Salvage

For about the first forty minutes or so, this wasn't a bad movie at all. Neve McIntosh plays the distraught mother convincingly and Shaun Dooley does a fine job as a one-night stand who winds up really regretting that impulse. Despite a few minor stumbles, the film develops an engrossingly claustrophobic atmosphere of terror and paranoia. Which then crumbles under the weight of its muddled storyline and pedestrian plotting. For example, one particularly annoying "twist" occurs when they have Dooley attacked and pulled out of sight by the (still-unseen) monster while he's trying to climb into the attic, only to pop back up outside a few minutes later with no visible injuries and only a slight limp to show for the encounter. I guess mutant hell-beasts are like bears: play dead and maybe they'll leave you alone. The director was certainly smart not to show us much of the creature -- because what you do see isn't particularly frightening. (In fact, it reminded me of nothing so much as one of the boogeymen in the old Laurel and Hardy film, "March of the Wooden Soldiers".) But that's forgivable, so long as you don't climax your story by having your fearsome super-fast, super-strong monster -- which in the last hour and ten minutes has offed several of her neighbors and made mincemeat out of some heavily-armed special forces dunderheads -- summarily dispatched by a fireplace poker! I get the "frantic mom protecting her cub" angle, but it has to make you wonder what all the fuss was about. Maybe they should have equipped those SAS guys with sticks with a nail in them instead of assault rifles. And I know people don't always act reasonably when they're under extreme stress, but a daughter who looks her mother square in the face while deliberately locking her outside -- when she knows a savage, murderous creature is lurking about -- then just turns and walks away, all on account of some abandonment issues? That's cold. It completely destroyed any sympathy I might have had for the selfish, spiteful little drama queen. This was a good try. I'd have no hesitation about checking out another film by this director. It's not so bad that I'd urge people to give it a miss entirely, but it's disappointing to see a movie which initially had so much going for it end up missing the mark so badly.

I watched this one at the Fright Fest in London and after the screening was over the director came "on stage" (it was a small screen, there wasn't actually a stage) and was apologizing for the small budget he had and some minor flaws in the movie. I don't think it was necessary to do that, but it made him even more sympathetic. Not having much money, but making a movie like that? Priceless (to quote a very popular ad)! The low budget is very apparent on screen (even a relatively small one), but what really works here, is the script and the actors. All that mixed together (with some fine editing) and you get one great little horror movie, that is similar to some other recent great efforts (i.e. Right at your door). I can only recommend this one strongly!

The easiest way to explain this movie is you know that film The Crazies? Yeah well it's that with a shipping container instead of a crashed plane. That's not a terrible thing though, I liked the original The Crazies but the remake was pretty poor and so is this. Lost your secret evil experiment? Bad luck! What you want to do is send in half the army to cordon the area off, extract the survivors and determine which of them is infected. What you don't want to do, as shown in this movie, is send five guys in with flashlights in the pitch dark so they can scamper around the set of Brookside aimlessly shooting at the four people who live there and getting killed. The action kicks off at about the 70 minute mark which is unfortunate as the film is 75 minutes long. There's a few good bits and the acting is quite good but there is very little actual story. The worst bit of the film is the explanation they give you for the container which is just outright ridiculous. The message you are supposed to get from it is "hey you think terrorists are bad just because they blew up a bunch of people and would like to see you enslaved? Well surprise - the government/you are the bad guys!" Yeah good one, really deep. Your film studies teacher gives you a gold star but I give you 5/10 and that's probably a bit generous. In short I wasn't that impressed even for a low budget effort.

SALVAGE is a solid, independent effort Definitely worth the view for horror/suspense fans. The film keeps the protagonists and the viewer guessing as to what is going on, which adds to the tension for all. I would have to disagree with other reviewers, who have called the film and/or acting low-budget. The production values and acting are well within Hollywood-type expectations. Though not the most original story, this film keeps you interested and entertained for its entire 70+ minute running time.

I have to disagree with some other reviewers about the low-budget look of this film. In my opinion, the budget was more than adequate for the story and I gave the film at least one additional star because they did so well on a small budget. I think it looks great. On the other hand, I had some issues with certain aspects of the finished film. One of the most frustrating is that the director, in an attempt to capture maximum realism, often permits the dialogue to drop to very low levels or has the actors speak the lines in a frenzied/excited state. I'm a Yank and, between the sound levels and the accents (to me), it can be difficult for me to hear and understand some of the best and most critical dialogue. Since the DVD version has no subtitles, I had to stop and replay scenes several times to appreciate what was being said. And replaying scenes two or three times is not a good way to get the feel of a movie. Every single plot element in this film has been seen before, too. But I don't think that this is necessarily fatal, since the same thing can be said about virtually every other horror film. Another problem I had with the film was the behavior and composition of the military force addressing the "problem." I've worked a lot with the military and with law enforcement and I am constantly amazed at how often screenwriters write in scenes in which soldiers or officers operate independently. You know...one soldier is sent here to check a house, a single detective is sent to arrest someone dangerous, and so forth. I can tell you with certainty that one thing the military and law enforcement do NOT do is send single people here and there, especially with nobody overlooking the situation or backing them up. Overwhelming force is the rule, especially when the operation is not intended to be covert, as is the case in this movie. (Oh, it IS intended to be covert? Well then, why are the soldiers going door to door giving instructions to the residents? And why are they engaging in free-fire with unsuppressed weapons in the middle of a town?) I also believe that the director showed the "creature" too often. In fact, this would have been a lot better film if they hadn't shown it at all. There still would have been lots of gore and action, but it would have maintained the mystery. So, what's the final verdict? Pretty good acting, good script (in general), not too long, lots of action, and a bit of mystery. I say it's worth your while.

