Repeaters

By SilencioBarnes on September 9, 2011

Repeaters DVD

Price: $9.99

Repeaters aka Groundhog Day Redux

A gritty mind-bending thriller about three twenty-somethings who find themselves in an impossible time labyrinth, where each day they awaken to the same terrifying day as the preceding one.
Director: Carl Bessai
Writers: Arne Olsen (creator), Arne Olsen (screenplay)
Stars: Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew and Richard de Klerk

The other day I sat down and watched this movie Repeaters. I hadn’t previously heard of it, but saw that it was recommended here and there as a new sci-fi-ish movie that was worth a look. All-in-all…it was an okay movie. Just okay. I mean, your mileage may vary, but it’s a decent watch.

I suppose it’s impossible to talk about this movie without first talking about Groundhog Day. And I KNOW you’ve seen Groundhog Day. If you haven’t, then you should immediately get a copy however you choose and watch it before reading anymore of this article. Go ahead…I’ll wait.

Groundhog Day (Special 15th Anniversary Edition)

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Now, if you’ve seen Groundhog Day, you probably walked away from it thinking something like: “If that was me, I would’ve (insert heinous/criminal act)” – Well, Repeaters is sorta like that. But instead of Bill Murray, it’s three twenty-something-year-old recovering addicts…in rehab. Yes…hilarity ensues.

Well, not really. This is a very serious and dark movie. There are scenes and situations that will make the darker hearted of us laugh…but they might make some of you cringe as well. Is it a very good movie? I wouldn’t say so. But it’s adequate.

It’s a Canadian flick which I didn’t know until after watching it. It stars a few faces you may remember, Dustin Milligan, Amanada Crew (both were in Final Destination 3) and Richard de Klerk. All three of these actors have spent a lot of time doing television (US and Canadian) so they’re not exactly newbies to the screen.

However, with that being said, I find that I didn’t much care for the characters they portrayed. The script called for a few scenes that were supposed to make you feel something for these people, but in the end, I didn’t really care. The actors performed within the confines of the lines given them, but none of them transcended their roles in any way. Well, Richard de Klerk gave it a good try. All in all, I think this may be one of those movies where the script is better than the final product.

Ultimately, I think this movie is asking us what would we do if we knew that each new day started with a clean slate, no matter what you may have done the day before. I’m sure there are also a few metaphors involving addicts and how, to them, each day is just like any other when your sole raison d’etre is chasing that next fix.

I don’t know. But the Canadians certainly loved it. I found it an entertaining escape and well worth a watch. Maybe with a friend or two and some smoke in the air. There’s enough tension and action to keep your eyes on the screen. There’s also enough to drive some deep philosophical and intellectual discussion…if you’re into that sorta thing.

In the end, I think this movie would have been so, so much better…if Groundhog Day didn’t exist :)

Also, this movie is not on DVD in the US as of yet (don’t ask me how I got my copy ;) I’ve only seen it on the Canadian Amazon website, no mention of it on the US site. There’s not even a Wikipedia article!

There’s an official website as well as a Facebook Page – for more info and discussions, you can check IMDB

http://www.repeatersthemovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/REPEATERS/250852591072