If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Needle is written well both story and characters. This film has a 1990's vibe so if you're fan of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween H2O,etc etc then this worth checking out. The murder weapon -the voodoo- is well thought of since using a gun or knife has been used countless times so well done to the writers Anthony Egan and John V Soto. Filmscope have casted well with rising stars Michael Dorman and Travis as brothers ( Ben & Marcus) Luke Carroll (Nelson), Nathaniel Buzolic (Ryan), Khan Chittenden (Jed), Trilby Glover (Isobel) and Jessica Marais (Kandi) have been perfectly casted as his college friends. Veteran actors Ben Mendelsohn and Malcolm Kennard have small parts playing Detectives Meares and Reddick and good to John Jarratt as quirky Paul the coroner makes a welcome change from his Wolfcreek character.

I happened to be in LA during Screamfest (really enjoyed the festival had a great atmosphere!). I tagged along with a group of friends who are die-hard horror/thriller fans, while myself I tend to steer away from the genre, mainly because it's a genre that has seen it all. But I found Needle to be highly enjoyable, a device that allows a killer to kill their victims without physically killing them is a highly refreshing concept.While I would of loved to have something more in the deaths (after the first two dying similar deaths) it still captivated me as I tried to work out who was picking apart this group of friends and why (I genuinely didn't pick the killer till the reveal at the end). The cinematography was fantastic and was surprised to learn that it was actually a horror film produced entirely in Australia. Well worth seeing, can't wait to take my girlfriend to it and watch her squirm at the deaths! ☺

In John V. Soto's Needle, a killer uses an 18th century box with extraordinary and deathly powers to rein havoc on a group of friends at Saint Mary's College. The box is the size of a jewelry case and when a picture of someone is put into a secret slot, a wax figure of the person is created to where the killer can stick pins, break off limbs and just make life miserable for the person the figure represents.We get introduced to the box when student Ben Rutherford inherits the relic from his recently deceased father. But before you can say, "Oh my god, I am bored", the device is stolen and soon an unidentified killer begins to use the machine on Ben's group of friends leaving them butchered, blind and bleeding with nothing more than a few pin pricks.Ben (Michael Dorman) and his brother Marcus (Travis Fimmel) figure out the sinister nature of the device and begin a search for the killer while attempting to warn their friends of their impending deadhood.Needle is a get-in-line movie. It got in line with stereotypical characters, a half-descent story that fails to execute on the premise and a bunch of forgettable characters and situations leading up to their eventual demise. And the story of the sins of the father coming back to haunt the children was just…well – stupid.This is OK if you don't aspire to be anything more than another horror film entry with above average DVD cover art. But Needle drops the ball by taking the fun out of the idea. And the ending which reveals to us the evil Wizard behind the curtain, was poorly played and filled with a bunch of 'now why would they do that' situations and discussions.I really wanted to like Needle. I sure as hell want the device that was used in the film (I have a neighbor that might find himself with a few less limbs if I had the opportunity). But throughout the running time, I was just bored. The kills were OK (we loved the hand coming off), but we recognize that within a week, this film will find itself into the recesses of the brain where you can't distinguish this title from any of the other horror-of-the-week type entries.www.killerreviews.com

I found this movie shallow. The plot is thin, and generally "dumbed down", with the acting mediocre. Actor Travis Fimmel (the estranged brother and photographer) came across as quite unconvincing, as if he was hardly affected by the scenes of gore, and his expressions were often incongruous. Michael Dorman (his brother) started well, but his acting in the scene of desperation near the end was lame (reflecting poor directing) and poorly executed.I suppose the little bit of sexual titillation (played by the two attractive female students) was deemed likely to increase the ratings and to create some side interest. All in all, the movie doesn't really "work".