Match, the latest film from director Danishka Esterhazy (The Slumber Party Massacre remake, Killer Body Count) doubles down on the meaning of its title. On the surface, it’s very clearly about protagonist Paola (Humberly González) ‘s attempts to “match” with men on dating apps.
Because the film is a dating horror movie, it’s unsurprising when her perfect match, Henry, proves to be something entirely different. Like so many contemporary horror films, the cold open spoils the surprise by beginning in media res as a drugged, restrained Paola is being wheeled down a decrepit hallway. The film then flashes back to reveal how she got there. Thankfully, that’s only the first ~12 minutes, though. Co-screenwriters Al Kaplan and Jon Kaplan have a good handle on their pacing, so each time the film starts to lag or become repetitive, they switch it up: either by introducing a new complication for Paolo or inserting a new person into the mix.
The basic premise is as such: Paola is a single woman who has gone on a series of terrible dates with awful men. She matches with Henry and, despite a warning from her sister Maria (Sheanne Jimenez), Paola takes Henry up on his offer to make her a home cooked meal on the night before her father’s (Peter Butler) heart surgery.
Naturally, Paola is being catfished by Henry’s mother, Lucille (Dianne Simpson, serving major Laurie Matcalf-in-Scream 2 vibes). Lucille is a doting mother who desperately wants her son to find a mate. What follows is quite similar to the premise of Fuck My Son! because Henry (played by Jacques Adriaanse under heavy prosthetics) is not your average man, and Lucille has no qualms about sexual assault in order to secure herself a grandchild.
The remainder of Match follows a fairly predictable pattern as Paola struggles to escape from captivity and avoid being raped. Meanwhile, Maria switches into investigative mode when Paola doesn’t turn up, and other characters find their way into Lucille’s house of horrors. The film has a heavy amount of familiarity, but the Kaplans have enough narrative tricks up their sleeve, and also pepper the film with a healthy dose of (sometimes non-PC) humor.
The comedy is much needed, considering how dour and upsetting the general premise is. In one memorable instance, Paola makes efficient use of the home’s many mousetraps to catch Henry on a particularly sensitive piece of anatomy, and Esterhazy is content to let the camera linger on the mutant carnage to both icky and funny effect.
Overall, the film looks good. It’s hard to make a house of horror feel memorable without evoking the classics like Psycho or TCM, so credit Production Designer Kerry Von Lillienfeld for dressing the corridors and rooms to quickly and easily convey the rot and ruin (naturally, this includes a room full of decapitated dolls, as well as a disgusting bathroom).
Esterhazy and Second Assistant Director Alex Lee also do a good job of creating tension as Paola explores dark spaces using the light from her trusted pack of matches (this is the other play on the film’s title since Paola helpfully keeps a book of matches in her bra). These sequences maximize Paola’s limited field of vision and capitalize on the shadows that are thrown off by a tiny light source. This only comes into play two or three times, but each time Paola strikes a match to go searching, it’s effective.
The biggest issue is that despite the film’s willingness to regularly introduce new elements, the story is essentially exactly what you expect. While other characters, such as new catfish victim Natalie (Nikita Faber) and Paola’s ex-boyfriend Ryan (Dean Goldblum), add some spark and more comedy, they’re introduced so late in the film that they are barely used before Match rushes into its conclusion.
Alas, the end is also the film’s weakest aspect. While the outcome of Match and the fate of several characters are surprising, it’s also unsatisfying. To say that the film ends on a sour, unearned note is an understatement; it may subvert expectations, but the end of the film also arguably doesn’t work.
It’s a shame because there are several aspects of Match that are worth recommending. From González’s dedicated performance to the sisterly relationship between Maria & Paolo to Simpson having a ball playing an extremely non-PC character, the Tubi original has the right qualities to be a solid exploitation thriller.
Between the uneven use of characters, the occasionally repetitive beats, and the unsatisfying ending, however, this one isn’t a slam dunk.
Match is now streaming exclusively on Tubi.
The post ‘Match’ Review – An Uneven Tubi Exploitation Thriller appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