I had heard about this film some time ago, and was quite excited to finally get a hold of it. Based on a single street, a woman has a falling out with her semi estranged Daughter. Not long after all hell breaks loose. While the film has a relatively low budget, the movie is quite well filmed. The downside is this is far from being an action flick, with little in the way of violence. So it really relies on dialogue to push the film along... This is where things fall apart. The two gripes I had with this film was inconsistent acting and not being able to hear them! I was constantly having to juggle the volume control, cranking the volume up for talking then having to quickly get it down before the speakers threatened to explode during loud scenes (which this movie loved using low end bass). Overall i give this a 5 and that is really stretching it.

I'm rather perplexed by the fact most of the reviews on here go on about the lack of budget, albeit in a positive way. Yes it's not exactly Avatar in terms of spending on effects etc but the cost isn't something that's terribly relevant with this movie. The limited setting - most of the action takes place in a cul de sac - adds to the claustrophobic feeling. And the gore when it comes has the claret flowing with gusto and looks pretty convincing. I did struggle a couple of times to understand the dialogue - a combination of muffled voices and regional accents - and although on one occasion this seemed to be a pretty key piece of information, in all it was fine. Definitely worth checking out and I shall be following the director's work with interest

"Salvage" is an adequate enough horror flick, but it's unmemorable and you promptly get the impression there are easily thirteen of derivative movies like this in a dozen. It can depend on a fair share of goodwill and enthusiasm from the entire cast and crew, but there undeniably are more flaws than trumps, including an incoherent and clichéd script as well as bland character drawings. The latter element really bothered me, in fact, because it makes the whole (already grotesque) script become completely implausible. In the very beginning of the film, a teenage girl talks about her mother like she's a careless and irresponsible tramp that has forsaken her poor and helpless little daughter. That image appears to be confirmed when we first see the mother, banging a random guy whose name she can't even remember, but then immediately after – and for the rest of the film – it turns out she's actually a very intelligent and courageous woman that risks her life multiple times in order to rescue her estranged daughter. What? That doesn't make any sense at all, and then I haven't mentioned the loud-mouthed chauvinist one-night-stand guy yet, who actually turns out to be a remorseful family man. But anyways, in the middle of their dispute, their street and pretty much the whole sleepy little coastal town, is brutally disturbed by heavily armed soldiers on a violent manhunt for something (or someone) terrifying. That same morning, a container washed ashore nearby and whatever creature or force that escaped from it is out on a bloody rampage. "Salvage" is quite similar to George A. Romero's classic "The Crazies", except that it has camouflaged soldiers instead of eerie men in white laboratory coats and a whole lot of redundant talking going on. There is a small handful of decent gore and blood-splattering moments to detect, but definitely not enough to satisfy the true gorehounds. Some of the footage is obviously meant to shock, but doesn't manage to do so (like the intro sequence, for example). There are most definitely worse ways to spend 80 minutes of your life, but I wouldn't immediately recommend "Salvage", neither. Always be wary of DVD-covers that shout out words like "instant cult classic" etc.

It's never easy working with a low budget, especially in the horror genre what we often end up with is dreck, poor actors, poor scripts, poor special effects. Fortunately with this Brit thriller, the director managed to avoid the usual pitfalls, the cast was small, but acting was great, the special effects were convincing, and used sparingly. The characters were convincing, and the mother who had to find her daughter at any costs was really well played. The suspense in the movie was the best aspect, the mother and her recent pick up really have a hard time of it in this small cul-de-sac near the beach. Just what was in that trailer washed up on the beach? Overall, I recommend this to all horror fans, another good thing about the movie is it actually keeps you guessing as to just what is going on for quite a while - good job!

I agree with who thinks this movie is very good done. The lack of money is pretty obvious in the poor locations and effects, but the acting of the two key players is great, though they are not well known. And the rhythm, after the first 15 minutes, get fast and claustrophobic. The atmosphere and the situation basically is deeply disturbing, just from the beginning, when it occurs a the transition in perspective of the film, through the change of character after the first few scenes (very good and original idea). From a certain moment, I kept jumping on the armchair every ten seconds for the scares I got. Even if I don't understand English at 100% (for ex. I didn't get the quick but vital explanation of the whole thing, given by the soldier, because he was talking too convulsively), nevertheless I enjoyed this movie very much.