Toronto. Stuck.

"I generally like [Stuart] Gordon, but if someone had told me that Gordon's new film, arriving with no expectations, would better the new films by Romero, Kitano or Argento, I probably wouldn't have believed you," writes Steve at the Film Experience. Stuck "[b]uilds more momentum and gets more amazing the further down it follows its diseased muse until the brutal showdown finale, where it transcends onto some generally unexplored plain of tough-minded B-movie nirvana. If I haven't made it clear enough yet: This movie is freakin' awesome."

Updated through 10/4.

"Now we're talkin'," announces Scott Tobias. "I've seen better movies at this festival - very few of them, however - but none have left me feeling as exhilarated as Gordon's savagely funny black comedy, which traffics in B-movie grime without a whiff of Grindhouse-style self-consciousness."

Also at the AV Club, "It's tempting to overrate this clever, funny little suspenser, because it's so nonchalant and witty about its gimmicky premise," cautions Noel Murray. "But it's pretty good regardless."

"More of a twisted thriller than an out-and-out horror movie, Stuck is still more than generous with the thrills, chills, and gooey gore-spills," writes Scott Weinberg at Cinematical. "Plus it has a sly and simple streak of social commentary, which adds a satisfying dash of subtext to a brutally bizarre story."

"[I]t's not surprise that where Stuck goes wrong is with John Strysik's mangled screenplay, ranging in quality from stock dialog to inspired moments of dark comedy," writes Michael Lerman at indieWIRE. "[T]he film isn't funny enough to hold up from a satiric angle - leaving it floating in some dramatic purgatory."

Earlier: David D'Arcy.

Update, 10/4: "Inspired by a real-life incident so bizarre it's already been referenced in a Law & Order episode, Stuck is ingeniously nasty and often shockingly funny as it incrementally worsens a very bad situation, then provides a potent payoff with the forced feeding of just desserts," writes Joe Leydon for Variety. "This darkly comical farce could command an enthusiastic cult during carefully calibrated theatrical rollout, especially if it generates want-to-see buzz in key regions of the blogosphere."

Posted by dwhudson at October 2, 2007 8:12 AM