Painkillers (2018) Reviews

• Addiction sucks

  moviefansme2019-03-10

  This movie sounds interesting but is just so mediocre. The plot synopsis might sound like a horror movie, but it's a drama, could be a TV movie of the week (back when that was a thing): John's addicted, watch his life fall apart, albeit in unusual circumstances. Never mind that his addiction is a doozy that no suburban rehab is going to fix, the potentially novel setup rapidly becomes melodramatic. The story so desperately wants to say something but in the end just meanders through the paces-John not knowing what to do, his friends not helping him, and help coming from the wrong places. This movie has decent resources-budget, cast, locations-and does so little with it. Many of the set designs were poor, the costuming was off, the characters were unbelievable because the actors had so little to work with. The poster boasts a "special appearance by Mischa Barton" that's nothing special; her agent must've gotten her a hell of a deal for that billing. This must've seemed like a promising project but it just never came together. It was nice to see Madeline Zima from Californication in another role, too bad it was in this.

• Vlad the Surgeon

  nogodnomasters2019-02-20

  John Clarke is a surgeon who has a car accident which kills his son who was wearing a seat belt. John suffers a unique style of PTSD and gets shakes and pain. The only cure is to drink FRESH human blood. He meets a man who can supply him, wink wink nudge nudge. Not a real vampire story. The plot was a bit shaky and the film was low energy. John is a very boring guy. Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

• Erm

  gloopy-452392019-02-05

  I couldn't even sit through this, i had to turn it off, not much to say about this than, do yourself a favour and find something else to watch.

• Interesting Take On Vampire Mythos

  Pairic2019-05-12

  Painkillers: A new take on the Vampire Mythos. Opens with a woman being attacked by another (crazed) woman in an alley. The victim's wrist is cut with a knife and the assailant starts to drink her blood. Surgeon John Clark (Adam Huss) is involved in a car crash in which his son is killed. Physically he recovers but for no apparent reason he suffers from great physical pain. He meets a stranger, Herb Morris (Grant Bowler) who offers a solution to his suffering - blood. Clark dismisses this but his debilitating condition makes him realise that blood is indeed a palliative. The film convincingly portrays the breakdown of a surgeon, the only way he can stop shaking is to ingest blood. But when he returns to work he is caught drinking waste blood after an operation. A doctor of course would have access to the hospital blood store but eventually discrepancies would be noted. These vampires operate in daylight and are not deterred by garlic or crosses, nor do they possess eternal life, but to function "normally", drinking blood is a necessity. Morris offers to supply Clark but it's at a cost, either he joins in hunting society's pariahs and using them as bloddanks or he pays a high financial price. Effective horror showing that a vampire doesn't need a cape and fangs to be scary. This is the very banality of evil in action. But an evil which has been visited upon these Vampires, the great pain demands blood. Director Roxy Shih has created an interesting addition to the Vampire Film Canon. 7/10. On Horror Channel.