Rodrigo Cortés

  • Down a Dark Hall (2018)

    Down a Dark Hall (2018)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2020) It’s probably a good thing for Down a Dark Hall that I can say that I’ve had my fill of mysterious-boarding-school-for-rebellious-young-women stories after shrugging off Paradise Hills a few weeks ago. This way, we don’t have to confront this film’s shortcomings—we can just blame it on conceptual overdose and move on.  (…) OK, no, I can’t leave it like that. It’s not that Down a Dark Hall is actively bad—director Rodrigo Cortés is a professional, and he has all of the budget and technical support required to make the film a visually competent production. It’s in the story that fails to impress—a low-octane blend of mystery ending on something a bit dumb and predictable. It’s all darker and spookier than actively horrifying, but it does strike me that the audience for this film is probably teenage girls looking for thrills more than scares, and that’s fine. For everyone else, though, this is more of the same even when it’s trying to be different. There’s also a world of difference in how the film’s target audience is liable to perceive the heroine (ooh, she’s a rebel) compared to everyone else (eh, she’s not really likable). While it’s fun to see Uma Thurman play matriarch, the lead actress is bland and the rest of the film struggles to fill in the gaps left in its gothic atmosphere. At least Down a Dark Hall can be (barely) recommended for anyone willing to dip into the kiddy end of the horror pool.

  • Buried (2010)

    Buried (2010)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In theaters, October 2010) Anyone who admires a bit of cinematographic audacity should flock to see Buried, a minor tour-de-force in thriller moviemaking.  It has one rule, and it’s daring: The entire film features one character, stuck in a coffin.  There are a few refinements, including a high-tech smartphone, but that’s essentially it.  Not cutaways to outside shots, no flashbacks, no fantasy sequences.  At most, there are a few bright lights and cuts to the phone to show some video.  As a device, it’s remarkably effective at leashing us alongside the character as he attempts to understand what’s happening to him, and contact the outside world to help him get out of there.  Claustrophobic to the extreme, Buried has the luxury to fully explore its options, milk its premise for all it’s worth and create a deep sense of unease for its audience.  As the quasi-sole actor in the film, Ryan Reynolds is up to the mesmerizing nature of the premise, and easily holds the audience’s interest throughout the experience.  The film is more interesting for longer than anyone would expect, in no small part due to Chris Sparling’s clever script and Rodrigo Cortés’s inventive direction.  Low-budget but high-impact, Buried may falter a bit during an obvious and disappointing climax, but otherwise escapes judgement to become a pure cinema experience.