REVEALER (REVIEW)
Dir. Luke Boyce
Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield
On one hand, the 80s gave us some of the genre's greatest movies, on the other, we are now in a time when nostalgia seems a little different to the films they are trying to emulate. With the likes of STRANGER THINGS becoming mainstream pop culture, the red/blue lighting, big perms and synths are now more of a trope of 2020's than 4 decades before.
REVEALER suffers the same rose tinted view of how 80's films are represented to the point that they share none of the resonance that era of film making had.
Stripper Angie is forced to defend herself with religious activist Sally when the apocalypse hits their small-town. Much like PONTYPOOL, this is much a character piece as it is a depiction of a worldwide catastrophe without showing much.
For all of REVEALER's intentions, it fails to capture anything about the great b-monster movies of the decade it so profoundly wants to be part of. The likes of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD aren't threatened by this practically PG rated end of the world. The concept of strippers, 80s and apocalypse conjure up a different viewing experience and one far from what is delivered here.
The idea sounds like it can't fail but unfortunately it's ambition is greater than it's execution as the film is extremely dialogue heavy and by focussing on the righteousness of strippers and the wrongs of the religious it becomes an extremely preachy narrative of judgement and actions. Yes theirs a demonic presence and some flashes of hell but they are so abstract to the script that they are never horrifying or particularly threatening. No fault can be given to it's leads as Caito Aase and Shaina Schrooten do the best with what their given and keep the film going, unfortunately it has very little else going for it and not in a so-bad-it's-good way, more dull and dissapointing.
REVEALER is neither bold nor brazen enough to give it an edge and ends up being more snoozy than groovy. If this is the end of the world, then there's very little to get excited about.
