Part of what makes us indulge in horror movies is to see death presented to us in a different manner, through a story that compels us. NEEDLE had a wonderful premise with a wonderful little mystery that screenwriters Anthony Egan and John V. Soto (who also directed) could not bring to light.And that really bothers the heck out of me.If the pair had really invested in a riveting narrative, this could have comprised the mystery element of the United States based version of THE RING with Clive Barkers HELLRAISER for one potent and unforgettable horror. Instead, after coming up with a wild idea, Egan and Soto clearly didn't know what to do with it. Instead, it became hack-and-slice cinema that offered little stimulation to the senses. By movie's end, the tale had become so old and lame, the climax was abysmal and unsatisfactory. In fact, it cheats the audience and sets up a sequel, though I doubt they'll ever have the chance – unless an intelligent producer with deep pockets comes along and shows them how to do it the right way.At first, when the lame commercial-hard rock commenced as Ben (Michael Dorman) ran across a college campus, I thought this was going to be typical teen fair. Then the premise was revealed and intrigue set in – only to collapse into typical teen fair. Worst still, Travis Fimmel, who played Ben's older brother, came off as being creepy in one scene, and a determined guy out to solve the mystery in another. Now, this did not leave the audience with an enigmatic character (such as Stellan Skarsgård in INSOMNIA or Ji-tae Yu in NATURAL CITY) but a confusing one. However, seeing how the story imploded into mediocrity, I have little doubt the director had told me to act in this manner. Think of George Lucas directing kids (unless they're stuffed into ewok costumes) and you'll get the idea.Revenge horrors have become a "give me a break" kind of subgenre, that is a simple and clichéd plot device for writers and directors to use as an excuse to slaughter. NEEDLE reminds us filmmakers need to deliver so much more. And this movie is only worth watching to see how a couple of writers came up with a great idea and didn't know how to make it work.

Needle is written well both story and characters. This film has a 1990's vibe so if you're fan of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween H2O,etc etc then this worth checking out. The murder weapon -the voodoo- is well thought of since using a gun or knife has been used countless times so well done to the writers Anthony Egan and John V Soto. Filmscope have casted well with rising stars Michael Dorman and Travis as brothers ( Ben & Marcus) Luke Carroll (Nelson), Nathaniel Buzolic (Ryan), Khan Chittenden (Jed), Trilby Glover (Isobel) and Jessica Marais (Kandi) have been perfectly casted as his college friends. Veteran actors Ben Mendelsohn and Malcolm Kennard have small parts playing Detectives Meares and Reddick and good to John Jarratt as quirky Paul the coroner makes a welcome change from his Wolfcreek character.

My advice can only be please read as many reviews as possible before deciding to watch this movie. I had just recently rented 'The Resident' (Hilary Swank) but returned it without watching it on the basis of a few IMDb negative reviews. I then rented the Needle on the basis of a series of positive reviews (IMDB). This was a mistake. In my opinion at least, the film appeared to go to lengths to give the impression it was a quality production, whilst there were just too many flaws to bear this out / sustain interest. The acting seemed a little wooden, the actors themselves appearing a little inhibited / self conscious...conscious that they were indeed acting, the scenes having a kind of 'reality show' feel about them. As mentioned earlier, the array of accents was confusing. I watched it for about 15 minutes. Seemingly out of context, an isolated 'f' word made it's debut. It really seemed incongruous, as though its use was requested to substantiate the young, student centred horror genre the film was appealing to. (watched 'Devil' recently - apart from how one may judge the film, so refreshing to get away from this word, even temporarily).In any case, there seemed to be no sense of build up of suspense or expectation. The scenes didn't seem to build on one another through a common thread of direction or focus - seemed a little like a concoction of events (student defiance of teachers - ie in lecture hall, parties / relationships,etc) were thrown in to convince us that these were indeed compulsory elements of any teen based horror movie. However, these, as again mentioned earlier, seemed only to detract from any developing theme.After a while, I could say, well this has happened, and that just happened and that guy just suffered a horrible death etc etc ...so why aren't I interested in what's coming up next? Perhaps I could have given the movie more time, but the movie just wasn't working, for me at least.

Basically this is a slasher movie. The one thing that stands out is the method used by the killer. Not going to say it but the title word is pretty explanatory (For one moment you will get this Hellraiser vibe when the method is used,which was even more promising,but it is far from it). Prepare yourself for some gory death scenes. There are elements however that prevent from "Needle" becoming a classic. First the acting by some of the cast. Travis Fimmel really seems to be going to much overboard with his laid back attitude.It is downright annoying. The main character however is even worse. He goes from sensible to a complete idiot in no time.Supposedly he was to express like he was in shock or something.But then observing the other actors it came across that not everyone took the plot very seriously. And while I understand the absurdity of the content. For a horror movie like this to work at least the actors should not act like it is one big comedy. The sense of dread should be there and it wasn't. The slow pace also isn't helping much. There were too many scenes that had no purpose other than filler scenes.Resulting in a less thrilling affair.But if you can overlook and accept the flaws in plot you will be able to enjoy it.