Subject Two

Mats Sundin returned from his hockey hiatus to join the Vancouver Canucks, with his first game occurring in Edmonton, on Wednesday night. For folks like me who follow hockey, this has been a lingering story since last summer and frankly, has grown exceptionally dull as Sundin dragged out a decision for who he was going to play with seemingly forever. Appropriately, the Vancouver / Edmonton game was the only late game on the NHL Center Ice cable package on Wednesday. As the coverage of his first game started, including the display of signs belching insults from Edmonton fans regarding Sundin's decision to take a big payday in Western Canada, I decided to scan the cable guide to find something to watch that might not be as much of a circus.

Man, did I succeed.

The brief description of Subject Two on the cable guide sounded a bit like Reanimator, stating a doctor tortures a man by repeatedly killing him and bringing him back to life. But in contrast to the eerie premise, a peaceful setting in the beautiful, isolated mountains of Aspen fills the opening moments, and two characters surrounded by snow, trees, and mountains in a quaint cabin provide calmness despite the foreboding plot to come. Of course, being alone in the middle of nowhere is a pretty obvious place to set a horror movie, but the execution is quite subtle and allows the characters to steal the drama from the surroundings.

The advertised resurrections start early and occur often; the acts themselves aren't overly graphic, but the creepiness behind the motivation of each action is remarkable. For 90 minutes, the characters develop through the extreme circumstances, with each flaw magnified and exploited.

This is one of the finest low (or, no) budget movies I've seen in a great while; unpretentious and very unusual with engaging storytelling. Having the freedom of a film developed by a small group of people without investor or other interference, photographic and musical artistry is abundant but not overdone, simply adding to the haunting tone. The website promoting the film discusses some of the intriguing stories behind the creation which are oddly fitting given the content. It falls into the "what did I just stumble on" category for me; one of those happy finds that keeps me subscribing to the movie channels.