Replace

Replace (2016) has been on my watch list ever since the official poster came out, what motivated me to watch the film was the body horror genre and the potential this film had. I knew almost nothing about this film, other than the IMDb bio and the mixed reviews. I recently found the film on DVD in HMV without a price-tag. When I sat down and watched the film I was instantly stunned by the introduction, however I quickly found myself foreseeing a disaster after the introduction.

The execution of Replace is very amateur and bombastic, mainly the music choices, sound editing and the editing. The music was quite hyperbolized attempting its hardest to provoke any emotion that's intended, the problem is that the development for this film is lacking, so the soundtrack appears as bombastic. The sound editing was very baffling, you could clearly tell when a line was dubbed, however voices of the actors would echo randomly for no reason, the sound editing was very inconsistent and became a massive distraction.

The editing for this film is perhaps the worst aspect, the editing really damages the film stylistically. This film is utterly confused on what style it intends to illustrate, this is conveyed through the complete switch of style of music, initially the soundtrack choice is synthetic, although later the soundtrack becomes orchestral, with very stock violins and bombastic motifs utilised to force the emotion down your throat. The editing is also a problem due to its tendency to flicker uncontrollably. At times you have no idea on what's happening.

In terms of what this film accomplishes, the twists and gore effects are superbly done. The gore effects seem very organic, although these gore effects are juxtaposed by the unphased performance of the main character, the pain is barely felt.

As a whole, Replace is a student film that has some great cinematography although also includes baffling editing, terrible sound design, sometimes laughable dialogue, and a score that's very bombastic and confused.

Had a great start that made me start it over and put down my phone. Now that we have passed that; I'm reading the news. I'm. Just. Bored. Girl kills girls - repeat! Sigh.

Having read the other reviews on here I don't really see any valid reasons for this film getting such a low rating.

I think people were expecting some kind of Texas Chainsaw Massacre gore fest - which this film isn't. It requires a bit more attention.

The acting is superb, the story well written, and this is excellently executed.

The pace of the film is good and engaging.

The best thing to do is watch this and make your mind up.

Was drawn into seeing 'Replace' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing and creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Replace' is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. As a film it's lacklustre, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is very little good about it

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky and 'Replace' is surprisingly well shot.

Found too that the acting was not bad, doing their best with disappointingly nowhere near enough material to work with, and that there were a few nice twists that intrigued and weren't telegraphed too early.

Unfortunately, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. The effects are ropy at best.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever (definitely one of the worst assets), while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags with very little going on worth caring about. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense.

There are a good deal of underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, with little sense of horror or urgency. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden, inexperience seems to be all over the film. There is no creativity or anything shocking.

As said previously very well, the music, sound and editing are the worst assets. The music is too loud, sounds cheap (may have worked 25 or so years ago but doesn't work here), tries far too hard to generate emotion and is far too predictably placed and often out of kilter. The sound is too echoey and often without warning or reason and makes some of the voices sound strange. The editing is haphazard and affects the coherence of some of the goings on and story structure.

Overall, lacklustre but far from unwatchable. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Kira Mabon (Rebecca Forsythe) is a young woman with frequent memory losses. She slightly recalls Jonas Swierczynski (Sean Knopp), who had one night stand with her and does not remember where she lives. Her next-door neighbor, the lesbian Sophia Demeraux (Lucie Aron), visits her to know whether she is OK, and they befriend each other. Out of the blue, Kira's hand begins to age and deteriorate, and Kira runs to Dr. Rafaela Crober (Barbara Crampton), who takes samples of her skin to investigate what is happening with Kira. She requests a transplant of skin, but Dr. Crober tells her that she needs the results of the exams first. During the night, her skin deteriorates in other areas, and she goes to Dr. Czerny (Adnan Maral) in a hospital to request a skin transplant. He says that it is not possible, and she needs to wait for Dr. Crober. But soon Kira learns that she can replace her deteriorate skin by a fresh one and she starts a crime spree to replace her skin. One night, she breaks in Dr. Crober's office and discovers the truth about her and Dr. Crober.

"Replace" (2017) is a strange movie with an interesting plot, but messy and boring screenplay and direction. The story makes sense after the discovery of Kira about the relationship between Dr. Crober and she, but the slow pace does not help to develop the plot. The conclusion is predictable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Replace - Maldição de Pele" ("Replace - Course of Skin")