In Triangle, Melissa George struggles to break free from a time paradox that threatens to trap her for all eternity. Fortunately the audience will be able to relate to her dilemma in this below-average horror movie, as 98 minutes get stretched to breaking point and much like its titular heroine, you’ll wonder if you’ll ever be able to escape.
Director Christopher Smith has made his name to date from making low-budget horror films (Creep, Severance) that for the most part have been average, not great but watchable, containing certain flares of talent which one gathers would be honed as his career progresses, While Triangle is undoubtedly a step-up in terms of budget and scope, ultimately Triangle is a large step back for Smith, for a start the script doesn’t make a lick of sense, it digs itself into a hole and cheats its way out of it. It’s messy, confused and you can’t help but think that Smith is making this one up as he goes along.
After falling afoul of a tropical storm, the small crew of a capsized boat are picked up a by a stranded ocean liner. In their desperate search for the missing personnel, they encounter a crazed hooded figure who sadistically picks them off one-by-one, in the race against survival it appears that one of the crew - Jess (George) may know more than she’s letting on. The twists and turns that follow will be seen a mile off by anyone who has a passing interest in film, though most people will be shuffling uncomfortably in their seats a long while before the twists occur.
It’s the film equivalent of a discarded jigsaw puzzle box that contains the odd bits from other puzzles, it doesn’t amount to anything, it grinds down your patience before you conclude that it’s completely pointless, Triangle goes down pathways but never resolves them, it asks questions which it never answers, it’s a gargantuan boring mess that fails to resolve itself.
Triangle wants to be a skewered, horror version of Groundhog Day, Primer and Retroactive but due to some astounding leaps of logic and poor narrative choices, ends up feeling paralysed, repetitive and boring.
It’s a huge shame - Smith shows real potential as a director, the first act of Triangle contains a rather pervading atmosphere and the core idea of a woman trapped in the physical embodiment of her own nightmare shows a lot of potential, but ultimately it’s wasted, it feels like everyone decided to give up halfway through. Don’t waste your time, Triangle is destined to sink without a trace.
Jonny Dawson
