I'm sorry, I just have to write this. Movie is totally overrated. First and foremost, the plot contrivances - it gets really dumb the more it moves along. Victim has psycho drugged and passed out, but doesn't even restrain the killer but leaves her to wake up and torment her again. Drives off when she could have finished the job or at least tie the killer up and call the cops? No, she drives off, and then decides she maybe wants to take revenge on the killer after all. I am a big fan of these kind of movies (revenge thriller, slasher etc) but when the characters are doing really idiotic stuff, it gets to a point when it becomes irritating. Next are the arty directorial choices - which try to be deep but end up being pretentious. For eg, the copious use of Beethoven to portray the inner working of the psycho. It's silly. Next, the directors cuts away from a climactic tussle between killer and victim. I absolutely do not understand choices like that except if it's to (1) save money choreographing a fight scene or (2) to show off how artistic the director is. Unfortunately I believe it's the latter reason. Next, the acting - you read the reviews here and every critic is going gaga over such "terrific, gutwrenching, physical" performance by the actress who plays the victim. But rather, I found her acting not only unconvincing (both when she's being "tortured" or when she acts "heroic"); whats worse, I found her acting rather snivelling as well after a while. And the ending just doesn't work for me. Why kill off the main protagonist? That robs everyone of typical genre pleasures. And how many times does she have to fall off the cliff in this movie? The killer's comeuppance didn't have that kick. And the director juxtaposes her demise with the shooting of the bear , all in slo mo - are we supposed to feel sympathy for her? Or is it a statement about the banal evil in her psychological makeup? Whatever the director meant, it just didn't stick.
Finally, I just have to say that this movie is actually a bad movie. I felt extremely irritated at having sat through 90 minutes of this. Go rent "À l'intérieur' ,Haute Tension, or even the latest "halloween" instead. Sorry!
Review of What Keeps You Alive
