Triangle

Why do people watch movies such as Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow? It's quite astonishing why they do, really, as the movies consistently repeat themselves over and over and over again. Alas, the appeal remains where the characters approach each situation differently and finally come to a solid conclusion. Now, a horror film where this happens, where someone has to repeat what they're doing over and over again, will likely not have a happy ending, as it shouldn't, but it should also draw in on psychological influences and a puzzle based mechanic that will have the watcher both engaged and attempting to figure out what the fuck is going on. I recently watched a movie just like that, which is 2009's Triangle, and though it gripped me at first I slowly lost interest in the film as time went on. 

Triangle starts off with us following a woman named Jess who has an autistic child. She tidies up the house, we understand he has issues, and then she's off to a boat trip with herself and her friends. Something's off as her kid is not with her, but she wants to go anyway. They get washed away during a storm, enter a creepy, desolate boat and are one by one killed off by a masked shooter. Jess is able to fling the killer overboard, only to witness a herself and her friends come back to the same boat. It's then she realizes that she's caught in a loop and will constantly be stuck in this loop so long as her friends keep dying. 


The biggest flaw I found in Triangle was how the story held the watcher's hand in the loops that consistently happened. If Jess knew her moves already and that they failed, then she should not have repeated them. The first time we go through the loop, it's interesting, but the second time is boring and not so great. Seeing Jess fight herself from another loop, however, was extremely gratifying and fun. I was also shocked when most of the main cast was killed off not moments after they boarded the boat.

As far as acting goes, the cast was alright and they did a good job, but the only person who really mattered throughout the film was Melissa George's Jess. I can't for the life of me remember any of the other characters names and I don't really care; most of them just served as cannon fodder only to repeatedly be killed. Nonetheless, George provided a realistic and reliable main character and, for the most part, kept the film lively and engaging. All aside from that third loop. 


The shots of the film were interesting at first, but after visiting the same sections on the boat over and over again the shots became stale and boring. I wanted to see more and explore more, which eventually happened as Jess does get off the boat and back to town in the end, but the film still became dull after a bit. 

The writing was fairly solid, although I noticed the script did want to take a slight romantic turn somewhere in the beginning. It was briefly mentioned and was wanted, but it never came to fruition. I'm not sure if this was a way to mock other horror films for always including such nonsense, or if it was actually intended to make a point. Either way, the film failed in that aspect. 

Nonetheless, I still came off Triangle with a positive aspect about it. I can't say I'd be willing to watch it again right now or even a couple of years down the line (maybe five years will do the trick) but I would most definitely recommend it to a friend if nothing but for the novelty of it all. Check out the trailer below and see if you'll wanna watch it for yourself: