From HouseofHorrors.com
DVD Review: SUBLIME
By Dave Dreher
Mar 18, 2007, 13:48
The second release under the RAW FEED banner for Warner Brothers is a little hospital terror tale titled SUBLIME. Guising itself as a blood soaked gore fest SUBLIME actually ends up a tight character driven piece with a surprisingly poignant message.
Director Tony Krantz has crafted a film that will be particularly disturbing to those of us in our 40's and are staring the specter of aging right in the eyes. As I mentioned above the PR people are trying to sell this one on it’s gore factor, and it does exist, the blood flows pretty freely but the real terror comes from the realization that some time things happen that we can’t control. There are times when we are forced to turn our lives over into the hands of others. When we get on that airplane it’s the pilot that is controlling our fate for those few hours, when we enter the hospital it is the doctors that we entrust.
For George Grieves this realization comes when he must enter the hospital for a “routine procedure” shortly after his 40th birthday. Things start off well enough but after waking up from the procedure it is soon evident that something is horribly wrong. George drifts between dreams and reality and the two begin to intermingle to the point that it is soon hard to separate what is an hallucination and what is fact. The underlying point of the film is that no matter how much you plan and no matter how in control you think you are, you’re not.
As a 40 + year old myself I am here to tell you that this fact is one of the scariest things you will ever face.
Younger viewers will probably find this film a little to “heavy” for their tastes and I did find the constant use of flashbacks a bit unsettling. It seemed to really disrupt the flow of the film although the info provided in those flashbacks did prove important. It would have been nice if they could have set up the back story sooner in the film instead of giving us bits and pieces throughout the film.
Overall SUBLME is a fine film that is a strong second helping in the RAW FEED buffet but one that may have a hard time finding its audience. Promoting it as gore fest is going to attract the type of crowd (18-35 year olds) that will find the message in this film a bit long winded and pointless and those of us that get the message (40 and older) could possibly pass this one by thinking it another teen filled schlock fest. But for those of us that like our horror with a message and are not afraid of actually having to think about what we are viewing SUBLIME comes as a fresh change from the good old hack and slash.
Here is a complete breakdown of the story and disc specs:
Admitted to Mt. Abaddon Hospital for a routine procedure, George Grieves discovers that his condition is much more serious and complicated than originally expected; and as his own fears begin to manifest around him, he learns that Mt. Abaddon is not a place where people come to get better... it is a place where people come to die.
Family man George Grieves (Tom Cavanagh of TV's Ed and Love Monkey) checks into Mt. Abadon Hospital for a routine procedure. When he awakens from his anesthesia, something is terribly wrong...with George...with the hospital...and especially with the shuttered East Ward, an eerie lair of secrets, sex and surgical terrors. Raw Feed presents the fear-drenched psychological thriller Sublime, directed by Tony Krantz (executive producer of 24) from a screenplay by Emmy Award winner Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers). In the tradition of cinema's classic tales of suspense, Sublime will keep you guessing as its puzzle pieces fall into place, and leave you stunned by its astounding conclusion. Graphic, bold, sexual and utterly horrifying, Sublime explores what happens when what you fear becomes real.
DVD Features:
* Available Subtitles: English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* Commentary by director Tony Krantz and writer Erik Jendresen
* Interview with Tony Krantz
* Interview with Erik Jendresen
* Surgical Exorcism: cultural anthropologist Dr. Falk's webcast of a live surgical exorcism in the mountains of Peru
* Trailer gallery
SUBLIME is available now.
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