, but this thing is pretty much a sleep aid more than anything else.
4 Reviews
Dead Man Walking...Through Eternity!
lavatch13 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
There was an interesting premise to this amateur film set in a prison. An experimental analgesic drug is administered to a felon who is about to fry in the electric chair. The humanitarian purpose of the drug is to ease the man's pain while receiving the high voltage. But not only is the pain non-existent for Jake Walker, but the drug apparently makes Jake immortal.
Unfortunately, the film did not develop its conceit with any insights into the implications of such a wonder drug. Instead, it devolved into a routine prison action film with such clichéd characters as a greedy warden, desperate convicts, and a trio of venture capitalists scrambling to get their hands on the drug.
The film's production values were so bad that it is difficult even to refer to "Painkiller" as a Grade B movie. The action in the extremely cramped prison environment looked stagy. The camera work made use of overkill on close-ups. And the work in composition was based on the elementary premise of point-and-shoot, as opposed to careful set-ups. The dialogue was clumsy, and the acting was wooden. Due to these severe liabilities, the film often lapsed into comedy.
For example, in one scene where one of the newly minted "immortal" convicts escapes from the prison, his girlfriend is waiting for him with a swanky new getaway car. But instead of racing away from the scene, the two characters remain for a lengthy expository scene as they catch up on their lives. Surely, the felon would have realized that his immortality would be worthless if he is caught standing around the prison and returned to his cell!
The most interesting character was Dr. Helen West, a clinician with a conscience. It is obvious that the experiments on the prisoners were being conducted illegally. Yet it was never made clear how this decent doctor became involved in such a sleazy, clandestine operation in the first place.
As the predictable plot drags on, it becomes clear that the magical potion has its limitations. Apparently, the drug does not protect a human being from fire burns. The protection of the drug also wears off over time, requiring booster shots. There are also major side effects from the drug, including coughing up blood. By the end of this ordeal, the film viewer recognizes that the both painkiller and watching this film are nothing but a pain in the _________ .
Unfortunately, the film did not develop its conceit with any insights into the implications of such a wonder drug. Instead, it devolved into a routine prison action film with such clichéd characters as a greedy warden, desperate convicts, and a trio of venture capitalists scrambling to get their hands on the drug.
The film's production values were so bad that it is difficult even to refer to "Painkiller" as a Grade B movie. The action in the extremely cramped prison environment looked stagy. The camera work made use of overkill on close-ups. And the work in composition was based on the elementary premise of point-and-shoot, as opposed to careful set-ups. The dialogue was clumsy, and the acting was wooden. Due to these severe liabilities, the film often lapsed into comedy.
For example, in one scene where one of the newly minted "immortal" convicts escapes from the prison, his girlfriend is waiting for him with a swanky new getaway car. But instead of racing away from the scene, the two characters remain for a lengthy expository scene as they catch up on their lives. Surely, the felon would have realized that his immortality would be worthless if he is caught standing around the prison and returned to his cell!
The most interesting character was Dr. Helen West, a clinician with a conscience. It is obvious that the experiments on the prisoners were being conducted illegally. Yet it was never made clear how this decent doctor became involved in such a sleazy, clandestine operation in the first place.
As the predictable plot drags on, it becomes clear that the magical potion has its limitations. Apparently, the drug does not protect a human being from fire burns. The protection of the drug also wears off over time, requiring booster shots. There are also major side effects from the drug, including coughing up blood. By the end of this ordeal, the film viewer recognizes that the both painkiller and watching this film are nothing but a pain in the _________ .
This movie requires painkillers to get through it
milessamuels1 September 2020
The decision makers behind this movie got absolutely everything wrong. The script is tenuous, the acting is terrible and the direction is a nightmare.
There truly aren't any redeeming qualities throughout the entire movie.
There truly aren't any redeeming qualities throughout the entire movie.
Sigh.
doktorwirefly3 September 2020
I have seriously invested in a really good audio system for listening to music and watching movies so the first thing I will notice is the audio quality. I thought it was a bit loud so I lowered the volume a touch. Hmm? What happened to the sound? In a shot with 3 people pretty much stood back one from the other. I could barely hear the two closest and the one at the back was too loud. After turning the volume back up and a bit more. Things didn't improve much and after a few minutes the volume increased to an uncomfortable level. I'm done. I often watch movies late at night and I don't wish to any my neighbors or deafen myself. I get that with some movies. The volume is increased during action scenes (I find this practice extremely annoying) but this wasn't that. I can't say it was badly edited either because to my ear it sounded like nobody was paying attention to how the movie would sound and levels where being adjusted ad hoc. I gave up 14 minutes into the movie so I can't really speak for the entire movie. This was enough for me.
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