Triangle Blu-ray Review
Triangle
Written and Directed by: Christopher Smith
Starring: Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth, Michael Dorman, Henry Nixon, Rachael Carpani, Emma Lung, Joshua McIvor
Sitting down to watch a horror/thriller called Triangle that takes place on a boat out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, you’d be forgiven for expecting a fairly straightforward and unoriginal story. But take all those preconceptions and throw them out the window, because this isn’t just another cheesy take on the legend of the Bermuda Triangle (at least not explicitly). Written and directed by Christopher Smith, the British director behind the gory horror-comedy Severance, this is a strange and wonderful mindbender of a film — one that navigates uncharted waters and pulls you down into a dizzying whirlpool of weirdness. If you’re a fan of far out Twilight Zone-esque concepts, then you’ll agree that this is definitely a good thing.
Melissa George plays Jess, a troubled single mother who accepts her friend Greg’s invitation to spend the day sailing on his yacht along with a small group of acquaintances. Once they are out to sea, however, a sudden storm rolls in, capsizing the boat and leaving them stranded. Soon, an ocean liner appears through the fog, but after climbing aboard it appears to be deserted… or is it? Slowly a mysterious masked figure starts picking them all off one by one, until Jess comes to the realization that she alone has the power to save them.
I haven’t seen Smith’s other previous film Creep, but this definitely distances itself from Severance in that there is no humour to be found anywhere. Triangle is played straight and serious (in some ways maybe a little too serious), but in doing so it is able to generate some strong suspense and scares. Once you get past the somewhat stilted set-up on the yacht, the movie doesn’t take long to grab hold of you. As the group begins to explore the foreboding corridors of the deserted ship, you can’t help but be reminded of The Shining. The more clues start to accumulate, however, it starts becoming clear that there is something more than a simple haunting at work here.
It’s impossible to go into much more detail about the plot without spoiling it, but the events that transpire will definitely seem a bit familiar to anyone who has seen Nacho Vigalondo’s Timecrimes. Triangle was reportedly written over four years ago, so the similarities would appear to be a mere coincidence (and actually, Smith credits the 1945 film Dead Of Night as his main source of inspiration). Either way, things get a bit bloody, but what’s interesting is that although the movie seems to be setting itself up for a very repetitive experience, it continues to evolve and careen off in new directions. I was impressed by the fact that it was able to remain engaging and unpredictable right through to the end.
Melissa George, known for her performances in such as movies as 30 Days of Night and The Amityville Horror, carries the entire film — which is a good thing because the rest of the cast is pretty painful to watch. They are mostly all unknowns, with the exception of perhaps Liam Hemsworth, who happens to be the younger brother of Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, Thor). Fortunately, they are all mostly inconsequential to the film.
There is a twist involving Melissa George’s character towards the end of the film that attempts to provide some explanation for the strange phenomena, and although I can appreciate the need for a big finale, it felt a bit melodramatic and clunky. I almost wish there was no real explanation, but as with all movies of this nature, there are always a few plot loopholes and plenty of things to nitpick, if you feel so inclined. I prefer to think that a movie like this succeeds as long as it manages to give your brain a decent workout, and I still found myself mulling it over a few days later, which says a lot about the depth of this film.
Overall, I’d have to chalk Triangle up as a pleasant surprise, and I look forward to revisiting it again in the near future. Sadly, if you’re looking for answers, the extras on the Blu-ray are fairly sparse: just six minutes of cast and crew interviews. Bummer. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Timecrimes, Memento, Ghost Ship
