User reviews

"Reeker" didn't live up to my expectations at all. The film has really surprising turn in the end which, in contrast to "High Tension", is beneficial for this flick as it sheds a new light on a story which until this time has completely no sense. In fact, "Reeker" doesn't deliver anything new and even misuses certain patterns. In addition, the film is not frightening and evokes not much tension, which is significant shortcoming for this kind of flick. Not so frequent gory scenes are anything but original or imaginative. What's more, the flick drags incredibly and is illogical at times. Similarly to other movies of this genre, characters behaves very irrationally. For instance, the scene with a guy jumping out of the window was ridiculous. On the other hand, among virtues of this film I can rate good cinematography and beautiful desert settings. All in all, I regrettably cannot recommend this horror film.

I was really hoping for a lot more from this modern horror flick, but unfortunately it's slipped into the subdued, 'safe' plot that so many films these days seem to follow and there isn't an awful lot of actual horror on display. The film feels like it's building up to something all the way through, but despite some nice visuals throughout; it fails to deliver on its promise. By far the best thing about the film is the atmosphere, and through competent handling from director Dave Payne, Reeker is given the right feel throughout. The central location; a motel in the middle of nowhere, is a good location for horror and a good sense of hopelessness is generated through it and the character's despair. The cast of characters are the common 'dopey teens', who are on their way to a rave (very original). Things go wrong for them when their car breaks down near to the aforementioned motel, and this is followed by a series of strange events. The location is strangely deserted, they can't get a radio signal and, worst of all, there appears to be something chasing them.

The film starts off with a nice little sequence that sees a family become the victim of...something. From there, the film is suspenseful because you really want to know exactly what is going on in this place where the lead characters have found themselves. I was thinking that there'd be some great revelation just around the corner - but the film makes us wait, wait a bit more and wait again until eventually delivering just about the worst ending a film can have. And just to make things a little bit worse; it's an ending that a great many horror films have used recently, and every single one of them left me disappointed as well. There are some good effects in the film, however, and despite some dodgy CGI in places; things such as the man with no legs may leave some of the less experienced horror viewers with nightmares. The central baddie (I'm guessing the title villain) is good, but it doesn't look very good; and I'd have preferred a man in a cape over the rubbish computer effects that the director has opted for. Overall, this film certainly isn't all bad; but there are far too many flaws for me to call it a success and I don't think the title is a million miles away from being an apt description of the film.

Awful

Bad acting, plot holes, bad movie.

I know it was low budget but a low budget is no excuse for a bad movie, a huge budget DOES NOT make a good movie, i love "Killer Clowns From Outer Space" and "Bad Taste", both low budget, but great movies! After watching this i came right here to express my disgust and i was speechless to see people liked the damn thing! I can only assume that they were people who had just turned 15 and gone to see their first horror movie or they have not seen enough of the horror genre to see how bad this is or they have never seen anything other then a Hollywood film.

I wanted to like this film, i really did, i just didn't.

This is a low budget movie, very low budget in fact, but as such i definitely have seen much worse. There are elements that works rather well. The score and the actors are the best parts. Also the camera work is quite solid and the make-up department has nothing to be ashamed of with the gore work being one of the films strongest parts.

On the negative side is a thin story that can't fill up the 90 min of running time. The gang of five spend the last 75 minutes of the film at the mysterious gas-station and that is at least 30 minutes to long. As a result the film becomes slow paced, which isn't something that has has to be negative, but the script doesn't compensate by developing the characters. The audience actually doesn't know anything about them when the film is over. In this aspect the film fails completely.

Due to the fairly uninteresting events in front of our eyes with a bunch of strangers running around and shouting each others names randomly, it's no surprise that the suspense factor drops. There are some moments, but to few to keep me fully interested. The stench that the viewer should understand to be something threatening does not work particularly well simply because that out of all things that scares us, 99% is sensed through our eyes.

Nuf said. The ending is clever and answers the questions raised during the movie. I believe the film maker has some talent for this genre and it will be interesting to view his next effort, hopefully with a bigger budget.

