The film has a good premise, a Romanian prisoner, sent on revenge mission, who can transform from human to beast and back again.
Yes, the survival film in a confined space has been done before. But what's different is that you're never really sure when the beast is going to be monster and when it's going to be human.
The cast is pretty good, particularly Marat Glazer and AJ Hammond. Jennifer Wiggins runs a bit hot and cold (it feels like she got more direction in some scenes and less in others), but it's great to see a female action lead who can throw a punch and not look ridiculous.
The Beast design was well conceived. The Shapeshifter has this strange ancient quality to him. The horns, the four fingered hands, the nasty teeth - it's particularly effective when he gets good and bloodied up.
The sound mix sounded great on our system. The music is good, although it gets a bit monotonous at times and at other times seems oddly absent.
There's quite a bit of gore, although certainly not nearly as much as Dead Men Walking, another Asylum film which was clearly shot at the same location as Shapeshifter.
Typical of film in this budget range, there are some parts that work and some that don't. Still, the good outweighs the bad and the whole thing adds up to a fun low budget thriller.
Yes, the survival film in a confined space has been done before. But what's different is that you're never really sure when the beast is going to be monster and when it's going to be human.
The cast is pretty good, particularly Marat Glazer and AJ Hammond. Jennifer Wiggins runs a bit hot and cold (it feels like she got more direction in some scenes and less in others), but it's great to see a female action lead who can throw a punch and not look ridiculous.
The Beast design was well conceived. The Shapeshifter has this strange ancient quality to him. The horns, the four fingered hands, the nasty teeth - it's particularly effective when he gets good and bloodied up.
The sound mix sounded great on our system. The music is good, although it gets a bit monotonous at times and at other times seems oddly absent.
There's quite a bit of gore, although certainly not nearly as much as Dead Men Walking, another Asylum film which was clearly shot at the same location as Shapeshifter.
Typical of film in this budget range, there are some parts that work and some that don't. Still, the good outweighs the bad and the whole thing adds up to a fun low budget thriller.