I was puzzled by the horror/comedy label of this movie until I got to the last 30 minutes. Despite being a low-budget production, the movie does a good job of introducing the characters and developing their backstories, but nothing horrific or funny happens in the first 90 minutes of this movie, which just show a group of quirky personalities randomly hiking on a loop trail in NZ. There is some humor in the contrast between the main character Ian (Thomas Sainsbury) and Nicky (Hayden J. Weal), but we wait to see how the tension grows as the movie moves along.
The majority of the film kept me engaged and interested throughout, which is a great achievement for this kind of low-budget production. The actors and the cinematographer do a decent job of keeping the audience invested and avoiding visual fatigue from seeing forest scenery for most of the time, mostly through interesting events and good level of dialogue. But then the movie fell apart right at the end.
I understand that there is some NZ cultural thing with the big black bird, maybe it is some folklore or private joke, but from a movie perspective, I think the writer/producer made the wrong choice here. First, the bird is not scary, its long beak is designed for eating fish and not for piercing through resilient large-bodied creatures. The beak going through heads and bodies of people is kind of ridiculous to the point where I started wondering if this whole thing was a private joke by the writers. Were they all sitting and laughing while filming this?
The second shortcoming of this movie is the character of Ian. Although the idea that he says "I am weak, just look at me" and shows he is the most out-of-shape and least successful in both professional life (failed business) and personal life (failed marriage) is a great setup for him to be the most stable and survivalist person at the end, his triumph is still anti-climactic. I would love to see his acting change from the begging to the end, leading to a fierce fighting scene rather then the poorly executed one we are presented with at the end.
Overall, "Loop Track" is a nice and watchable creation, but I still wish for a better monster and a better ending. I think this movie had the potential of getting two thumbs up from me if those two issues were fixed. But as it stands it falls short to hiking/disaster movies, try watching "The Ruins" of an example of a thriller done well. However I would like to see this production team next project, maybe taking my comments into account 🙏
Guide: Some blood and gore, sexual innuendos, no nudity. Ok for teens. Exact Score: 53 / 100.
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