"Reeker" is a stylish and imaginative horror tale from writer / director Dave Payne.

Set in a small motel in the middle of nowhere, a group of teenagers struggle to keep alive as events turn supernatural and deadly. Why do the teenagers keep having visions of dead people and what is the strange creature that stalks them?

Worthy of a viewing, this is a very watchable movie. The twist in the tale is fiendishly clever and unpredictable and Payne keeps the momentum going at a steady pace.

Genre-regular Michael Ironside makes an appearance as a desperate tourist searching for his missing wife.

7 out of 10.

"Reeker" from 2005 is not a particularly memorable or outstanding horror movie, despite it actually having originality to it. And the reason for this was that it was just too mundane. In fact, it was only the surprise twist to the storyline towards the end of the movie which was unique, but it really was a twist which wasn't predictable. And as such, then director Dave Payne managed to deliver a horror movie which was watchable, albeit mediocre.

I am not going to spoil anything regarding the twist of events, but I will say that it was a nice change of events to the storyline. Just a shame that it couldn't manage to lift up the rest of the movie.

The story is about a group of people heading out into the desert to participate in a big party. However, they find themselves stranded at a mysteriously deserted diner, and an even stranger being is stalking them, preying on them one by one.

The storyline itself was adequate, but it just didn't stand out in the horror genre. As such, it was a mediocre end result. There were some originality to certain aspects of the story and the mysterious 'reeker' which was hunting the people.

The acting in "Reeker" was quite alright, and people were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters. It was a nice treat to see Michael Ironside in the movie, despite not having that big of a role. Devon Gummersall (playing Jack) was really carrying the movie quite well.

Now, as for the creature design on the reeker creature, well I was impressed. The effects, prosthetics and make-up was quite good. And they managed to put together a rather unique design which helped lift up the movie experience a bit.

The special effects in the movie were also good, and that is a good thing for a horror movie. So thumbs up on this achievement.

All in all then "Reeker" is an entertaining enough movie for what it was, just don't expect to be blown away, as it is a generic and mediocre horror movie. But still worth a watch if you haven't already seen it.

I feel a bit sorry to say that this isn't a great film and sadly suffers from a lack of originality, because I really did enjoy my viewing of "Reeker" and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to other hardcore horror fans on the lookout for new thrills! "Reeker" is a fun film, with decent production values and lots of exhilarating gore, and it's only near the end that the script begins to show some major holes and plot twists that featured in many other movies already. Up until when the story becomes painfully predictable, Dave Payne manages to build up some genuine suspense, likable character-drawings and even some vivid black humor. Five twenty-something people who only know each other vaguely are on their way to a famous rave in the desert when their journey suddenly takes a nightmarish turn. After a truly banal drug-incident, the gang returns to the nearest motel, only to find that everyone has mysteriously vanished there. The only living soul for miles around is a middle-aged traveler who has severe problems himself, as he somehow lost his wife on the isolated desert roads. Things get really uncanny when a terrifying figure, bizarrely dressed and smelling horribly, shows up killing the cast members in – it has to be said – very imaginative ways! You certainly won't be complaining about a shortage of excitement, as the film doesn't cut back on grotesque make-up effects or over-the-top gory moments. After the first glimpse at the unusual killer and the ominous atmosphere, it becomes clear that "Reeker" is slightly more ambitious than your average high-school slasher. Such an ambition is definitely praiseworthy and promising for Payne's future career, but sadly his "idea" has been used already in many other (classic as well as more recent) movies before. Of course, I can't mention which ones because that would have the same effect as revealing the actual twist. Michael Ironside is the terrific experienced actor of the film, but he receives excellent feedback from the enthusiast young cast. Derek Richardson (who was in "Hostel") is very good and Gillmore Girl Arielle Kebbel is more than adequate as well. "Reeker" guarantees a fine watch all together, but it's a little shortcoming to end up a genre classic.

