THE CORRIDOR
Director: Evan Kelly
Writer: Josh MacDonald
Starring: Stephen Chambers, James Gilbert, Matthew Amyotte
Writer: Josh MacDonald
Starring: Stephen Chambers, James Gilbert, Matthew Amyotte
2010 | Canada | Not Rated | 99 mins
★★★★
Independent cinema has always been known for taking risks and giving audiences the chance to see something that will make them think or challenge their ideals. And a lot of first time filmmakers dare to push these boundaries so they can make their mark, and they do so because this is a need to be able to survive in a big-budget world and a world dictated by mass consumption and technology. Are we really all that more connected because we now have access to everything at our finger tips? Do we really understand and know the feelings or thoughts of the people we surround ourselves with? These are the questions The Corridor dares to ask.
Five friends take a weekend excursion to a secluded cabin as a tribute and wake to the deceased mother of one of them. A year ago, an event occurred which changed all of them and left suspicions hanging and one of them seemingly insane. Now with the help of therapy and medication, Tyler (Stephen Chambers) plans to mend these wounds and ensure his friends he is better and that he was not involved in the death of his mother. But when the group discovers something impossible out in the woods, what they come to collectively call The Corridor, this spectral hallway will lead them all into each others' minds and ultimately lead to truths that will shatter bonds and destroy lives.
The Corridor is a tense, disturbing, and intrinsically crafted excursion into the fragility of the psyche. Writer Josh MacDonald masterly weaves a high-concept idea that asks questions and is open to interpretation while balancing and then manipulating the truths and friendships of the characters who inhabit the story. Each character is well played by the cast who all do a tremendous and deeply emotional job and focuses the audience into caring for these people for the first half of the film, so by the time The Corridor begins to open and corrupt each one's intentions we feel for them as they all go at each other in the most sadistic of ways. Watching the silences break is almost as disturbing as the effects of The Corridor as they cannot handle knowing everything about each other.
Evan Kelly and cinematographer Christopher Ball keep the majority of the film confined to one room in the cabin and this claustrophobic imprisonment truly represents the atmosphere and tone the film sets. Could we really grasp knowing everything without going insane and are we over-stimulating ourselves to negative effect? This is the central question The Corridor asks, and also leaves up to the viewer to comprehend. The film does falter a bit near the end, but even still, when a film has continued to leave you thinking about its ideas, its tone, its intentions, its characters, and it's terror long after the credits have rolled, that is a successful mark for the dedication of the filmmakers and actors to transport the viewer into a story, and for this The Corridor is a great independent horror thriller worth seeking out.
Matthew Amyotte Interview:
Five friends take a weekend excursion to a secluded cabin as a tribute and wake to the deceased mother of one of them. A year ago, an event occurred which changed all of them and left suspicions hanging and one of them seemingly insane. Now with the help of therapy and medication, Tyler (Stephen Chambers) plans to mend these wounds and ensure his friends he is better and that he was not involved in the death of his mother. But when the group discovers something impossible out in the woods, what they come to collectively call The Corridor, this spectral hallway will lead them all into each others' minds and ultimately lead to truths that will shatter bonds and destroy lives.
The Corridor is a tense, disturbing, and intrinsically crafted excursion into the fragility of the psyche. Writer Josh MacDonald masterly weaves a high-concept idea that asks questions and is open to interpretation while balancing and then manipulating the truths and friendships of the characters who inhabit the story. Each character is well played by the cast who all do a tremendous and deeply emotional job and focuses the audience into caring for these people for the first half of the film, so by the time The Corridor begins to open and corrupt each one's intentions we feel for them as they all go at each other in the most sadistic of ways. Watching the silences break is almost as disturbing as the effects of The Corridor as they cannot handle knowing everything about each other.
Evan Kelly and cinematographer Christopher Ball keep the majority of the film confined to one room in the cabin and this claustrophobic imprisonment truly represents the atmosphere and tone the film sets. Could we really grasp knowing everything without going insane and are we over-stimulating ourselves to negative effect? This is the central question The Corridor asks, and also leaves up to the viewer to comprehend. The film does falter a bit near the end, but even still, when a film has continued to leave you thinking about its ideas, its tone, its intentions, its characters, and it's terror long after the credits have rolled, that is a successful mark for the dedication of the filmmakers and actors to transport the viewer into a story, and for this The Corridor is a great independent horror thriller worth seeking out.
Matthew Amyotte Interview:
All contents copyright 2011 Tyler Baptist
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