Directed by: John Mallory Asher
Written by: David Frigerio
Starring: Aaron Paul, Scoot McNairy, Cameron Richardson
In the more recent years, there has been a shortage of things that surprise me. Pile on some baby rape on top of that ass-to-mouth surgery — why not? Who's surprised anymore these days? Me, rarely. That is, until I read the cast list of Wreckage and discovered Aaron Paul's name in it. Didn't Aaron Paul win an Emmy? Isn't he like...successful? Why is he in a crappy VOD movie? Sometimes, no one has the answer.
When a group of teenagers' car breaks down, they head to a nearby junk yard to salvage car parts. Little do they know that an insane serial killer has escaped from prison and is lurking in the area. As the teens are stalked and hunted down one by one, what was an innocent trip turns into a bloody all out struggle for survival.
Wreckage describes itself in a totally wrong way. After the teens are in the junkyard, Aaron Paul's character Rick accidentally shoots his best friend Jared's girlfriend, prompting Jared to run into town to seek help from the small sheriff's department. Once he brings back the sheriff, deputy, a hot EMT and busty doctor, the group finds the teenagers to be missing, or dead, or all of the above.
It's an odd situation because we kind of feel highly removed from all the intensity and the action. We weren't there when whatever happened happened, and instead we're just wandering around a junkyard looking for someone. It felt like there wasn't a real threat or something. Like the so-called escaped killer lunatic was just kind of sitting next to me while I was watching the film and not actually doing anything.
That isn't to say the film is entirely a waste. I do give it credit for coming up with some neat kills (well, one neat kill), using Scoot McNairy to his highest advantage and for making things at least a little bit original. Sure, the film is plagued with plot holes and the opening murder sequence has NOTHING to do with the film's outcome. I guess it could be worse. The acting could have been really terrible and it wasn't that terrible. I think the problem had more to do with bad writing because, when all is said and done, the cast does happen to be fairly accomplished. For instance, the hot EMT was in One Tree Hill a few times. The busty doctor was the nanny in the Lindsay Lohan remake of The Parent Trap and the lead actress, according to the press release that came with the film, was in Calvin and the Chipmunks. Yes, that's right, Calvin and the Chipmunks.
Meanwhile, our Emmy winner Aaron Paul is as expected, a semi-ghetto hothead who secretly turns me on. When are people going to give him roles that challenge him? The man is actually a great actor, but who would know that based on all the roles he plays?
Overall, the film isn't that bad. It's just not great, or that exciting. I also wouldn't really call the film "gore-packed" like the press release claims. There was gore in this? I guess if you count people spitting up blood, then YES, it is gore-packed!
Okay, okay, I'm being unfair. Honestly, the real problem with Wreckage is that it seems to be marketed poorly. I wouldn't really group it into any subgenre of horror at all. It does do something kind of original, and although it does so in a messy way, I still give it points for trying.
Though not a lot of points, because it's really not a very good movie. I don't blame you if you're confused. Let's just say that Wreckage can be grouped in the "meh" character of my life. I'm not going to remember what happened in it tomorrow, and it's not going to keep me up at night. Take it or leave it, watch with friends and laugh at all the sappy romance and PRO WAR sentiments. Do whatever you want. I'm going to go watch another crappy VOD movie and then write about how it stinks.
Rating: (2 out of 5):
