Writer-director Bob Giordano (the upcoming GATES OF FLESH) isn't fooling around with his feature film debut, the nail-biting suspense thriller THE ODDS (2018).
Not counting a brief fantasy scene or two, the whole thing takes place in one dingy warehouse room with a table and two chairs, wherein a stunning contest takes place--one woman, billed as "The Player" (Abbi Butler, THE BENCHWARMERS, KILLING CHRISTIAN) competes with a number of other unseen players around the world to see who can survive a series of challenges, while the "Game Master" (James J. Fuertes, "Doom Patrol") oversees his own player while keeping track of the others' progress via an earpiece.
Naturally, each round consists of an increasingly difficult and painful task that will have viewers cringing in sympathetic pain. The Player must continue until the others either fail or drop out, in hopes of winning a million-dollar prize as gamblers wager on the results. She's doing it all for her daughter, a worthy goal which drives her on.
The Game Master, meanwhile, offers helpful advice and sympathy as he talks her through each round and gives first aid to her increasingly grievous wounds. He's so nice, in fact, that we begin to suspect his actual intentions.
Before long we even start wondering whether or not he's lying to her about how the game is progressing elsewhere. Is he just toying with her to satisfy his own sinister sadistic impulses?
Giordano keeps us guessing about this and other things, but the main question that drives THE ODDS along with such edge-of-the-seat suspense is how bad will the next round be, and can she get through it?
The first, holding her hand over a candle flame until the number of players has decreased to a certain minimum, seems bad enough, but turns out to be child's play. Before it's over, she will have put herself through perversely creative agonies that might be described as self-inflicted torture porn.
As the tasks intensify, so does the conflict between Player and Game Master until fascades fall away and true faces emerge. The stakes are ramped up as well and the rules keep changing until she's not even sure if he's still following them or making new ones up as he goes along.
It's the classic two character, one setting conflict drama that works well on stage and is even more impressive when pulled off this deftly on the movie screen. Director Giordano succeeds in keeping things well-paced and visually interesting with creative camera angles and editing, while both lead actors are so into their roles as to be utterly convincing.
While it's hardly as unbearable as the Russian roulette sequence from THE DEER HUNTER, those who agonized their way through that will have a good idea of what they're getting into when they watch THE ODDS. It's a harrowing and dramatically intense experience, and even manages to give us a slam-bang shoot-em-up ending to go with its final plot twist.
Official website
PROGRAM INFORMATION
VOD: Available on Apple iTunes and other Leading Digital Providers
DVD: Available at Amazon and Walmart.com
Directed/Written by: Bob Giordano
Starring: Abbi Butler, James J. Fuertes
Producer: Alan McKenna
Distribution: 4Digital Media
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: NR
Genre: Horror
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 (1.78:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround
Language: English (no subtitles)
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