Its tough to get all the elements of a low-budget horror to come together. Actors, directors and screenplay all have to align in a way that allows the movie to get away with not having a lot of cash to flash on distracting spectacle. 13 Hrs issue is that while none of these elements are too bad on their own, they dont come together in a wholly satisfying way.
The biggest problem is that the script seems to want to be relatively clever, slipping into allegory, commenting on class and dissecting the traditional horror flick. However with so little budget, much of this gets lost, partly because the director is too busy trying to find ways to get around the lack of cash to find ways to incorporate what the script wants to do. As a result, youre left with what feels like a very standard horror flick that is going through the motions. For example it seems a very deliberate decision to make much of the cast stock characters who get involved in about every horror cliché and engage in what seems to be deliberately stilted dialogue, but the slightly post-modern edge to this gets subsumed, so it just come across as very run-of-the-mill and rather dumb.
Technically this is a werewolf movie, although youd only know that because I told you (and it says so in the official press release), as you only catch very occasional glimpses of the films beast, and even then it looks nothing little like a werewolf. Again this seems to be almost as if its because the movie wants to say something about werewolves, but has so little cash it cant afford to.
Its a stormy full moon night and Sarah Tyler has returned from LA to visit her family in their sprawling country mansion. Her folks have more than a few problems, with the bills piling up, suspicions of affairs and the house itself falling to bits. Sarah and her brother head to the garage with some friends for a bit of a party. Later that night, they need new supplies and decide to raid the house. However some sort of creature is on the loose and has ripped Sarahs father to shreds. Cue much running, screaming, hiding and creature POV shots as its stalks the corridors and tries to kill everybody (which is effective, but a rather obvious result of having no effects budget to show the monster very much).
There are lots of hints that this could have been fairly interesting, but as mentioned, theyre lost while trying to get the basics done efficiently. Director Jonathan Glendening undoubtedly has an eye for this sort of thing, and considering hes cant have had much more than £2.50 to make the movie, deserves credit for getting 13 Hrs to work as well as it does. Its just that in trying make as much as possible out of the budget, there wasnt much room to do more than tick the boxes in an okay fashion.
It also limits the cast, as theres not a huge amount they can do with their stick characters other than running and screaming. When they are given something to do, particularly in the early stages where the film plays out more drama than horror, they do pretty well. Even lads mag favourite Gemma Atkinson acquits herself pretty well, and certainly has one of the best moments in the movie. However those hoping this may have been a chance for Tom Draco Malfoy Felton to shine will be disappointed, because just as in Harry Potter, here he gets to play a second fiddle role. Hes certainly not bad as the joker of the group, Garry, but he doesnt have a huge amount to do.
So is 13 Hrs worth watching? Well, yes and no. Its the sort of film thats not too bad to watch, but the longer it goes on, the more monster movies you start thinking of that are better than this. And just when youre ready to sit back and accept that its incredibly standard, cliché riddled stuff, itll do something to suggest that really its wants to be more, and theres something interesting hidden inside thats never able to escape. Theres a lot of talent here, but just not the combination of cast, script, director and budget to really make it much more than some gory fluff. Its certainly no Dog Soldiers (which came from the same producers), but then it doesnt have the money to be.
And on a slightly sad note, its worth mentioning the film also features one of the final performances by Simon MacCorkindale, who sadly passed away earlier this month, who puts in a short but creditable turn as the ill-fated father of the central family.
Overall Verdict: While its not a bad little monster flick, theres little doubt that with a bit more cash, the obvious talent of those involved could have resulted in a far more satisfying film.
Special Features:
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Reviewer: Tim Isaac