Title: CLONED: The Recreator Chronicles
Directed by: Gregory Orr
Starring: Stella Maeve, Alexander Nifong, Jamal Mallory-McCree, John de Lancie, Laura Moss
Running time: 90 minutes, Rated PG-13, Available on VOD & DVD 04/23
Three teenage friends travel to an island on a lake for a camping trip until a freak electrical storm hits. They take refuge in a posh cabin and are trapped in the basement when the owners show up the next morning where they find several bodies wrapped in plastic. The owners catch the intruders and force them to bury the bodies who appear to be exact replicas of the older couple who own the house. Before they are forced to the shallow graves they dug on the shore, a trio of duplicates of the three friends take down the murderous couple. The clones appear to be stronger, highly intelligent, sexually confident and determined to replace the originals whose only hope to escape the island alive is to find the source of the clones and defeat them before they become permanently replaced.
The negative: The premise seems a bit dated, and the bit about how the clones are created is slightly gross and mostly laughable. The bit with the narcissism/gay identity seemed like it was something thrown in on a whim to attempt to give a more or less boring character more depth. The septic tank scene was too convenient and I felt they could’ve done without it. The acting in many scenes were almost too over the top and overly animated; like they took a crash course at the Learning Annex run by William Shatner. Too harsh? Maybe a little.
The positive: I was happy with the mash up of the good vs. bad clones and the ending had a good twist.
Although the negative weighs heavy over my opinion, I will admit this is a guilty pleasure type movie. I could’ve gone for some actual gore and maybe some nudity, but I did enjoy it. I would watch this one again.
Reviewed by: JM Willis
Total Rating: B-
