Claustrophobia (2003) Reviews

• Unfortunately awful

  ThrownMuse2005-02-01

  Lauren (Melanie Lynskey) is house sitting in a quiet, wealthy neighborhood and decides to throw a slumber party for her officemates. Unfortunately, only two show up: her spunky friend, Gina (Sheeri Rappaport), and the quiet new girl, Grace (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Could the lack of party guests be due to the well-known fact that there is a crossbow-wielding rooftop-loitering serial killer on the loose in the area? Unfortunately, they spend too much time discussing this, and they hear footsteps coming from above. This film has finally received a DVD release in the US. The title change was changed from the appropriate Claustrophobia to the misleading Serial Slayer. The packaging, which features an evil Vin Diesel lookalike with a crossbow standing by a dark and creepy house, is also misleading. This film is actually an attempted subverison of the slasher genre. The terror is mostly psychological and not the type you would see in an ordinary slasher: the film takes place entirely during the day, there are only a few characters in an enclosed space, the perspective of the killer is never shown, and there is little on-screen violence and gore. Unfortunately, this interesting concept is poorly executed. The film obviously was made in a short period time on little-to-no budget, so it is understandable, but it is hardly an effective thriller. The main problem with Serial Slayer is the unbelievable plot. A rooftop serial killer who draws his victims out of their homes so he can shoot them with a crossbow is a great premise. Having a slasher film set during the day, so that the killer cannot lurk in the darkness, is also a neat idea. Combining these two concepts does not work, at least in the context that is set up in this story. According to a radio announcement at the beginning of the film, this serial killer has already claimed a handful of victims. So it makes sense that the neighborhood is a little empty, as most people would probably go elsewhere until the killer is caught. However, apparently nobody drives through this neighborhood (including cops, who should probably be patroling the area), because nobody notices a guy on the roof in broad daylight. But more importantly, why the hell would you have a slumber party in an area where everyone knows there is a killer on the loose? Early-on, there are some funny conversations (I'm assuming this is why it is listed as a "comedy" on IMDb--but this is no horror/comedy!) between the girls about serial killer hysteria and the chances of being a victim, which would be acceptable in any other context, but it just sounds ridiculous here. They also discuss how the past victims were all killed outside of their homes, which apparently brings them a sense of safety...even though none of the windows are locked, these women seem 100% convinced that the murderer is not going to break-in and kill them. There are several laughable instances where the characters try to draw the attention of the neighbors that make absolutely no sense. If you can get past some of these ridiculous premises, then some scenes in this movie could probably be really suspenseful. The acting in Serial Slayer is unfortunate. All three lead women have proved in the past that they are damn fine actresses. Probably due to lack of time, good direction, and horrible dialogue, their performances here are really low-key and their fear is not at all believable. Some of the interactions between the characters are amusing and you wish the film would become the character piece that it is so obviously striving to be. Another huge problem with the movie is the ending. After watching the film, I skipped around the director's commentary and was shocked that I completely misinterpreted the ending. Sadly, the way I saw the ending was much more exciting and made much more sense than what the ending actually turned out to be. It isn't meant to be ambiguous and open to interpretation, it is just poorly done. On a side note, the movie also features a small "comeback" performance by Judith O'Dea (Barbara in the original Night of the Living Dead), but it is nothing to write home about. As I said before, this movie is extremely low-budget (made with hand-held digital video) and I'm sure the cast and crew worked extremely hard to get it done in time, so I hate to rag on it. It has a cool concept and a little bit of suspense, if you can get past the non-sensical behavior of the lead characters. But it is really not a well made film. Rent Slumber Party Massacre instead. My Rating: 2.5/10

• Worst movie I've ever seen - THANK GOD!!!

  jtindahouse2005-11-19

  There is no word terrible enough to describe this movie. Every single solitary aspect of it was pitiful and completely senseless. The acting was of the worst of I've ever seen, the directing was the official worst I've seen and don't even get me started on the script writers. On the cover of the DVD case I got out I read one review that said "The best straight to video movie of the year" well for the sake of movie lovers everywhere I severely, severely hope this was not the case. I mean you can't tell me NONE of these obviously middle class, decent job occupying, love to talk women have a cell phone. I honestly reckon I could sit here for around 3 hours typing up problems with this movie movie but I won't bother because it wasn't worth it. All I'll say is please, please for future movies sake DO NOT GET THIS FILM OUT!!!

• this is a waste of time

  petroumk2005-02-03

  I don't know from where to start: the film is amateurish. The acting is terrible, the plot is poor even the usage of camera is childish. A serial killer using arrows to kill his victims... The making of the film took less than two days, the script took less than three days I think. If it took more then something is wrong with the cast. No I did not like this film at all it's more bad than ''Decoys'' or ''quiet kill''. It is a surprise to me that 61 people voted for it and it has an average rating of 5. I suppose there were some friendly votes. I cannot believe that people actually paid to watch this movie or the ''actors'' got paid to participate.

• Obviously a lot of people don't understand this movie

  justinsharky2004-12-30

  I don't usually write reviews, but I just saw this movie and I had to say something, after reading all the negative comments. It's not a horror movie, people! It's a "Hitchcockian" suspense movie. It's no classic, but I was entertained. Also, has anyone seen THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD? Everybody's trapped in a house there too, doing nothing but talking! And that's a classic! What more do you want? Serial Slayer doesn't have any zombies, or any flesh-eating, but it doesn't try to either. I think once you realize who the killer is, it makes sense why he does what he does, and why he's not exactly scary. This movie is commenting on a lot of issues, and it's also (intentionally) very funny at times. Grace is obviously meant to be comic relief. I think a lot of horror fans have expectations that are not going to be met. IMHO, Lion's Gate screwed the filmmaker, as people have pointed out the title and artwork are VERY misleading. But it's not fair to hate this movie just because it doesn't take place at night, or because the lighting isn't perfect. Get real, not every movie has to look the same! If this was the same as any other slasher movie, you wouldn't see so many people loving and hating it in equal measure. Fangoria gave it 3 out of 4 stars, which is what I give it. 'nuff said.

• I was pleasantly surprised

  glennondaniel2006-07-09

  My expectations were pretty low for this film but I was attracted by the fact that Melanie Lynskey was in the cast. When it started it was obviously very low budget, but it was actually very tautly directed with some great scares and strong performances from the female leads. Horroe fans hoping for gore may be a little disappointed but there are some savage moments. Overall, this shouldn't have worked - the plot is thoroughly pedestrian, the budget is low and it looks like it was filmed on a home video camera. I've never found footsteps on a roof so scary! Ignore the low scores here and give this one a go!