Room 205 (DVD)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Mira Wanting, Jon Lange, Juile Ølgaard, Neel Rønholt, Mikkel Arendt
Directed by Martin Barnewitz
Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment
College can be one of the most stressful parts of a young person’s life. You’re away from your friends and family, you’re surrounded by strangers, and then there’s also the added stress of needing to get passing grades or else your ass will be kicked out onto the street to make room for someone else who can excel. That’s friggin’ nerve racking, man! Now imagine if you will adding a vengeful bloodthirsty spectre into the mix, and there you have Room 205 in a nutshell.
Katrine (Rønholt) and Rolfe (Arendt) are two outsiders who have been put through the ringer by the cool kids on campus. As a result they’ve found each other, and love begins to bloom. One night a prank goes horribly awry and the very restless ghost of a young woman ends up being released from the mirror it was confined in. A mirror that hangs in — where else? — Room 205. When she was alive, this poor girl was raped and killed while being forced to look at her own reflection. She got to see every ounce of violation and pain on her face before she faded. It’s no wonder that she’s pissed. Once free, our spirit goes on a rampage, killing at will. How would you know if you were next in line for a dirt nap? If you see yourself bleeding in any mirror at all, it’s a safe bet that she’s coming to get you stat. Upon the realization of these violent events, Katrine and Rolfe figure out how to harness this spook right back into old Reflection Land, but can they get her there before it’s too late?
I have to be honest. I came within a hair of hitting the fast forward button during the first act as it’s a really slow moving part of the film. I’m all for character development, but things were getting excessively dull. Then the first other-worldly event took place and things started moving. By the time we got to the third act, they were flying. If you can make it through the painfully paced beginning, this Danish flick ends up kicking a good bit of ass by the time all is said and done. Me? I prefer my ghost stories mean and malevolent. I hate the old unrequited love/lost soul thing. I want horror in my horror, and Room 205 is home to a nice bit of it. Though it doesn’t exactly break any new supernatural ground, it does have a wicked looking big bad and the blood flows freely. Considering most of the ghostly films that came out this year have been on the insipid side, I’m OK with just that.
In terms of special features we don’t get much. Things kick off with a feature commentary with director Martin Barnewitz and Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique. This was a good listen and easily made things move along a little faster during those nagging dull moments. From there we have a short behind-the-scenes featurette that is exactly what you would expect, and a trailer is tacked on for good measure.
Do yourself a favor … even if you’re not a fan of having to read subtitles, in this case just deal with it. The English dubbed track is pretty awful when it comes to acting even by dubbing standards. That being said, Room 205 may be a little too familiar a visit for some people’s taste, but I found myself right at home. Dig it if you’re looking for a quick things that go bump in the international night fix!
Special Features
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“>3 1/2 out of 5
Special Features:
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2 1/2 out 5
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