11-11-11 (2011)


REVIEWER RATING: 
5/10


After tackling a few Saw sequels, Repo! The Genetic Opera and the Mother's Day remake, writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman now attempts to make his mark in the religious horror sub-genre with 11-11-11, a film loosely based on the 11-11 phenomenon, which many believe to be linked to key events in history and others a sign of mystical powers or a supernatural presence. I wanted to like this film as it offers an interesting storyline and seemed to have potential in this sea of unoriginal genre projects, but it just failed to deliver in many aspects, and those familiar with similarly-themed efforts will find its climax to be incredibly predictable.

The story focuses on Joseph Crone, a writer who recently lost his wife and child after one of his crazed fans sets fire to his home. As if matters couldn't get any worse, Joseph gets into a car wreck, but despite his suicidal urges to end his own existence, somehow makes it out with barely a scratch. Immediately following the accident, he receives a call from Spain about his dying father, compelling the writer to make a trip out there in hopes of seeing the man before his passing.

It's not long after stepping foot in the country that he learns of his family's strange religious ideals and begins seeing demonic-looking hooded beings around the family home. He also notices a common occurrence of 11-11 wherever he goes, which causes him to become obsessed with the numbers and suspects they may be key to a potential supernatural disaster that only he and his brother can prevent.

As I said above, the film's premise seemed to offer some potential, but the execution was just too painfully dull and became more uninteresting and predictable as time went on. For one, it offers zero in the scares department, although it did deliver a couple somewhat creepy scenes involving the hooded beings. Sadly, not much is done with these sinister looking creatures, as they're mostly just shown looming in the background and nothing else. They didn't really pose a threat until towards the very end, but by then it just seemed entirely too late.

Being a PG-13 outing, we're not given much in violence or gore, which is fine since it leaves us to primarily focus on the story, but that's where it fails. This is essentially just one long build up to something we expect to be immense and surprising, but when the time FINALLY comes, it's incredibly predictable and underwhelming, and when the credits roll you'll likely feel cheated out on what could've been an explosive ending to a good movie. Instead, it's merely a conventional end to a mediocre movie.

This is a film that relies less on gore or scares and more on a slow build-up of its story to a dark and hopefully surprising climax. Unfortunately, it's a long dull road getting there and its ending is every bit as predictable and clichéd as you'd expect it to be from a movie of this particular theme. Worth a look if you're into religious horror fairs, but I'd skip it otherwise.
OVERALL: 
This is a film that relies less on gore or scares and more on a slow build-up of its story to a dark and hopefully surprising climax. Unfortunately, it's a long dull road getting there and its ending is every bit as predictable and clichéd as you'd expect it to be from a movie of this particular theme. Worth a look if you're into religious horror fairs, but I'd skip it otherwise.


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