Driftwood
Driftwood – not the place to be
I have to admit I was sceptic when I first got this DVD in my hand. Films with former wrestling legends as attractions don’t usually make a success on my home screen.
But let’s start with the story. The 16 year old David (Raviv Ullman) has apparently a behaviour that worries his parents so much that they have him sent to the "attitude adjustment camp" (seems more like a prison to me with all the armed guards and barb wired fences) Driftwood. His rock star brother has recently died but still haunts David from time to time.
At Driftwood David joins several other troubled youths at level 1, but his main problem is introduced by Captain Doug Kennedy (former wrestling star Diamond Dallas Page). The captain has also a daughter who is introduced to the boys wearing tight summer clothes serving iced tea!? I agree – I didn’t understand that one either, but anyway.
David gets mysterious visits at night in his dreams by a boy with a Joker-like grin in his face. He finds out that the captain’s nephew Jonathan disappeared some time ago and the other boys both don’t want to or allowed to talk about what happened. No secret at that point in the film that the sadistic captain has something to do with the disappearance. Along in the story we both are introduced to property development and a strange barbeque.
But surprise - surprise; David get help from the mysterious ghost of Jonathan to get things straight in the camp. End of story.
I have two major problems with the whole story;
The story of the ghost of Jonathan and the dead brother of David are introduced at the same time and I don’t see the connection and can’t separate the two from David’s dreams.
Lousy dialogue performed by even worse actors – or former wrestling stars. Raviv Ullman playing David is the best exception. He isn’t that bad really.
Stories about troubled youths could be told in much more sophisticated and engaging ways, without the sadistic elements of both stupid and sadistic prison guards. And the scenes meant to be creepy in the dark hallways don’t fit in the story. At first I was confused and had to rewind to see what I had missed, but after several such scenes I just was irritated.
Final comments: A totally unnecessary film. Poor story, a messy plot, amateur actors and bad dialogue – anything else? When I sit down in front of my home screen – perhaps together with some friends – I would like to be thrilled or entertained. Here I was neither, just looking forward to the end of the film. Even though the music played during the film was good, it wasn’t enough of it to bring me in any better mood. Stay away from this one at the DVD rental shelves.
Reviewed by Hiro
Special features;
Audio commentaries; Inside the walls of Driftwood; Extended and deleted scenes; Alternate ending; Trailer; Photo gallery and more
Movie facts:
Title: Driftwood
Director: Tim Sullivan
With Raviv Ullman, Diamond Dallas Page, Talan Torriero
Producing company: Dark horse indie
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