I made the grave error of renting Playback last week as a “see it before it’s in theaters” movie from On Demand. I think it hit select theaters this past weekend. I’ll be surprised if it lasts until next weekend. I thought it was deplorable.
The description on IMDB is totally misleading.
A cop investigates the case of a missing local teen, though he discovers a dark secret that has been unleashed in his town, and an evil spirit that will stop at nothing to find its heir.
Well, not totally. I guess it’s better than the description I got suckered in by on On Demand, which claimed Playback was about a group of teenagers making a movie based on a local murder that unleashes an evil spirit.
Both descriptions had the evil spirit part right. To some extent there was a cop was searching for a missing teen, and the teenagers were making a movie based on a local murder.
What I really got suckered in by was the fact Christian Slater was in it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him in anything and I always like him.
Well, not always. He’s had a couple of stinker movies and sadly this one will be added to them.What’s worse. His character was so creepy and disturbing I felt like I needed a shower after certain scenes.
Not even halfway through I was really wishing I could demand a refund from On Demand. What a boring and disjointed movie. Although, maybe I’d already have suspected that if I’d seen the trailer.
I fell asleep twice trying to watch the movie. I ended up fast forwarding through most of it the next morning just to see if it ever picked up or got better. It never did. How many driving scenes can you have? My God, they were always showing shots of someone driving somewhere. Who cares? Just get them from one place to another and be done with the road footage.
Then there was the whole Devil comes to life by stealing souls through moving pictures thing. Sort of reminiscent of The Ring. There was also a zombie aspect when one of the kids was taken control of by the evil spirit and forced to do its bidding. (A girl who was supposed to try and seduce Slater’s character into revealing where some footage was at. That was the scene I really felt like I needed a shower after watching.) None of it was appealing or original.
Playback was a waste of $9.99. I highly recommend not wasting your time on it.
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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