AFTER DARK:TASK

The movie starts out with a young male, Dixon, (Texas Battle) strolling down the street and then he becomes abducted. He is one of several people who have been abducted and forced to wear pig head mask. As it turns out, all those who were abducted (interesting that they could get them all in one afternoon) have tried out for a reality TV show. The characters are all introduced by playing a portion of their interview tape. They will split $20,000 if they spend the night in abandoned Benneville Prison with tasks and scares provided by the producers...and oh yes- 20 homeless people have died there recently.

The cast are hand cuffed, like a chain gang, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy with the black man at the end. There is an Indian(subcontinent)girl (Amara Karan) who is super intelligent and a blond (Ashley Mulheron as Shoe)who isn't. Antonia Campbell-Hughes is delightful as Angel who is a contestant who enjoys frightening the other contestants.

The story goes that the warden, in order to cut costs killed 85 inmates and then later was sentenced to death himself. His soul roams the prison. Or that is at least the story they were told...

Contestants randomly select a chess piece to represent them. Tasks are assigned by a prerecorded tape based on the chess piece...first up the white queen. While the tasks seemed to be at random, they are actually based on the interviews where the contestants disclosed their biggest fear.

As it turns out there are things in the prison the producers didn't count on...and the producers think it is just their network playing a game with them.

Good acting for a B movie. The soundtrack is not overpowering, but it is effective with drum rhythms inconspicuously mimicking heart beats. The horror is mostly pyschological and not blood and guts. Yes, we've seen this type of movie before, and I don't mind watching them again when they are done right.

F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The movie starts out with a young male, Dixon, (Texas Battle) strolling down the street and then he becomes abducted. He is one of several people who have been abducted and forced to wear pig head mask. As it turns out, all those who were abducted (interesting that they could get them all in one afternoon) have tried out for a reality TV show. The characters are all introduced by playing a portion of their interview tape. They will split $20,000 if they spend the night in THE abandoned Benneville Prison with tasks and scares provided by the producers...and oh yes- 20 homeless people have died there recently.

The cast are hand cuffed, like a chain gang, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy with the black man at the end. There is an Indian(subcontinent)girl (Amara Karan) who is super intelligent and a blond (Ashley Mulheron as Shoe)who isn't. Antonia Campbell-Hughes is delightful as Angel who is a contestant who enjoys frightening the other contestants.

The story goes that the warden, in order to cut costs killed 85 inmates and then later was sentenced to death himself. His soul roams the prison. Or that is at least the story they were told...

Contestants randomly select a chess piece to represent them. Tasks are assigned by a prerecorded tape based on the chess piece...first up the white queen. While the tasks seemed to be at random, they are actually based on the interviews where the contestants disclosed their biggest fear.

As it turns out there are things in the prison the producers didn't count on...and the producers think it is just their network playing a game with them.

Good acting for a B movie. The soundtrack is not overpowering, but it is effective with drum rhythms inconspicuously mimicking heart beats. The horror is mostly pyschological and not blood and guts. Yes, we've seen this type of movie before, and I don't mind watching them again when they are done right.

F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

As "The Task" began, it instantly appealed to my sensibilities with a winning premise. Setting a horror movie within the confines of an abandoned prison during a reality game show shoot--how can you go wrong? If you've ever seen the television shows where contestants vie for cash prizes by braving scary (and oftentimes manufactured) horrors, you know that there is great material to be mined. MTV's "Fear" is a good comparison point. "The Task," however, seems not to know exactly what to do with this idea and while attempting to be a twisty thriller misses some of the basics. Fundamentally, the movie (after an expected set-up and character introduction) absolutely fails to even simulate interesting television. If the program being shot is supposed to be creepy and/or scary, it is really benign and utterly familiar. Without the game show providing any chills, laughs, or excitement, we're left with tedium. Think I'm overstating the case--here are two random tasks: One contestant goes to the chapel and has to have the lights off for one minute, another contestant has to eat meat when she's a vegetarian. Riveting and horrifying, huh? Who wouldn't watch that show?

Of course, there is more than meets the eye is this rather tepid horror entry. A mysterious stranger starts to haunt the prison. Is it the spirit of the maniacal ex-warden? Is is a trick from the production company? While the movie hopes to keep you guessing, it lacks the real cleverness or continuity to pull things off. The actors are all fine considering the material, but the screenplay lacks the punch and definition to really distinguish the movie as anything other than a missed opportunity. There are some supposed twists and surprises, it all feels rather cobbled together and uninspired. By the end, I really didn't care much one way or the other.

Perhaps all could have been forgiven had the picture provided anything resembling scares. As each person meets the strange apparition, the resolutions are blunt and to-the-point with little tension being earned or scares being included. Those looking for big frightening moments or gore will be left stranded. And while, I don't necessarily think every film has to be a gorefest--this one genuinely needed to be creepier and more unsettling. A great idea wasted, it made me think of other films that did it better. If you like the premise, try "My Little Eye" about a Big Brother experience gone awry. It's not perfect either, and its tension is more psychologically derived, but it get much closer to the spirit I had hoped for here. About 1 1/2 stars. I'm feeling nice, so I'll round up. KGHarris, 10/11.