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7 Days To Live
Trimark // R // August 14, 2001
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Life in the country doesn't seem to suit Ellen Shaw (Amanda Plummer) and her husband Martin (Sean Pertwee). The solitude of their new house – a creaking mansion that has been abandoned for over twenty years – may be helping Martin overcome his writer's block, but it's having a distinctly unpleasant effect on Ellen. Mysterious warnings of her impending death keep appearing in unlikely places, leading Ellen to wonder if she's losing her mind... or whether there's a malevolent outside influence at work on her and Martin.
When you're watching 7 Days to Live, make sure you give it a fair chance: the film overall is much better than the rather cheesy opening scene would suggest. While the beginning is somewhat over-the-top, the movie soon develops a much more sustainable and enjoyable tone. I was fairly impressed by director Sebastian Niemann's work with the premise of the film; what's imagined or anticipated is always more powerful than what's actually shown, and Niemann uses this principle to create tension from small, seemingly mundane visual elements and the viewer's fear for the characters, rather than gruesome special effects.
At 97 minutes, the film is well-paced, with never a dull moment. There's not a predictable moment, either; Niemann succeeds in creating mysteries that are intriguing and that I couldn't figure out before the characters did. The viewing experience is made more engaging by the fact that the plot doesn't develop in a predictable manner: "what's going to happen next?" is a question of genuine interest. It's evident that the film draws heavily for inspiration from The Shining, with borrowed elements including the writer as character, the theme of the movie, and many specific images and events. In a way, that's a point against the originality of the movie, but on the other hand, at least 7 Days to Live chose an interesting movie to borrow from!
It's a great relief to see that the cast of 7 Days to Live is made up of genuinely interesting actors, not the generic-attractive-young-adult staple horror-movie cast. Amanda Plummer (whom I recognized from her performance as Honey Bunny in Pulp Fiction) is a great choice as Ellen. I'm sure she's not considered conventionally beautiful, but Plummer has an interesting face and voice, and she brings Ellen to life as a character whom I can actually relate to as a real human being, not as a cardboard victim/protagonist. Sean Pertwee also turns in a convincing performance as a character skirting (and crossing) the border between normal life and obsession.
Picture
7 Days to Live is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. Yes, it is definitely anamorphic, even though the case doesn't say so, and the online listings I've seen don't specify it. The image is very clean, with almost no noise. Daylight scenes in particular look very nice, with bright, vibrant, accurate-looking colors. Dark scenes are not up to the same standard as the daylight scenes, as the contrast doesn't bring out the level of detail that I would have liked to have seen. Overall, it's a nice-looking image and pleasant to watch.
Sound
Movies set in creepy old houses have a great opportunity to set the viewer on edge with effective use of sound, and 7 Days to Live doesn't disappoint. The Dolby 5.1 track offers clean, clear dialogue with effective use of surround for environmental effects.
Extras
The disc is fairly light on the special features. In addition to a trailer, there's a set of very brief promotional-style interviews with Niemann and several of the actors, totaling less than ten minutes.
Final thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised with this movie (well, to be precise, I was horribly creeped out while watching it, which translates afterwards into "pleasantly surprised"), finding it to be quite effectively scary and reasonably original. I wasn't quite sure what recommendation to give for it, however. I'm easily scared by movies, and I don't watch many horror movies as a general rule; I'm not sure whether a horror aficionado would find 7 Days to Live as scary or as interesting as I did. So I'd recommend renting it first to see if you like the film before adding it to your collection. On the other hand, if you're already somewhat intrigued by the movie and inclined to get it, I'd say go ahead, since the quality of the DVD is quite good.
When you're watching 7 Days to Live, make sure you give it a fair chance: the film overall is much better than the rather cheesy opening scene would suggest. While the beginning is somewhat over-the-top, the movie soon develops a much more sustainable and enjoyable tone. I was fairly impressed by director Sebastian Niemann's work with the premise of the film; what's imagined or anticipated is always more powerful than what's actually shown, and Niemann uses this principle to create tension from small, seemingly mundane visual elements and the viewer's fear for the characters, rather than gruesome special effects.
At 97 minutes, the film is well-paced, with never a dull moment. There's not a predictable moment, either; Niemann succeeds in creating mysteries that are intriguing and that I couldn't figure out before the characters did. The viewing experience is made more engaging by the fact that the plot doesn't develop in a predictable manner: "what's going to happen next?" is a question of genuine interest. It's evident that the film draws heavily for inspiration from The Shining, with borrowed elements including the writer as character, the theme of the movie, and many specific images and events. In a way, that's a point against the originality of the movie, but on the other hand, at least 7 Days to Live chose an interesting movie to borrow from!
It's a great relief to see that the cast of 7 Days to Live is made up of genuinely interesting actors, not the generic-attractive-young-adult staple horror-movie cast. Amanda Plummer (whom I recognized from her performance as Honey Bunny in Pulp Fiction) is a great choice as Ellen. I'm sure she's not considered conventionally beautiful, but Plummer has an interesting face and voice, and she brings Ellen to life as a character whom I can actually relate to as a real human being, not as a cardboard victim/protagonist. Sean Pertwee also turns in a convincing performance as a character skirting (and crossing) the border between normal life and obsession.
Picture
7 Days to Live is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. Yes, it is definitely anamorphic, even though the case doesn't say so, and the online listings I've seen don't specify it. The image is very clean, with almost no noise. Daylight scenes in particular look very nice, with bright, vibrant, accurate-looking colors. Dark scenes are not up to the same standard as the daylight scenes, as the contrast doesn't bring out the level of detail that I would have liked to have seen. Overall, it's a nice-looking image and pleasant to watch.
Sound
Movies set in creepy old houses have a great opportunity to set the viewer on edge with effective use of sound, and 7 Days to Live doesn't disappoint. The Dolby 5.1 track offers clean, clear dialogue with effective use of surround for environmental effects.
Extras
The disc is fairly light on the special features. In addition to a trailer, there's a set of very brief promotional-style interviews with Niemann and several of the actors, totaling less than ten minutes.
Final thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised with this movie (well, to be precise, I was horribly creeped out while watching it, which translates afterwards into "pleasantly surprised"), finding it to be quite effectively scary and reasonably original. I wasn't quite sure what recommendation to give for it, however. I'm easily scared by movies, and I don't watch many horror movies as a general rule; I'm not sure whether a horror aficionado would find 7 Days to Live as scary or as interesting as I did. So I'd recommend renting it first to see if you like the film before adding it to your collection. On the other hand, if you're already somewhat intrigued by the movie and inclined to get it, I'd say go ahead, since the quality of the DVD is quite good.
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