Splat

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2017)

A troubled girl is kidnapped by a strange man and must reveal her past in the struggle to escape.
Standard captive-captor plot enlivened by a fascinating conceit over multiple personalities, and well performed by the lead actors. Almost two hours long, but it flies by at great pace despite the mostly claustrophobic sequences. The story is well put together, but it's not a horror and nowhere near as creepy as the director's last outing in The Visit. Nor does it give its violent moments real life, which is typical of this director. Only three characters, with the minor parts badly underwritten, and mostly it's a two-hander with an interesting antagonism. A few plot holes, and a couple of implausible plot points involving locks. In the end the director adds a decent twist, but then he reveals his ambition and I was left shrugging my shoulders.
I looked forward to the lead actor's performance after his showing in Scum, and he does really well, but the lightweight mood drains his power, and the whole thing falls way short of, say, the basement scenes in Silence Of The Lambs. The lead actress is very good in close up.
Music is atmospheric but laid on too thick, especially over some dialogue scenes that should have been more powerful with simple delivery. Photography is good, and the editing and writing keep up an excellent pace.
Overall: fascinating premise, but the director wimps out on the horror.