Rent Reaper (2014)

Reaper 2014 - Reaper review by NP

A skimpily dressed blond hitching a lift alone, a group of gangsters headed by hard-man Vinnie Jones and the insane survivor of an electric chair execution. What could possibly go wrong?

This pleasingly intriguing set-up keeps us guessing. At first we fear for the safety of young Natalie (Shayla Beesley) as she climbs into cars with strangers; then we feel sorry for those behind the wheel as she turns out to be something of a highway robber; then we realise she is robbing these people to get money for an operation for her deathly ill mother.

Coincidences run strongly here. Two of those she has robbed happen to be in league, not only with each other but also with Jones’ hard-as-nails gangster Rob. Of all the characters, possibly the most likeable is Danny Trejo’s Jack. When a drug-dealer is comparatively sympathetic, it shows how refreshingly flawed the rest of the ensemble is.

Sadly, the second half of the film suffers from disappointingly executed (no pun intended) deaths and a plot tied up too hastily. Also, The Reaper just isn’t very frightening. The ever-present sparks that announce his presence merely serve to obscure him and his evil-doings. He appears to have assumed the role of an avenging angel, and the sole proprietor of the hotel (who is too much of a seedy caricature to take seriously) where it all happens, is in league with him.