Midsummer Murders (Solstice (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Solstice (DVD)
Date:	06/09/09 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Couple of scary bits and some reasonably good eye candy

Disadvantages: Daft, predictable plot

A review of just the film, Solstice was produced in 2007 and released on region 2 DVD in 2008. You can find it online for less than a fiver.

Following the tragic death of her twin sister, a teenager named Megan seeks respite with some of her best friends in their regular summer house vacation. Arriving at the house, it isn't long before she is spooked out in the room she previously shared with her identical twin. Hooking up with a local boy named Nick, Megan begins to suspect that there was more to her sister's death than meets the eye and as June 21st the summer Solstice approaches Megan has the distinct impression that the dead are trying to make contact with her....

When you watch as many horror films as I do, you start to pick up on a few simple hints that the film isn't going to be any good. A film released straight to DVD is a good clue, particularly if it's from a director who previously worked on something quite good. The biggest, most notable clue, however, particularly where 'teen horror' is concerned is the DVD cover. If it largely comprises a small group of pretty boys and girls, arranged like a pack of playing cards, their faces displaying varying expressions of apparent fear and concern, then you know you're on to a bad thing. And so it was with Solstice.

Solstice is a remake of a Danish film from 2003, and, from what I can gather, largely treads the same path. Directed by Daniel Myrick, who co-wrote and co-directed The Blair Witch Project, it isn't entirely without pedigree, which is all the more reason for the average viewer to be rather disappointed with what they find. It's not that Solstice is a particularly bad film. It has a reasonably nice look and feel, the cast are reasonably likeable and plausible and there's a reasonably simple, but worthwhile story at the core. Nonetheless, the trouble with Solstice is that it's such a wasted opportunity and, as it stands, entirely, completely predictable. Only the least shrewd viewer will have any difficulty figuring out what this one's about.

In terms of wasted opportunities, Myrick is at least consistent. The swarthy humidity of the Louisiana setting is largely ignored. In contrast to films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or The Gift, Myrick doesn't really utilise the natural surroundings to any effect. The swamps and woodlands around the summer house look a little too picturesque. There's no menace, even when very obvious opportunities present themselves and it's all just a little bit too 'picture postcard', Generally, it's all very nice, when it could be very sinister. Worse still, Myrick suffers from genre convention terribly, utilising plot devices and supporting characters that we've seen and heard so many times before. Unsurprisingly, there's a creepy old local man who seems to have a penchant for rancid melons and an aversion to showering, but he's so close to caricature that he might as well be wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a scarlet-coloured fish on it. The real 'villain' of the piece is entirely obvious from the outset and the narrative journey to the revelation is a little too similar to other films to yield any surprises at all.

Curiously, there are various under-utilised ideas that, at the risk of sounding hypocritical, threaten to rear their clichéd little heads and then just seem to disappear into the ether. Our heroine, for example, gets into a mini spot of bother in the swamplands in a way that I would almost have gambled an entire year's salary would lead to the demise of someone else - but not so. Similarly, the idea that Megan's identical twin has died doesn't have the significance that I expected and there's a really dumb piece of 'dressing' at intervals to give one of the girls brown hair in case we're too stupid to work out which is which. There's inconsistency too. The supernatural ideas don't seem terribly cohesive. What can the 'ghoulies' actually do and why, therefore, don't they actually do it more often? There's something a little too convenient about it all and the eventual conclusion is no more shocking than your average Scooby Doo adventure. Even the idea that it's the solstice is rather under-utilised too and there's only a cursory sprinkling of supernatural lore here.

In fairness, it's worth bearing in mind that this isn't targeted at the hardcore horror fan and it's likely to strike a better chord with a more youthful audience. The teenaged cast members are bubbly and pretty and there's a definite 'safety' about it all that respects the 15 certificate. There's no sexuality, nudity, there isn't much swearing and the horror is restricted to fairly tame gore and some jumpy bits. Surprisingly, this doesn't mean that it's entirely without appeal either. The choppy, fairly brisk narrative just about holds your attention and there are some occasional creepy moments that work rather well. But it's still an enormous contrast to The Blair Witch Project and far more akin to the sequel, Book of Shadows.

Elisabeth Harnois (a reasonably well-worn face on US TV) is an uninspiring lead (she plays both Megan and Sophie for obvious reasons) but it's not completely her fault, thanks to the undemanding script. Friends Christian (Shawn Ashmore from X Men), Mark (Matt O'Leary) and Alicia (Hilarie Burton from One Tree Hill) are almost entirely forgettable and even Amanda Seyfried (usually quite feisty) struggles with the subject matter here. Tyler Hoechlin is really only there for eye candy, and it's hard to believe that this chiselled little strumpet has such a keen eye for the dark arts (he should, surely, have one eye and a limp?) Even R Lee Ermey struggles to be notably nasty - not something he usually struggles with - as the resident redneck Leonard.

So, all in, Solstice is an entirely unmemorable jaunt through TV horror heaven that will get played at more than a handful of slumber parties, and that's about it. Targeted at a very specific audience (that generally only spks in txt spk ROFL X) this is one best avoided for anyone with fully developed pubic hair.

Not recommended

Summary: Someone's sister dies and, oh, who cares....