Silent Retreat (2015)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Donny Boaz, Rebecca Pitkin, Danilo Di Julio
Directed by Ace Jordan
Those good old company get-togethers… they attempt to serve so much of a purpose: to gather fellow (or non-fellow) workers under one roof in the hopes of creating a tight workplace bond, with the deep desire of keeping their minions happy, and overall expecting the bitching to be kept to a minimum when the workload is eventually ratcheted up. Any kind of outing will do, be it a quiet retreat, possibly a picnic if they’re lucky – but what happens when among the tightly spaced employees sits a brutal killer, simply waiting to strike?
Director Ace Jordan delivers Silent Retreat to the masses, a very nice (albeit slow at times) look at a collection of laborers who might not make it out of this particular soiree all in the name of employee appreciation. In this case, we follow six media members who attend a secluded lodge in the woods (sounds like trouble already) for a little integration with one another, and at the risk of blowing up what is really a fun little production, I’ll keep the inner workings of this one to myself.
However, rest assured, after a seemingly mile-long jaunt into character development hell, the remainder of the film progresses quite nicely. Now we all know that it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t cling on to the back of the negative like a parasite, and for the most part, this film has a few. Slower than slow progression into the personalities of the workers, the REAL reason why this secluded retreat is now so secluded, and a few acting blunders are all par for the course.
You’d think with the aforementioned laundry list of faux pas that this flick would be doomed from the get-go… no, no, no! All together, once the rough edges were buffed out, Jordan puts out a fairly fun watch that blends equal parts of dark humor, chilling moments, and nice sprays of gore from time to time, all adding up to a neat twist towards the end of the film, so you’ve got a moderately decent watch if this one happens to make it your way.
Recommended, but please… if there ever is a sign-up sheet at your job for an employee retreat, do a little research into where you’ll be spending your time, as it can only be a self-preserving boon to your health.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
