IHAO on ... Resolution

Tension is a very powerful tool in film.  You create tension through music, cinematography, editing, and strong acting.  And it is not an easy to accomplish.  Even great films do not build and build tension throughout the film.  It isn't a requirement for greatness, but some films thrive on their tension.  The Hurt Locker, for example, is the most tense film I've ever seen.  It just builds and builds and builds as we see the life of Jeremy Renner's character.  The Conjuring and Oculus are horror movies that built tension amazingly well to boot.

I say all that because Resolution is EXCELLENT at tension building.  Extremely good.  It had me very very worried and eventually looking half at the movie as I watched, as it got too tense.  It just got thicker and thicker as the characters waded into the climax.  The finish of the film was underwhelming, but the tension ...

Ok, plot time.  Michael is a good friend to a terrible dude, Chris.  Chris is a meth addict who has ruined his life with his addiction.  Michael comes to give Chris one last chance ... by force.  He handcuffs Chris to the wall of the house he is squatting in and stays with him as he detoxes for a week.  But strange pieces of media start showing up, showing imminent death.  And meth heads, missing scientists, and Native American thugs round out the story.

The tension is the best part of the film.  Vinny Curran's Chris is the second best thing.  He has to play a meth addict slowly sobering, and stay likable the entire time, and he does an excellent job.  The rest of the film is ... fine.  It sort of strives for something great and just kind of flounders.  It is shot as a found footage film, but it is not treated as one.  There is no camera man per-say.  I don't wish to spoil things, so I will say that this film's largest problem is that it fails in having any real horror or scares.  It is very clever, with some clever bits, but its script is just too simple, and its filming even simpler, to make the actual idea work.  I wish a higher quality, larger budget version could be made, much like Oculus.  It is a perfectly fine film, but it doesn't reach for the points it strives for.

Grade: C