‘Triangle’ the huge hit that flopped
How and why did this huge hit go unrecognised by movie fans?
This review is spoiler free! 2009 was a huge year for movie fans. With the release of features such as Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’ and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ the standards for movies this year were definitely very high. That’s why it is not massively surprising that the horror/thriller movie ‘Triangle’, directed by Christopher Smith, slipped under the radar. However, with this being said I do not think that it should have gone as unrecognised as what it did. This film was very well received by audiences and critics which further adds to my confusion. When I watched this film in the first lockdown I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, it is full of twists and turns the whole way through right up until the credits roll. It has a Rotten Tomato’s score of 80% which is incredibly high especially for a film of this genre, as typically they are given much lower scores due to their unimaginative plots and genericness. But, ‘Triangle’ is a huge exception to this trope.
You can’t guess what the plot twist it as it is woven into the story perfectly.
From the opening scene we are thrown into confusion and drama and made to question what route the film is going to take. I had never, and still haven’t to this day, seen anything like this film. To put into perspective how under-appreciated this film is I took to IMDB to see where it ranked in a list of all the major feature length releases of 2009. It ranked number 68 on the list which really surprised me because considering how long the list was it ranked very high on it which further confused me as to how it has not been seen by seemingly anybody. The cast is one of the biggest aspects of the movie. The leading lady is Australian actress Melissa George known for other big feature films such as ‘300 Days of Night’ and ‘Hunted’. Other notable cast members include Michael Dorman who recently appeared in the 2020 film ‘The Invisible Man’ and Australian actor Liam Hemsworth who has appeared in many blockbuster hits like ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Independence Day’. So, it’s not as if this was a low-budget film with small and unknown actors it was a big box office film with big Hollywood actors.
The plot of this film is what made me choose this over all the other hidden gem films that I have seen. The originality of the plot is something that has yet to be matched for me. I am someone who prides myself in being very good at guessing plot twists for films and TV shows, but with ‘Triangle’ this was not possible. If you avoid trailers and reviews before you watch it you will 100% have a much better viewing experience.
The plot revolves a group of friends who are on a boat for a trip for a little relaxation. This is when they hit a storm and their boat capsizes. Stranded in the ocean they see a huge cruise ship coming toward them from a distance. They climb aboard only to find it’s completely empty apart from a masked axe wielding maniac who will stop at nothing to take them out one by one. This is when things start to get weird and they discover that they might have entered into something they can’t escape! The friends are put against each other and realise they can’t trust anybody.
This is a film I definitely recommend going into blind to have as little spoiled for you as possible.
Triangle is available to rent or buy on Amazon Video.
