ridiculous rating

Best movie ever!

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I watched this with genuine expectation given that I've nurtured a crush on Christian slater for the last 17 years of my life. And here I was not disappointed, though there were flaws. Firstly, the story itself was predictable. It was clear what was happening and why throughout most of it. And there were huge inconsistencies. Maybe I just don't get it, but I find it horrendously unbelievable when I Watch a film where a cop does something so dreadfully stupid that if he got caught he would go to jail where the horrors that await him would be worse than the horrors of whatever he's living through in the horror flick. I had a hard time getting past that. In fact, that's the reason for the average rating. Because, in large part, if it hadn't been for that plot issue, the rest of the movie would have fallen apart. But I suppose we viewers are supposed to think that reality is just as odd and unreasonable. In terms of scares, this one hits as average with some blood and shots that make you jump and such. Nothing overly special, but it IS engaging overall. Mostly because the premise was not one I am accustomed to (which says something from a person who watches as much horror as I do). Overall, this film is entertaining and worth a try. After I watched it, I still left it in my Netflix queue so don't forget to watch it again.

If you read some of the reviews for Playback, you may notice it receives more than its fair share of negativity. In some ways it deserves it, in others it doesn't. A lot of the criticism comes from how it's been sold. If you read the blurb, you'll see it mentions an 'ex cop (played by Christian Slater) investigating a mysterious killer.' This is simply not true. For a start, Christian Slater's part in this film is little more than an extended cameo and it seems to be a blatant attempt by the studio/promoters to do their best at cashing in on the one and only (semi) big name attached to the project.The film is actually about a group of teenagers who are trying to make their own horror film when they stumble on a particularly nasty supernatural force that links back to their town's past. In many ways, Playback is little more than a (supernatural) slasher film that loosely borrows from superior works like The Ring. You may even forget that Christian Slater is in the film because his character has so little to do.Playback is okay. If you can ignore its miss-selling and are just looking for a run-of-the-mill horror to fill an hour and a half, then this one will probably do. Yes, there are a fair few unexplained bits that may leave you with a question mark or two over your head, but, like I say, it's far from perfect, but it just about makes the grade.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Just so you're aware, putting Christian Slater top billing is a bit of a misnomer... His total screen time add up to just over five minutes. I do love his last scene, though... It's very, um, 'uncompromising'.I should also inform you that this indeed is a very silly storyline, and not one to raise the hairs on your neck. So rather than blinding us with science or having loads of JUMP moments, it chooses to go mental with the gore... and every last drop of blood and piece of dismembered brain is wrung out and presented for our viewing pleasure. It's not great cinema, but at least it distracts from some of the dafter bits. Possessing teenagers through a static TV screen, indeed.And as much as I like a bleak ending, it's got to the point where if the evil dude doesn't get up after an apparently fatal gun wound and tear the hero's head off in the finale, it's a major surprise. Come on directors, give us some cheeriness in these depressing days (never thought I'd hear myself say those words)

I don't usually do this, but some of you might stumble upon a review by IMDb username tlsmith-569-716188 as the visible review on this film's page. Aside from mistaking Christian Slater for Christian Bale, it's obviously biased and written by either someone who took part in the making of this film, or someone to related to such a person. Do your part and click "no". We deserve more integrity.Having said that, let's get back to "Playback". I must say that while I did enjoy watching it, I couldn't help but finding the screenplay and story lacking. The idea is nice while not all that original (The Ring has already given us "evil from a videotape" and this was simply too similar), but the twist was too obvious and predictable. A good plot twist is one where the balance between the hints given and the element of surprise upon the discovery is kept. In this case - the hints were too thick, and the surprise was gone. That might be because I'm a Horror freak and have watched many Horror and Thriller films, but I can't help but expect more.The second thing, which was really sad for me, was Christian Slater's roll. Oh my, how the great ones have fallen and been humbled to a shady background role of a semi-pedophile creep. I'd hate to think that after his illustrious career Slater has been degraded to his role here. Depressing.However, while not being the best film ever, Playback is far from being bad. The effects and cinematography were very impressive, the original indie-rock soundtrack was great and is in my opinion good enough to purchase if available, and the way some of the scenes shot by the kids in the movie end up realized by the killer was very nice. But the best thing about this film is for sure Toby Hemingway's acting (and a great job by the make-up department). Hemingway was superb, and I look forward to seeing him in other films!All in all, like I've mentioned, Playback wasn't the best film ever, nor the worst. It had its moment, and while it could have been a lot better - it could have been a lot worse too. I personally rate it a 6, but recommend that you give it a shot.