Triangle is an atmospheric, unnerving puzzle-box of a film, chilling and cerebral. Enigmatic opening scenes scored with foreboding music establish a mood of dread, matched by Jess (Melissa George)’s deathly pallor and discomfiting vagueness. Flashes of dreams or flashbacks suggest a non-linear narrative. There are sinister mentions of Jess son’s…something’s off, and references to Sisyphus don’t exactly lighten the mood.
I recently went on an extended snorkelling trip with my partner, and there’s something both beautiful and creepy about the loneliness of being at sea, out of sight of land or other ships, with only ominous storm clouds on the horizon. Triangle’s early scenes capitalize on this atmosphere with crisp cinematography, capturing the glassy, austere beauty of the ocean (unfortunately compromised at times by cheap-looking CGI). The characters are engulfed by one of the aforementioned storm clouds, and abandon their overturned yacht for a seemingly deserted ocean liner.
The film keeps its cards close to its chest – half an hour in, it’s not clear if we’re watching a psychological thriller, a ghost story, a slasher or something in between; its true nature is unexpected, but not unsatisfying. If you’re after a horror movie that makes you think, look no further.
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I loved Triangle, one of the smartest films I have seen in a long time. Definitely makes you think 🙂
I love any film that stands up to detailed analysis – too often after an intriguing film, you sit down to think about how it all fits together and 10 minutes later you’ve run into a plot hole. I can forgive plot holes, but it’s nice to have a film that demands and rewards analysis. Any film that inspires people to create pictures like this (warning: spoilers): http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/trianglecirkelschema.png/ definitely fits into that category!
Wow, not seen that image. I’ll study it a bit later, cheers for sharing 🙂
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Good review. I’ll have to give this one another watch someday. You know how sometimes you stick a movie on in the background & half watch it? Well, I do and I did with this one. Oops. Not one where you can only half pay attention. 😉 I remember thinking – “Shit, that seemed quite good. I should have watched properly!”. Lol
Definitely a film that needs to be watched closely! At least it rewards rewatching (I saw it again recently and it was even better the second time!). Thanks for the comment 🙂
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