MovieChat Forums > Proxy (2014) Discussion > Absolute rubbish

Absolute rubbish

posted 10 years ago by melly_rel
23 replies | jump to latest

As a huge fan of all types of cinema, I found this film to be absolutely atrocious in many ways.

Characters: boring, 1 dimensional, and the lesbian lover was a total caricature

Acting: shockingly bad. I was embarrassed for all involved.

Plot: tried too hard to be shocking, derivative of many other (better) films, misogynistic, ridiculous

The pacing was awful, and the slow-mo bathroom scene was so stupid I laughed. Was it supposed to be funny? Trying to rip off Hitchcock but slowing the scene down with OTT music and stupid amounts of blood took away any gravitas the scene could have had.

The music was way over the top for the cheap cinematography. it just made it seem silly.

If you want to see a low budget indie thriller, watch Blue Ruin. I suggest Zack Parker watches it too........

[–] Uvtha 10 years ago

I didn't think it was a horrible movie, I thought it did some things well and some of the ideas were interesting, but I agree on most of your points.

The music was distracting, seemed like it was trying to create a hitchcockian vibe, but just didn't do it, the lesbian lover character was very silly, and the other characters didn't really gel and were a bit boring, but I think that also had to do with the acting, which while not terrible imo failed to bring the characters to life, and the script which was somewhat convoluted.

I think the main flaw was it just seemed a bit out of step pacing wise, I think some of the scenes could have been cut out and the movie would have improved. That and the script was just a little confused.

For an indy horror film it was far from the worst. Sure that's a low bar, but...

I just felt like there was a better movie in there than what we saw, and that was no one involved individuals fault.

[–] fireflyfanlaura 10 years ago

Uvtha wrote:

seemed like it was trying to create a hitchcockian vibe, but just didn't do it, the lesbian lover character was very silly, and the other characters didn't really gel and were a bit boring, but I think that also had to do with the acting, which while not terrible imo failed to bring the characters to life....

I agree. And actually, as I was watching it, I was thinking "hmm, this could have been a really above-average film if there were better actors in it"

Can you imagine this film with, say, Cate Blanchett and Julianne Moore in the leads? :) Angelina Jolie as the lesbian lover.....

That, and a bit of fat-trimming, and I think it could have achieved that Hitchcock-esque feel/tone.

[–] mmmK-Ultra 10 years ago

I found this film to be absolutely atrocious in many ways

I think you're flat wrong and this was a great piece of cinema, here is why:

1) Characters: I feel like i've known everyone involved at one time. Either of my neighbors could method act the part of anika, perfectly. Like she's their role model, I swear. I used to date a girl so much like Esther, it's a little creepy to imagine how unhinged she might have been (she wasn't though she was nice, just had that same sort of quiet demeanor). I'm a lot like the Patrick character.

2) I thought the acting was great. There was maybe a part that could have been trimmed a bit, when Patrick was speaking at the support group. That could have been a little shorter or maybe just acted differently, like maybe Patrick could have started making wild accusations at the support group... or if the whole time he's out in public, he's still covered in the blood of imaginary Esther], and no one else sees it.

3) Loved the plot. Lots of tension, lots of atmosphere, grabs your attention right away and keeps it, first by drawing you into the bleak emptiness of Esther's life then very smoothly transitioning the story over to Melanie and Patrick's part. I like how undefined it is. Just enough clues to answer pretty much all the questions.

Mr Parker, you did a fine job with this and I hope to see many more. I'm rounding my 8.5/10 up to a 10/10 in the hopes it helps this happen sooner. Best of luck!

"Pass the nunchuks..."

[–] ginger-51 9 years ago

Well, I'm going to express my opinion here--yes, just like buttholes, I've gone one too. And I have to agree with Melly--it felt like this film really missed the mark. The first 30 minutes or so was actually pretty engaging and promising. I thought it was shaping up to be a great thriller. But then...the red-haired woman came on the scene and it all fell apart. Her character was ridiculously stereotypical. Tough girl just out of jail/prison with her bad-a$$ catch phrases, ugh. And as an aside, why would anyone continue to run around town wearing exactly the same red hoodie she wore when she was committing a heinous assault, killing an unborn child! She really didn't think she was going to get caught, did she? Many things just didn't make sense, such as the police work: there is a child murder and a self-defense killing during a home invasion--but the cops don't bother to check out the truck that is parked out in front of the house for WEEKS? And then only AFTER the homeowner enters the car, takes out some evidence, calls the cops--and they instruct him to go BACK into the truck and return it?? And THEN, the cops find the owner of said truck...knock on the door and tell her that they are towing the truck to impound because they believe the driver may have been connected to the murder that took place last month--but when the red haired woman hitches a ride to the crime scene--stopping along the way to run an errand first--the truck is STILL there, parked on the street, unsecured. Did the police even CARE about solving this murder??. And the key plotlines were totally wasted. I mean, yes, we get it, the women were both crazy, one was willing to get pregnant and then pay her girlfriend to assault her and kill the baby (risking her own death in the process). And the other woman was somehow addicted to support groups or something, and willing to tell crazy lies to get sympathy. But did the movie bother to tell us WHY these women were so damaged? What happened to them to make them this way? What brought them together? Nope. Intriguing story line, wasted.

It seemed like the last half of the movie really fell apart. By the end, I just didn't care at all about the remaining characters, because they never gave me any reason to identify with them.

So, sorry guys. I didn't like it either.

[–] dalldorfw 9 years ago

"...the slow-mo bathroom scene was so stupid I laughed. Was it supposed to be funny? Trying to rip off Hitchcock..."

Looked more like Sam Peckinpah to me.

[–] Ebony_Beauty 8 years ago

This movie was complete crap,and I couldn't even finish watching this complete waste of precious time because it was making me nauseous!Anybody that like this junk have to have some psychopathic tendencies,a very twisted mind and a sadist on top of that!Thank you God for blessing me to not have to pay for this.It isn't worth rating???

Accomplishments Have No Color.