I found this movie highly enjoyable. As long as you don't take it seriously, you'll enjoy it. The young cast, including the gorgeous Arielle Kebbel, are fantastic. Veteran actors Michael Ironside and Marcia Strassman (Welcome Black Kotter's Wife) lend some class and experience. This movie is set at night for the most part. The lighting is excellent. There is a twist to this movie that I won't reveal. It worked really well for me. I don't know why this movie only has a rating as low as 5.2.

I thought it was clever and fun. Don't take it seriously, and you and your friends will enjoy it.

As far as modern horrors go, this low budget effort – a kind of Outward Bound meets Final Destination – isn't that bad, and I'm surprised by how low its IMDb rating is. In fact the first half of the film – before anyone gets killed – is quite intriguing, although things go down the well-trodden stalk-and-slash path for the final couple of reels as the usual band of five dislikeable teens invite their own death by doing incredibly stupid things (I have never met a girl in my life who would sit on that gurgling loo).

Old pro Michael Ironside makes an appearance as a bewildered hubby looking for his wife in the wilderness – and the ending of the flick adds an unexpected touch of poignancy to his character's search. Ironside must be one of the few bad-guy actors whose features have actually mellowed as he's grown older. The other actors are the usual bland mix of young faces, most of whom will fade into obscurity or be consigned to TV soap hell within a couple of years. The nominal 'hero' is actually something of a jerk, and you're never really worried about anyone's fate, but the film doesn't hold itself out as anything other than a time-filling horror – a scan of the end credits will tell you that.

The manner in which the twist ending is handled goes some way towards redeeming the preceding twenty minutes, and the part where the blind guy falls off the top of one of those monstrous camper tank things had me laughing out loud - although I had sank a couple of beers. Anyway, If you're in an undemanding mood and enjoy this brand of teen horror then give this one a try

Went to the Odyessy Cinema in Belfast last night and chose this movie as it was the only one that we thought might be good.

Well in a nutshell, myself and my sister who was visiting from England thought this was one of the worst films ever. TERRIBLE SCRIPT, ACTING, EDITING (in some scenes). Abysmal....FULL STOP! Anybody in their right mind, especially the film makers, studio etc, that believed this to be acceptable knows little about storytelling and/or film making!! DIDN'T STUDIO EXECUTIVES WATCH THE DAILIES, OR EVEN CARE??

The so called twist at the end would have Alfred Hitchcock turning in his grave!!

Ps. The only decent actor was the Blind Guy Don't waste your money or time!!

Made like it doesn't cost a lot to make which is ok sometimes if you can budge through. I absolutely love the disturbing aspects of gory people or animals! A bit suspenseful and well edited; which is my favorite thing in a film is good editing! Arielle Kebbel has been in much projects, this is steeped low for her. Reeker is really cool for it's type, I'd definitely recommend it!

I should have known before even watching the movie that the title gave the movie away. It "Reeked". To have some descent actors/actresses(blonde guy from Hostel and blonde girl from American Pie, Band Camp) in the film, the plot was just too far fetched. 4 youngsters(1 of them being blind) are traveling through a desert and get stranded at a diner/motel. I will not go into much more detail other than there is some kind of ghost going around killing people like any other blood and gore type movie. Throughout the movie I was thinking there was going to be a silly ending to it, but I was rather surprised that the end tried very hard to be clever but instead came off leaving me thinking "Who came up with this ending" in a bad way. Overall, if you are looking for something to watch late at night it could be worth your time, depending if there is anything else on.

This movie is about some sort of 'ghost' who whispers through the night, moves in shadow-like steps and kill a bounce of teenagers who has managed to get stranded on a desert hotel. Now, at the final moment of the film you reach a point where you get to learn a bit more about the true art of metaphorical events. Now, this concluded, I still don't like this film. As I see it, only a - big - waste of time! The actors where mediocre, nothing to put in the Christmas tree, but not totally ashame. The worst thing is the oh-so-played-out clichés appearing over and over, scenes and moves that perhaps just need to be there to make a classical horror flick. However, I can't see any good idea why people should see this, at least not something to ease back to if you're with a girl ;)

I went to see the movie knowing it was a low budget movie and probably more of the same to boot, thinking it'd be bad goreish effects and ready to be bored. Actually committed to hate the movie.

