Blame

Despite a premise that seems to promise a fast-paced, twist-laden thriller – several students attempt to murder the teacher they feel is responsible for the suicide of one of their own – Blame primarily comes off as a stagnant, irritatingly talky drama that ultimately feels like an abject exercise in needlessness. It’s clear that filmmaker Michael Henry’s reliance on almost unreasonably deliberate pacing plays an instrumental role in Blame‘s failure, as there’s never a point wherein the viewer is able to wholeheartedly embrace the decidedly perilous situation in which the various characters have found themselves. There’s also little doubt that Henry’s decision to hold off on explaining just what happened exacerbates the movie’s problems, as it’s initially (and ultimately) impossible to care about either the students’ efforts or the efforts of the aforementioned teacher to stay alive. The uneventful atmosphere is occasionally alleviated by a few admittedly compelling stand-alone interludes, with the film’s highlight a surprisingly suspenseful moment in which the teacher attempts to catch the attention of a friendly (yet almost comically oblivious) mail carrier. The film’s final insult comes with the big revelation at its conclusion, as it is, to say the least, incredibly anticlimactic and not terribly surprising (with the less-than-subtle performance from one of the actors immediately implying that something’s not quite right with this person). It’s a finish that adds a whole new layer of pointlessness to the proceedings and effectively cements Blame‘s place as a hopelessly irrelevant piece of work.

*1/2 out of ****