Review: Open Graves. By Brian Kirst
After being gifted an antique game called Mamba by a legless proprietor, surfer-student Jason soon finds his friends are being mysteriously murdered. And while the mysteries about Open Graves are minimal ‘ this standard, SyFy/direct to DVD tale does feature a few interesting scenarios (a game that repeatedly kills, damply gorgeous Spanish scenery, death by crawling sea food and a fairly prominent genre cast including Buffy/Wrong Turn’s Eliza Dushku and Poseidon/Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Mike Vogel).
Granted, the CGI in this ‘nothing else to do today’ time waster is obvious and Dushku seems a bit out of place in the film’s gray surroundings, but Vogel is actually pretty impressive here. As Jason, he’s got kinetic star wattage going on while also realistically coming across as an ordinary guy in desperate circumstances. His is a compelling performance in a slightly stale film ‘ an impressive accomplishment, in and of itself.
Where is the rest of the review? Lol. -Mike