Triangle review by Matt Fuerst

@JackassMatt

Ah, look at that cover. I don't know about you, but if you're like me, that screams "MISS ME". You're likely aware that Blockbuster funds the development of some lower quality horror movies, just to keep the pipeline of "something new on the shelves" loaded in their stores. Said movies always have some super generic cover that encourages all but the most dedicated to walk by, and for that really, we should thank them. I would want some innocent soul (say, my or your parents) roped into accidentally picking up the crap-of-the-month movie to ruin their perfectly good "Pizza and Movie" Friday night tradition. Sadly, I think Triangle suffers from a low class cover, which is unfortunately managing to hide a high class flick.

Melissa George stars as Jess, a young single mother of seemingly lower middle class means and her chance to go for a little boating getaway. We can tell that life has beaten Jess down, and this chance to rub with the upper crust is a welcome break from her relatively dreary, dull existence. Similar to Gilligans Island, our boat is filled with a handful of handy stereotypes: the rich, snobby couple, the friendly guy, an angry worker gentlemen. Each will play a role in the fate that unfolds before them.

As tends to happen in a movie in the horror genre, something goes awry; The boat trip takes a turn for the rough and before long, the boat finds itself toppled over and incapacitated. After some terse "What are we going to do?" moments, the small yacht happens to float right up to a huge steamer boat. Given the options, the group embarks on the seemingly abandoned steamer, at least it isn't capsized and sinking. At this point in the movie (and undoubtedly, this synopsis) your mind is probably starting to wander some, I know I got a sinking "This is like that bad Julianna Margulies Ghost Ship movie!" feeling. While the beginning is generic, nothing that follows unfolds as you expect.

Slowly we see that our group is being followed, seemingly reluctantly hunted. While a typical horror movie would make this a group of savages, ghosts or (flavour of the week) zombies, Triangle is much more clever than that. As one would expect given the obvious title inspiration - the Bermuda Triange - the story begins to fold upon itself and truly engage the viewer in wondering who exactly is attacking the survivors, and why.

As any movie that has a storyline that is self-referential, and "folds" back onto itself, I have no doubt that put under intense scrutiny, Triangle will fall apart. I propose that matters very little. As events are happening onscreen, you will be captivated and eager to learn what happens next. Even with a few days of reflection, I get much more joy thinking about the creative unveils at each step of the story than attempting to pick apart the story.

Triangle has several logical end points, but manages to continue on even after you think it's reached it's logical conclusion. This has sunk many a movie, staying after it's worn out it's welcome, but I have to admit that Triangle is the exception to the rule. Each mini-ending ratcheted up my interest level in contrast to the previous.

Frankly, my biggest disappointment with the whole Triangle package is that the extras on the Blu Ray are so flimsy. This is a movie so engaging to me as a viewer, I immediately went to the Special Features section of the disc. I don't know about you, but for me that's a pretty rare occasion. It's rare to be so engaged with a movie that after spending 90 to 120 minutes with it, you want to dive deeper into it. When that happens, I'm ready to be bathed with information on the movie. The single featurette is seemingly only a few minutes long and spend little time going deep into the story. We get a brief overview of the thoughts behind the development, a few interviews with the key actors and it's over before I knew it. Disappointing.

Well, Triangle is the sort of flick that I love having Jackass Critics as a mouth piece for. It's something so many people are going to skip by, but I really think they would enjoy it if they tried it. If you enjoy mind benders, or horror films that engage your brain more than your primal core, or even a quality tense thriller, I wholeheartedly endorse Triangle.


9 out of 10 Jackasses