Reaper is a tragic affair for all the wrong reasons as you’re unlikely to receive any real scares, thrills, gore or anything else that actually resembles a horror film.
Reaper begins with a news story about the failed execution of a serial killer, whom seemingly develops supernatural, electrical-like powers to continue his killing spree. Only targeting known convicts such as drug-dealers, the Reaper doesn’t actually sound all that bad! We meet an ambiguous young women (Shayla Beesley) who seems to be quite good at using her sexuality to con men to a motel room where she robs them for all they have on them. After Bill (Jake Busey) and ‘sounds like Cheryl’ stop off at Last Chance Hotel, that’s when business really starts to pick up. We get our first real tease of the Reaper and what he’s capable of. When the young woman, revealed to be Natalie, cons sleazy crook Brad (James Jurdi) she runs into Jack (Danny Trejo), and lets her guard down. Unwittingly she ends up back at The Last Chance hotel due to Jack needing some rest before ‘a big deal’. That’s when the big players all come together, ready for the Reaper to make his move.
For a film running only just up to the ninety minute mark, the film takes an awful long time to get going.
The plot that gets them all in the hotel together just in time for the Reaper is thin to say the least and what drives the characters and story is sheer luck and lunacy. Natalie is free to leave the hotel but decides to go back simply because of a letter to her mother, but with the stakes so high, surely she can just re-write the letter, right? The Reaper himself isn’t a terror of any sort, mainly because you don’t really care that he’s killing these bad people and often choosing between the side of the mass murderer, or the criminals, you find yourself siding with the mass murderer. Oh, and when the police are called, one lone, shotgun wielding, trigger happy cop turns up and when the [not so] spooky stuff begins to happen, the cop doesn’t decide instantly it’s time to haul-ass, instead opting to have a sweep of the area first, only running once he sees a dead body…erm, what?! In fact, the smartest one of the lot is sleaze-ball Brad, and he’s not even a smart guy, but he seems to be the only one who thinks a “Supernatural man can teleport and kill people with electricity at will, maybe we shouldn’t be here?” Why aren’t there more people like him in horror films? Sadly not even the bad-ass screen presence of Danny Trejo is enough to save this film.
And speaking of the big man, while the film features Danny Trejo and Vinnie Jones prominently to promote the star powers of the film, disappointingly neither feature for very long and Jones in particular borders on the ‘cameo’ performance.
My favourite and most thankful part about the film is its relatively short running time so that you don’t have to endure too much. It’s not that Reaper is awful, it’s just slow, boring with a lack-lust and has an unbelievable ending, and that’s rich for a horror film.
If you’re looking for a campy, light on the horror (very light) horror, then Reaper is definitely for you, but after watching it you might find yourself wanting to repent for your sins, the sin of watching the film.
Rating: An original sounding premise that doesn’t go any further than the plot line (2/10).
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