MovieChat Forums > Playback (2012) Discussion > I dont even know what to say here

I dont even know what to say here

posted 9 years ago by greenfairyXO
9 replies | jump to latest

I am not a fan of technology+ghost horror films. Like evil possessions happening via video taping. That alone is really ridiculous in my opinion. I don't know why I don't like it, but I don't. It comes off even more unrealistic than anything horror already does. In this I think the Quinn guy did a good job of being ultra creepy, and his makeup was done really well. I will be honest, this movie DID creep me out at certain parts. BUT, so much of the plot was so sloppy and poorly executed. It made up it's own rules as it went. It had it's central idea, but then it was like ok for this character it can have these rules applied to it's possession, and so on and so on. Stuff like that really grates my nerves. The whole idea was that if you watch a playback you will die. Ok, that didn't stick. Also, the "dad" was able to possess people through camera's.... in live time..... not just through video taping.... Ok?? By pressing their hand on the screen. And then that person is STILL their own person, just evil.

I'm sorry but that's so incredibly sloppy. Make a committed decision. They either are turned completely, as they said, their souls are supposed to be completely taken once videotaped or watching the videotape (whatever, really didn't keep that clear did they) but once the teenagers got possessed they were still half themselves with some evil in them. That was annoying.

I don't know why Christian Slater was in this film. He might not be as relevant an actor anymore, but he's still above this type of film in my opinion, I was very embarrassed for him that not only has he not been in a lot of films lately, but he's in this film, and his role was a total perv. He must really need the money.

Worst part was that for some reason, the dad/quinn all of a sudden decided not to kill Julian's girlfriend. (cause she's a main, main character. original) without any real explanation there. And then after an entire movie of him being successful in turning people, the power happens to go out and it becomes a struggle to turn Julian. So so so un-original. The main character somehow has a special power that gets him out of it until the very end, right? Come on.......lol.

The best part of this was honestly Quinn's creepiness and the fact that the entire time I was wondering who the baby was and I actually am usually good at figuring that stuff out and I didn't think for a second it was Julian. Good job on the twist there. If you can pull a twist on me, that's pretty impressive. I was thinking the baby was quinn at first. Then I wasn't sure. I don't know, I guess it's my fault for watching a horror movie called "Playback" when I knew it was about video tapes and evil in one, but I thought it would stick to what it said it was about which was basically "If you watch this video, you unleash the evil." Simple as that. They just took it and threw it in all these different directions as they pleased. Sloppy film-making. Also some of the acting was horrendous. Not all though. Anywho, that's my two cents, not that it matters, but I gotta put it out there!

[–] A-Zupreme 9 years ago

*May contain spoilers, and I'm not highlighting them*

See, I knew that they were going to make the baby Julian just because it was made clear that Julian was the centric character and I figured they had to somehow tie the baby in with everything. I wasn't overly crazy about that twist, just because it seemed all-too-convenient that Julian picked this case out for his school project when he was the baby involved. A coincidence can be such a bitch, sometimes.

There were other problems with the script...
- How did the mom know that Julian and his girlfriend would be at the farmhouse? I know she was worried of his interest in the case, but was she going out of her way to drive past the farm house on a regular basis due to it?
- The cell phone... Julian had no clue where he had left it, and didn't realize it was gone until the next day at school. In our technology age, I can't imagine this being even remotely realistic with everyone so reliant on their cellphones. And, once he did realize it was missing, he called it and didn't think for a minute that it was strange that Quinn had it. Did he never wonder WHY Quinn may have had it, nor did he ponder where he had left it?
- The retired reporter saying that his case ran cold when it came to the missing baby, yet he knew enough to reveal to Julian that he WAS the baby. Awful scene.
- I also was confused about the ease of possessing people. Quinn had absolutely no problems possessing Bri(name?) and her sister, but when he had Julian in the same spot, he couldn't do it as effectively or quickly? Why was it so much harder, and yes, why keep the girlfriend alive? No explanation was really given for that, which is funny because they wasted time showing how he abducted her.
- (a bit unrelated to the script) Even the plot sypnosis on IMDb/Netflix seems to be a mess. It almost makes the perverted cop out to be the hero of the film, so all throughout the film, that character creeped me the *beep* out yet in the back of my mind, I kept having this thought in my mind that he was going to turn it around and save the day. I'm guessing they did this since the actor who played him was the biggest name in the cast and they wanted to get fans of his to watch it? Who knows, but just another "ugh" in matters concerning this movie. lol

I agree that the actor who played Quinn did a pretty good job with the role, though... very creepy and well acted. I also enjoyed the cop mom and loved that she was the one who saved the day, which put a dash on the tired "police-are-useless" trope and offered a gender-bending example of a modern-day hero since I think guys tend to get cast in that kind of role.

[–] greenfairyXO 9 years ago

- The retired reporter saying that his case ran cold when it came to the missing baby, yet he knew enough to reveal to Julian that he WAS the baby. Awful scene.
- I also was confused about the ease of possessing people. Quinn had absolutely no problems possessing Bri(name?) and her sister, but when he had Julian in the same spot, he couldn't do it as effectively or quickly? Why was it so much harder, and yes, why keep the girlfriend alive? No explanation was really given for that, which is funny because they wasted time showing how he abducted her.
- (a bit unrelated to the script) Even the plot sypnosis on IMDb/Netflix seems to be a mess. It almost makes the perverted cop out to be the hero of the film, so all throughout the film, that character creeped me the *beep* out yet in the back of my mind, I kept having this thought in my mind that he was going to turn it around and save the day. I'm guessing they did this since the actor who played him was the biggest name in the cast and they wanted to get fans of his to watch it? Who knows, but just another "ugh" in matters concerning this movie. lol

I agree that the actor who played Quinn did a pretty good job with the role, though... very creepy and well acted. I also enjoyed the cop mom and loved that she was the one who saved the day, which put a dash on the tired "police-are-useless" trope and offered a gender-bending example of a modern-day hero since I think guys tend to get cast in that kind of role.

totally agree with all of that lol

[–] Soodinum 9 years ago

Centric character? Are you serious?

[–] A-Zupreme 9 years ago

I think I was pretty serious when I wrote the post. I apologize if you didn't grasp what I meant. I'll put it in a different way for you - Julian was the protagonist.

[–] Soodinum 9 years ago

No need to be pissy - why didn't you just say "central character"? Are you ESL?

[–] A-Zupreme 9 years ago

I'm not pissy, I'm just curious why you care so much about someone's language online. It's a bit trivial and weird.

[–] Soodinum 9 years ago

For God's sake - because we can't see or hear each other, all we have online is words typed out. If people use wrong words or idioms, especially in the place of extremely common words or phrases, it stands out like a sore thumb.

[–] A-Zupreme 9 years ago

And you're the one who is making a big deal over a single word said by someone you neither know nor will ever meet. So, I must ask, who truly is the one making it stand out like a sore thumb? 

What did you think about the movie? Please add something of value to this discussion.

[–] sistershotgun 8 years ago

Be kept the gf alive so Julian could impregnate her.