Jauntily-dressed Det. Zane has a heinous murder crime to solve, so where better to conduct the entire investigation than in the stark hospital room of the soon-to-be-doctor and lone survivor of the spree? Sienna — only one name, she's like the "Cher" of med school — recounts the tale from her adjustable bed in a series of handy flashbacks. (About an hour into the movie, after an extremely detailed retelling of the events, she gasps something along the lines of, "Sorry, but that's all I can remember." Yeah. Take that, Dave Farrow!)
Beautiful blonde Sienna (Allison Lange) and her classmates and their girlfriends, et ce, have all decided to take a vacation and stay at a remote lakeside castle. In spite of the undoubtedly demanding schedule of indoor study and interning 'round the clock, we see they're all tanned and muscled to perfection as they lounge by the lake in their bathing suits. Everything's going swimmingly until a killer — the towering, glowering Tatum (Carlos Lauchu) — shows up in evil black garb and starts snatching the student body. They wind up in a mysterious hospital, bound and gagged then opened for the business of organ harvesting. And perhaps something even more sinister…
The movie cuts back and forth between Det. Zane (Jason London) in Sienna's hospital room and chunks of Sienna's recently-passed time of terror as she watches her friends die, one-by-one, at the hands of Tatum, Dr. Hopkins (Andrew Prine), and Hopkins' sadistic staff. Brutal amputations, forced breast implant removal, and the unanesthetized stealing of various entrails ensues in gushes of black, gooey gore, "Oh, no!" slo-mo reaction shots, and dramatic musical stings.
Sutures, directed by Tammi Sutton (who's better-known for her acting in the horror genre), showed promise at the beginning. I was laughing along with the friends' banter and liking the dynamics between the main cast — Lange is sympathetic and strong at the same time; BJ Britt is funny and likable; Azie Tesfai and Kate French are sexy sidekicks; and C.J. Thomason, who was excellent as a regular on the TV series Harper's Island, is well-cast here. Both villains, veteran Prine (he's been starring in horror movies since the 60s) and lesser-known Lauchu (he was born in the 60s), are memorable, but… clearly they were thinking they were acting in very different kinds of movies. While Prine hams it up, Lauchu is going for broke.
Aside from the all-too-common overuse of slo-mo and editing effects, and a few silly lines, my main problem with Sutures is its indecisive tone. The situations are too extreme and over-the-top to not be taken humorously, but the movie isn't meant to be a comedy at all. The talky, explain-it-all spoonfed ending is a real eye-roller, too. (And don't even get me started on the end-credits song.)
Still, this indie isn't altogether bad. I've seen much worse. There is some good acting, decent cinematography, excellent gore and makeup effects, and any Prine sighting is welcome… so, I guess I'm saying Sutures is like elective surgery: proceed at your own risk.
= = =
Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
[Screened at Shriekfest L.A.]