But something happened. The movie's twisted sense of humor, as you can experience in the first minutes, gets you into watching the movie just to see what silly thing happens next, along with its jumpy moments, and typical bad guys and the so predictable deaths everyone knows (the proverbial closed door leading to a dark room that everyone seems to step into... or not:); but hey, it's still lightweight fun! Then the movie's final twist is revealed and all the silly things make sense, shifting the what you thought it was bland predictable stuff into something else you didn't really notice because you were having fun poking at the holes of the movie and its apparently predictable stuff.

The movie ends, people in the theater have stopped laughing and are silent in amazement, and my friend slowly says this weekend he's not going to the desert... just in case.

Head towards this smell. Really not bad at all given a relatively low budget and mostly unknowns in the lead. Here is a movie that rests its strengths on the very essentials of a good horror movie: scares, creepy atmosphere, and a little humor to ease the tension. The plot is ho-hum with a group of college students making their way across the desert and somehow stranded at a diner. The stalking of an unknown creature begins and they are picked off one by one in various gore filled scenarios. The added intelligence of this movie is that it keeps you guessing almost to the end what is going on. When the twist is finally revealed we are left a little unsatisfied, but like a good roller coaster, the ride was enjoyable even if the scenery was a bit bland.

Many have compared this to Dead End, which in my opinion was horribly drab. Reeker is far superior and if any comparisons should be made it should be to Haute Tension.

This team could certainly do better and will inspire a lot of fanfare for the next go around. But all in all, this Reeker was well worth the time.

Maddis 6/10

I caught this one at SXSW 2005 - and was ready to hate it, mainly b/c of the ridiculous fanboy hype outside the theatre.

Yes, it's possible for a movie that nobody's heard of to have too much hype - it seems almost every low-budget horror movie these days has so much rabid fanaticism from the aintitcoolnews crowd, that all these movies tend to be decent but over-hyped (see Ginger Snaps, SAW), or just plain awful (see Jeepers Creepers, Dog Soldiers, Cabin Fever, or better yet, don't). The only one of these movies that lives up to the hype is the still-under-seen classic May.

While Reeker doesn't come close to the emotional punch of May, it's an entirely adequate schlock-horror movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, yet doesn't wink-and-nudge enough to ruin the material.

The less said about the plot, the better - it's essentially the same "college kids vs. monster" movie we've been seeing since Friday the 13th, but with the gimmick that the killer lets off a noxious odor before it strikes. (hence the somewhat juvenile title) And one of the kids is blind, so he can smell the killer better than the other kids. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. Don't worry, though - there's a twist in the end that makes it all come together, believe it or not - try to stay away from spoilers if you can.

Probably doesn't sound too great so far, but there's some big, big laughs, a few decent scares, a cameo by Michael Ironside, and quite possibly the first and last use of Cutting Crew's 80s hit "I just died in your arms tonight" in a film. All in all, it's a fun movie to catch on cable or as a cheap rental.

Oh, the end credits contain a pre-emptive rant against critics who will title their reviews of this film "It Reeks/stinks!", and the scratch and sniff promo cards say on the back "If you're a p***y - stay at home". It's that type of movie.

I took a wild guess on this film to be honest.... front cover looked good, the synopsis on the back made the film sound good, but when push came to shove, it was just "alright". The characters were drab and boring and very cliché "horror teen victims", the script was quite funny with a few comedy moments and one-liners and on first impressions the storyline seemed very much "done before a million and one times". Reeker has its fair share of slight frights (if you're a girl), funny moments and half-decent gore special fx, but the twist at the end? What the hell? As much as it sort of tied the story together, it also left me thinking "OK, but.... why?" I think it tries to be too clever and whacky, and fails! An OK "no-brainer" to watch with a four pack and a takeaway, but please don't expect a genius horror film... you'll be disappointed!