Backtrack

An Australian psychological thriller that harbors a potentially powerful narrative, The Rite and The Book Thief writer turned director Michael Petroni's film fails to capitalise on his stories potential as Backtrack squanders a capable cast in amongst some dire execution, tired storytelling tropes and an overall feel of mundanity that ruins any chance Backtrack had of finding an audience or fans. Hiring Oscar winner and one time blockbuster participant Adrien Brody and acquiring the services of the refreshed Sam Neill may've seemed like a nice stepping stone for Backtrack's audience acquisitions but not even the two seasoned performers can save this stinker from wallowing in its own self-made problems of ineptitude. The career of Adrien Brody needs particular attention paid to it after his largely lifeless and badly Australian accented turn as psychologist with a past and ghostly visions Peter Bower sees the star of King Kong and The Pianist continue on a career bender to the edges of obscurity that not even the shores of Australia can save. Since Brody's win at the Academy Awards way back in 2003, the actor has put his name to such projects as Giallo, High School, Third Person, Dragon Blade and American Heist and his presence in Backtrack ads absolutely zilch to proceedings as Petroni's film starts off uninvitingly and continues on its merry way with neither the scares, chills or emotional heft to make the mystery of Bower's past and his ghostly friends worthwhile and Petroni struggles to culminate proceedings in a satisfactory manner as things take a turn for the downright ludicrous as Bower's father William and Robin McLeavy's kindly police officer Barbara Henning become involved in the various uninteresting twists and turns. There's a decent film somewhere at the core of Backtrack but this is a highly lacklustre Australian offering that will be neither well received on home soil or abroad and in a local industry that is already facing an uphill battle to maintain a loyal local following, films like this certainly help the cause very little. 1 plastic poncho out of 5

"Pete … I'm here to help you. I really appreciate it. At least you're still alive to help me." Adrien Brody failed in maintaining his level of acting after getting an Oscar for his brilliant part in "The Pianist". His contribution to "King Kong" and "Splice" still was acceptable. But his participation in the (in my opinion) very lousy movie "American Heist" was definitely a low point in his career. Was this promising actor on his way to build some sort Willis-Cage reputation? It looks like it. Especially after I've seen "Backtrack". This psychological thriller isn't a bad movie and cinematically it also looks pretty decent. But you can't really call it impressive. Similar movies have been made frequently. It doesn't take long to make a comparison with "The sixth sense" (a film from the heyday of Bruce Willis). The facial expression Brody used in "American Heist" was partially preserved. So expect a tormented look throughout the whole movie, while the cabinet of this psychologically cracked and grief-stricken psychologist gets visits from some strange patients. You can hardly call this horror. There's practically not a single scary moment. The atmosphere is quite creepy and there are a few attempts to provide a jump scare, but in the end most of them are rather disappointing. It isn't original by any means and the subject has been widely used in other films already. As in "The Babadook" the main focus is a grieving process and the psychological impact it has on a person's psyche. The biggest problem is cataloging this movie in one particular genre. Is it a psychological thriller? Or a typical ghost story? Or can you label it as an old-fashioned murder mystery? You can expect some skeletons being found in the closet. Both literally and figuratively. "Backtrack" isn't exactly a film that will leave a great impression. It isn't exactly bad either. And this because of the convincing acting of Brody. It's not high quality cinema, but it's appropriate to entertain yourself during a rainy Sunday. Even though the plot is a tad too predictable. Unfortunately it's also one of those many films you can't remember anything from the other day. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

One cannot be mistaken when casting Adrien Brody, he delivers one hundred percent regardless of the movie's genre or budget restriction. One of the better parts of "Backtrack" is his believable struggle to overcome his past. It also manifests a few intense scary moments from its fantastically eerie atmosphere, although it has lesser amount of horror finesse when it finishes than when it starts. Peter (Adrien Bordy) is a psychologist who is either being haunted or having a mental breakdown, he's seeing people who isn't there and constantly harassed by them. Hoping to attain some manner of peace he travels back to his past. Adrien Brody is a master of the art, he can convey the dread of the character, be it from body language or actual pleading word. For the movie to work, audience must be inclined to invest on his ordeal, and it surely succeeds in that. There's a hefty amount of seclusion as the movie follows Peter in his lonely endeavor. The rest of the cast play their parts commendably, Sam Neill and Robin McLeavy help in setting the tone as characters Peter encounters. They add to the mystery aspect on early and latter parts, respectively. The set-up is one of the more alluring horror starts in recent days. Its perpetual raining and view of trains leaving the station are astoundingly good. However, the opening vistas fare better in graphic department than the rest. It also tends to falter around the last act since it might not be as equally captivating as the opening act. Few of the horror apparitions work better on the expectation of entity rather than the showing itself. The mix between horror and mystery is a nice invite, it may hit a few bumps on latter half, yet the precise acting from the lead and cool atmosphere are worth the trip.

BACKTRACK (2015) Mystery, thriller, drama. The whole package A simple plot when you look back at it, But the exquisite story telling that keeps you at the edge of your seat for the whole run time is what really makes it a masterpiece. Also an amazing achievement in giving an atmospheric mood. The tune is creepy but entertaining at the same time. Gotta give credit to adrien brody for an outstanding performance. Alongside with the whole stellar cast. Just wow !! You can't ask for more. Buckle up and enjoy the journey, it's worth it.

