The Deaths of Ian Stone - Could have been worse

With so many low budget horror films around (most being made up of cheap zombie flicks or ‘found footage’ genre), it’s hard for any of them to really stand out.  However, ‘The Deaths of Ian Stone’ at least tries to be a little bit original.  It really does try.  I won’t go as far as to claim that it’s a ‘classic,’ but it is different enough to warrant an hour and a half of any horror fan’s time (providing he or she is reasonably forgiving of the B-movies they sit through).

We meet our protagonist – the titular ‘Ian Stone’ – hours before he gets killed horrible by dark forces.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, every time he dies, he wakes up again, only for it to happen again, only in a different place and in a different life.  So, can our doomed hero figure out why this is happening and, more importantly, how to stop it?

The film’s only an hour and a half.  And, for a change, it feels like it probably should be longer.  It’s a decent premise, but it does feel a little rushed.  There are a few different concepts that appear to only be skated over, as if this story might have worked better as a TV mini series.

It does have its other drawbacks – the special effects seem a little too computer-generated and the ‘monsters’ aren’t really that scary.  Plus, because of the different concepts being thrown around, it’s like the film-makers borrowed from about three different (more famous) sci-fi/horror films in the process.

The first half if more intriguing, but it kind of goes a little ‘all over the place’ when people change their costumes.  Basically, the ‘baddies’ wear blatantly ‘evil’ costumes.  It’s like they were picked up out of a school’s drama department (or s*x shop!).  They almost look a little too comic for the film’s serious tone.  The second half of the film feels a little more formulaic with some action thrown in as if to try and expand the ‘climax.’

Like I say, The Deaths of Ian Stone isn’t perfect, but, if you’re in a forgiving mood, you should get something out of it.  I watched it for the first time when it came out on DVD.  I liked it enough to buy it (cheap!) and have only just got round to watching it in 2014.  Basically, I’d forgotten most of it and it’s the sort of film where you probably won’t watch on a regular basis, but I’m glad I watched it again and will probably do so again in a few years time.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that