A group of friends have their lives cut into pieces when they check into their last resort. Writing a book on the legend of the Half-Faced Girl, Lex’s (Bianca Haase) friends surprise her with a trip to Hawaii to visit the deserted island and abandoned resort that she supposedly haunts. You know, because that’s always a great idea!
Taylor Chien‘s The Resort has a solid if unoriginal premise, and makes the most of its unique location. Thankfully for all, it opts not to go down the found footage route – though it instead uses an equally common storytelling device, which involves the sole survivor of the expedition recounting events via flashbacks. Unfortunately, all this does is undermine any sense of growing tension or creeping dread. The audience already knows that most of the group will not make it back alive. Instead, it is simply a case of patiently waiting for them to meet their grisly ends.
At a lean 75 minutes, the majority of the movie’s runtime is spent with the group as they make their way across the island to the resort. Aside from budget restrictions, one can assume that this was done with the aim to bring dimension to the characters, so that the audience might become emotionally invested and root for their survival. For this to work of course, the characters would have to be likeable or, at the very least, sympathetic. That is not the case. Any feeling the audience has towards these four friends is not empathy, but disinterest. It becomes a case of counting down the minutes until they meet their maker.
When the paranormal activity finally hits the fan, The Resort suddenly seems intent on sprinting to the finish line, rushing through a series of deaths, jump scares, and twists in quick succession. And though this goes some way towards diminishing their impact, there is one genuinely shocking scene that is sure to impress and satisfy even the most bloodthirsty of gore hounds.
The Resort offers a fright-filled mini-break, but ultimately fails to deliver a truly memorable time. Do not expect a glowing review on TripAdvisor!
The Resort releases on digital and on demand from April 30th, available on Sky Store, Virgin, iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Chili.