I was fortunate enough to catch Backtrack in Toronto at After Dark. I was so glad I did because its actually one of the most exciting films of its kind that I have seen in the last few years. Adrien Brody's psychologist Peter Bower has his world shattered when he realizes that his patients are not actually alive and are in fact ghosts. These ghosts cause Peter to uncover a terrifying secret from his past, all the while he must deal with the loss of his daughter. I enjoyed going into this film blind, maybe check out the trailer but avoid spoilers at all costs! Backtrack works best when its mystery slowly unwinds on screen and you find yourself alongside this psychologist as he attempts to uncover the truth. The film comes to a really satisfying conclusion to all its madness too, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind for the last month or so. The performances are absolutely great and really sell the mystery. Adrien Brody is haunting on screen, Sam Neill is a welcome presence and fans of Mad Max will enjoy seeing Bruce Spence show up too. Big winding mysteries usually live and die based on how good their casts are at selling it and these guys do an amazing job. I can't wait to see this one again when its in regular release. Give it a go! With such an intriguing storyline you really can't go wrong.

After losing his daughter hit by a truck, the troubled psychologist Peter Bower (Adrien Brody) moves to Sidney with his wife Carol (Jenni Baird) and his colleague and friend Dr. Duncan Stewart (Sam Neill) gets strange patients for him. When Dr. Bower discovers a secret about Dr. Stewart and his patients, he travels alone to his hometown False Creek to the house of his estranged father William Bower (George Shevtsov). Haunted by his past, Peter digs his recollections and uncovers a hideous secret from his past. "Backtrack" is an above average ghost story, with a good screenplay. The cast has great performance and the plot is intriguing, entwining family drama with horror and the conclusion is well resolved. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Visões do Passado" ("Visions from the Past")

OK...before i start on the review itself, i just want to say that i am giving this movie a 7/10 rating. So far this movie has a rating of 5.9 which is a little low in my opinion. The movie itself was very professionally done and the Cgi in the movie...about a minute in all was fairly well done. I went in to the movie hoping Adrien Brody just didn't needed a paycheck...and was very happy he didn't. Don't want to give the spoiler for the movie...just like the other reviewers said. Please give this movie a chance if you are a fan of either horror, mystery or thriller movies. I think you'll be fairly pleased with the movie overall, as there are elements of all three genres in this movie. Hahaha...still thinking about this movie and just wanted to say that its classified under horror. I am a big fan of a good horror movie also..especially...a good jump scare...hehehe. THis movie although short..as you're watching it you will be thinking..OK..i know where this is going...the try for a jump scare is coming right now. This actually keeps happening for a while until you forget about it...because what you think might be a jump scare which you brace for never materializes....UNTIL...BOOMMM!!!. Hahaha...I swear i almost jumped out of my skin. For the reviewer who said it was a good movie with a god-awful ending..how would one close the movie???? There was only 2 ways out of the ending...and...the latter would have been to gloomy indeed, and would have made viewers very uneasy indeed. All in all a very worthwhile watch in my opinion for any fans of a good movie...and how long has it been since Brody made a movie?

"Backtrack" is well executed. The acting and cinematography are competent and professional. Special effects are more than adequate. It economically manages to convey a sense of desolation, solitude and creepiness. Horror films generally adhere to a simple basic formula. A sinful act unleashes a supernatural power that wreaks vengeance on the guilty, but spares the innocent and those who repent. Occasionally films like "The Sixth Sense" and "Ghost Town" effectively embellish the basic formula in novel, interesting and dramatically gratifying ways. "Backtrack" deviates from the basic horror conventions, but does not provide anything superior and is inconsistent. Arguably innocent people are caused to suffer. The supernatural forces torment the protagonist who is not the sole or even the most guilty party. They seem to want his help or he wants their help, but they seem equally capable of interacting with the most guilty party without him. It's not clear whether they need the protagonist's help or they want to involve him in order to help him expiate his guilt. The supernatural forces do not have a consistent understanding of their status. The supernatural forces do not behave randomly, but even though they operate in concert, it's not clear that they understand their purpose or the master plan. Their motives for particular actions aren't always clear. They don't always seem to be on the same page. Some of the early scenes are ambiguous. It's not clear whether the protagonist is alive, dead, dreaming, deluded, hallucinating or what. We have dreary, foreboding scenes of abandoned buildings and streets and empty trains. Everybody who visits the protagonist seems unusual. He never interacts with anybody who seems entirely normal. Then suddenly, his world is populated, but the reason for the transition is unclear. The movie would have been stronger with a clearer concept of who and what the supernatural elements were, why they did what they did and what they know or believe about the events in question. If they need the protagonist's assistance to discover who was the guiltiest, that could have been clearer. If they have several suspects, why torment only the protagonist? One of the supernatural entities knows the whole story. Why they don't go after the guiltiest party directly is unclear, except that a negligent act gave him some special insights, but that resulted in the death of an innocent, so the story is less satisfying.

It was slow to start and had me wondering, do i carry on? Maybe i am impatient or was it my mood that day? Then the mystery starts to unfold and you think you know, but you do not ha! The mystery almost holds it self to the very end. I'm from old school where the Exorcist still remains my top scary film. Freddy Kruger and Jason ...... Well them films are for kids, cos they have no imagination and have to live with special effects. This film is about ones conscience even though he is not aware of for some time. A past that got locked out but comes back when his daughter is involved in a car crash I gave it a 7 because it was good film

When Adrien Brody stars, you know it will be good - you just are not sure HOW good. This movie is REALLY good and a better actor could not have been chosen to play this tortured soul struggling to hold onto his grasp on reality. To not lose his mind, he knows he must delve into his past where 'some memories are so unacceptable, we do whatever we can to keep them buried'- it has every element you want in a thriller. It is utterly haunting, moody, unpredictable, creepy, and emotional. Did I leave anything out? It is a cerebral thriller - not quick-paced - just enough to keep building suspense. And make no mistake - just when you think you have it figured out - you will be wrong.