Die
Die
| 27 March 2012 (USA)
Die Trailers

Six people, each of them is on the road to self-destruction. They wake up in cells in a surreal facility, without knowing how they got there or why.

Reviews
Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
Freaktana A Major Disappointment
Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Robert W. When I first saw the original Saw movie I referred to as 'almost' the best movie I had ever seen. Die took the idea, really they carbon copied it, but then they added to it, did some artistic tweaking, made it into a dramatic thriller instead of gore induced horror. But the real speciality of Die is the small details of the world where it takes place. Die is reminiscent of the film Se7en (an AMAZING honour to be compared to in my books) because the world is not described as much as it is just shown. There is this dark, mysterious, gritty, almost futuristic look to the unnamed city. Its a city of death and depression and gambling with an almost Sin City quality to its look in certain shots. Not enough of the city is shown in my opinion but it is truly about the characters not the setting but the setting plays a vital role in this being as good as it was. Some critics will say that the film doesn't spend enough time giving you the character backgrounds and that might be true but you learn enough to make them important and understand the dark truth behind both them and the trials they are being put through.There really isn't one major star in the film, everyone sort of shares screen time and importance in the script. I have always really enjoyed Elias Koteas but he hasn't had some great roles. In this film he is solid as the depressed and apparently disgraced Police Detective. He has a mysterious background but also this tough anti-hero persona that makes him sort of the leader on the cast. He is terrific and dark. John Pyper-Ferguson was probably born to play a twisted, sadistic cult leader and he is perfect in this role. He doesn't come across as truly psychotic as Saw's Jigsaw killer but instead is more of a subtle and intelligent psycho so to speak. There was definitely more they could have explored with him but he does very well. Emily Hampshire does a great job playing Lisa, the down on her luck woman desperate to live. She is definitely unexplored as a character but she still adds significance to the story. Patricia McKenzie and Katie Boland also deserve mention in excellent roles.This is Canadian Director Dominic James first full length film and he deserves great kudos! The style for this film should be really scrutinized because if you blink you'll miss it but there is some really great stuff in here. On top of that the film is downright entertaining with an intriguing twist to the whole story. Much like the original Saw (the comparisons are obvious as the plot is almost identical,) this really is only a small snap shot of what could be explored in the film but this is perhaps all we will get. But take it for what it is and really explore what they've done here because it is thrilling, exciting, dark, gritty, disturbing, even gory in its own way. A lot of IMDb reviewers have some really bad things to say about it but I think there is more here than what some might see. Check it out because it was excellent!! 9/10
Angela Grillo Well, the premises did sound like something we've all heard of before, but the way the plot unravels actually really makes it worth your while. If you pay attention you'll notice how clues are carefully placed throughout the film and how everything falls back in to place. As I watched it I became more and more interested in the characters and their stories, and the atmosphere created by the sound design and the cinematography enveloped me and made me "believe"... I am not sure this is film for all audiences, I mean that - differently from most thrillers, this is a film for mainly adult audiences who are willing to think as they watch a film. The look of the film is great and the acting is, for the most part, amazing. I enjoyed it and would watch a second time.
Boloxxxi Billionaire Robert moretti: Does fund raisers for the needy. Drugs and prostitutes as well.Mark Murdoch: Self-loathing, tired, alcoholic cop, under investigation for a killing.Lisa Meridan: After the birth of her son, disappears from home periodically, chronic gambler.Dr. Diane Robinson: A woman of faith who has never gotten over the sickness and death of her child.Dr. Zach Emmet: Battling depression for accidentally over prescribing medication and under investigation.Melody chambers: Drug-addicted prostitute, issues of rejection; being unloved.The 6 people above have tried to commit suicide and are held captive and forced to play a game of chance or fate using a die as it's instrument. The game is called "The Trials" wherein the captives are forced to use the method by which they tried to kill themselves against their fellow captives along with a roll of a die to decide the severity of the method and the probability of survival. For example, if you tried to kill yourself with a gun then you are forced by your captor to roll the die to decide how many bullets should be loaded; after which time you would point it at your fellow captive and fire.There is a diversity of captives since the people are randomly selected based on opportunity. In other words, whoever tries to off themselves unsuccessfully and are in the awareness of this madman are selected; imprisoned below in glass cages to experience The Trials wherein they are offered --according to the madman-- "a chance to be reborn". I have to concede, reluctantly, that there was a certain logic to his madness. These people, after all, wanted to --and attempted to-- kill themselves. So with his help they either had the opportunity to get it right this time, or live and "want to live" after being brought very close to death.One by one the principals are introduced at the top of the movie. They go missing. Detective Valenti (very attractive woman and accent) is suspicious of the circumstances when these people start turning up with "dots" on their wrists; some lucky to be alive, some not. Along with the missing is her friend and mentor Mark Murdoch. The police chief keeps trying to dissuade her, telling her to go home. In essence, that there's nothing to these incidents and she's wasting her time and the department's. She has strong instincts and doggedly pursues.This movie is not about elaborate ways to kill and torture anyone. The villain may be a nut of some variety but he's not a sadist. Indeed he even comes across as sympathetic and understanding sometimes. So the methods used here are the everyday conventional methods that are used by people everyday against themselves and others. Pointedly: the very methods these unfortunate 6 used against themselves. Rather, this movie is about irony, choices, life and death. You must now use the method by which you tried to kill yourself against someone else. You now have a second chance to die or live --what do you want? Will you cooperate with your captor, or not? What choice do you have? Can you live with the responsibility of being the instrument of another's death? These are some examples of these people's dilemma. The drama of the movie, tension of it, is all about this. The performances are so good by everyone in this movie that you are definitely drawn in and absorbed. Well worth your time, I believe. Love Boloxxxi.
PPPuro At first, this is just disjointed depiction of random characters who do random things, of which nothing is explained nor elaborated. Then it suddenly jumps into a silly little Saw-wannabe scenario in which a die (yeah, we get the title now, clever) determines the fates of the characters. Roll a six and six bullets are inserted into a revolver, roll a one and just one is. Now play Russian roulette. Obviously the smartest thing is to load the bullet and shoot the evil die- dude, which amazingly this police guy does - only he does't quite succeed, because he's only a police, therefore quite unable to handle guns. At this point, I had had enough, and quit. There are much better things to waste my life on than watching such low-level crappy films. To be avoided.