Freakdog (2008)

After a prank goes awry and lands a hospital janitor in a coma, a group of doctors begin dying at the hands of the comatose patient who is extracting revenge through out-of-body experiences.

Director:

Paddy Breathnach

Writer:

Spence Wright (screenplay)

Stars:

Arielle Kebbel, Sarah Carter, Stephen Dillane

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arielle Kebbel	...	Catherine
Sarah Carter	...	Kim
Stephen Dillane	...	Dr. Harris
Andrew Lee Potts	...	Kenneth
Alex Wyndham	...	Jake
Katie McGrath	...	Harriet
Christina Chong	...	Yoshimi
Martin Compston	...	Sean
Michael Jibson	...	Steve
MyAnna Buring	...	Shelby
Colin Stinton	...	Detective Cartert
Nick Hardin	...	Walt
Michael J. Reynolds	...	Dr. Stegman (as Michael J Reynolds)
Sarah Wilson	...	Vanessa (as Sarah Boyd Wilson)
Art Parkinson	...	Young Kenneth

Storyline

A young doctor in a US hospital administers a powerful and untested cocktail of drugs to a coma victim. But instead of curing him, it triggers a powerful "out-of-body" experience and enables the patient - a depraved and dangerous loner - to inhabit other people's bodies and, through them, take revenge on the bullying medical students who were accidentally responsible for his condition. The doctor, who was herself a part of this group, is also targeted and as her colleagues are singled out and relentlessly picked off, she realises that she can trust no-one - friend or stranger - as this comatose killer moves in and out of bodies at will, getting ever closer as his murderous supernatural powers increase.

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Plot Keywords:

slasher | hospital | doctor | coma | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Do Not Resuscitate

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the film is set in America, Arielle Kebbel is the only American actor in the cast.

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Goofs

When Catherine attacks the Detective, knocking him to the floor, the scene is cut (close-up/wide) between the Detective being slumped and sprawled.

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Connections

References Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

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Soundtracks

Comeback Girl
Written and Performed by Republic of Loose

User Reviews

An Interesting New Take on a Familiar Storyline

A group of potential doctors are caught doing drugs by a local man with a stuttering problem. In order to cover their butts and keep their scholarships, they invite the man to join them, sending him into a coma after the drugs hit him the wrong way. When one of the potential doctors (Arielle Kebbel) tries to help him, unexpected consequences emerge.

Reviews on this film have been generally negative, with some people saying it is "as bad as 'Shrooms'" (the director's other notable movie). I don't see where these people are coming from. Sure, there are some bad things about this film... for one, the story drags a bit at times, and one character more or less repeats his same speech every five minutes he shows up. We also have the familiar story, which is not unlike "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or any number of other films.

But I thought the visuals were well done, the action was intense, and the casting was for the most part excellent. The ladies were well-cast beyond a doubt. MyAnna Buring as Shelby was a good move, as she's not only gorgeous but has the horror veteran status ("The Descent", "The Omen"). Putting Arielle Kebbel in the lead was brilliant. I've had my eye on her since "American Pie" Band Camp", where I noticed that despite the juvenile film, she really stood out. I expect her to break into the big time any day now.

I also have to give the film credit for trying to tie in actual science to a paranormal theme. Far too many films will introduce supernatural elements with no attempt to explain them. Here, we have a psychic theme tied to a little-known part of the brain called the angular gyrus. According to Wikipedia, "experiments have demonstrated the possibility that stimulation of the angular gyrus is the cause of out-of-body experiences. Stimulation of the angular gyrus in one experiment caused a woman to perceive a phantom existence behind her. Another such experiment gave the test subject the sensation of being on the ceiling. This is attributed to a discrepancy in the actual position of the body, and the mind's perceived location of the body." So, there's at least some level of truth to what the film shows.

I enjoyed this movie, and I won't lie about it. I'm not going to say it's "the film of the year" or any of those bold claims that movie reviewers make all the time, because that's just simply not going to be true. But it's well worth seeing if you have a steady intake of horror flicks. Of the films I've seen recently, it was among the better ones. And Arielle Kebbel... I mean, she just sells a film, doesn't she?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

Freakdog

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Generator Entertainment, Geronimo Films, Framestore CFC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1