For some, watching films is a real passion. For others, their life’s profession. But for the majority of the movie viewing population, it really is just a pleasant hobby. Approaching the seventh art as a hobby is flawed because viewers with only a partial understanding of film media often don’t reward the labor of the better directors. The proliferation of viewers devoted to lighthearted films over intelligent ones makes sure that mediocrity prevails and mediocre artists are rewarded financially to continue making bad movies. For those hoping to grow artistically in an environment like this, the situation is not very healthy. Sure, in the world there are more serious problems, but we are writing about movies, so it’s an issue that we must note.

It appears of little influence, but our opinion is that to execute a good story a good writer is necessary! One who understands that it is important to be attentive to details, the little things in the plot that are impossible to ignore.

The problem with Open Grave, the new film of director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego, is that it could have been excellent, if only the author had paid much more attention to details.

The story is about a man who wakes up in a pit full of corpses. He doesn’t remember who he is, how he fell into the pit, or where exactly he is located. A woman appears and helps him out of the pit, guiding him to a cottage in the forest where there are other people in the same situation. They only know that in few days something will happen, but what…?

The film begins really well! We have a very dark and macabre beginning, with the view of the pit and its terrible contents. The photography serves to maximize emphasis on the dark  and gloomy mood, leaving the audience anticipating a good thriller. However, a word of warning to those planning to see this movie; enjoy the heightened anticipation of this scene because from this point on, enjoyment declines.

The movie loses appeal in an unnatural way, for various reasons. Mainly, you could say for the inability of the writers to handle a story that should proceed in stages. But there are several things to take into consideration, and all of them have to do with the special status of the characters.

For me, this is the same error made with Todd Phillips’ popular The Hangover series. Using characters without memory is a point of force, but also a risk. When a viewer is faced with this particular narrative process, they can only imagine what has sparked such a situation. The job of the screenwriter at this point is to satisfy a sense of mystery with ingenious twists that can surprise the audience. To succeed with these kind of stories it is necessary to dare greatly, because the viewer will have already concocted an idea in its mind that concludes it’s found the most incredible solution of all.

In the case of Open Grave, the events aren’t so incredible or unimaginable as the screenplay attempts to show, with the result being it all ended feeling like a failed zombie movie.

The plot doesn’t evolve easily and situations appear to happen for the simple fact that they must for the development of the story. Plot developments seem to happen at the wrong times, leaving several dead spots and plot holes that take away from the pace of the film. In light of all the defects, the final metaphor on the symbolic and personal value of memories sounds ridiculous and hasty - unfortunately the director isn’t Christopher Nolan and this movie isn’t Memento!

The direction by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego is decent, and lead actor Sharlto Copley has clearly matured in his acting, but it still can’t revive a product that falls apart along its path. Thus, the final scene, beautiful and extreme as in the beginning, is wasted, weakened by all that happened (or didn’t happen!) in the middle.  It’s a thriller that forgot to thrill.