GPS: The Movie (DVD Review)
22 Feb, 2009 By: John LatchemPrebook 2/24/09; Street 3/31/09
Channel Sources
Thriller
$24.95 DVD
Rated ‘R’ for some violence.
Stars Daniel Magill, Nicola Anderson, Artine Brown, Paul Proios, DJ Perry.
Looking at the catchy box art of a DVD called GPS: The Movie, one might get an immediate impression the film focuses on the phenomenon of Geocaching.
For those not in the know, Geocaching is a treasure-hunting game in which participants use GPS trackers to locate hidden boxes of goodies. A film about the craze could easily become this generation’s Gotcha!, the 1985 film about college-campus paintball wars turning all too real.
Instead, GPS turns out to be a decent horror-film throwback that uses a GPS hunt as a plot device to set up the slasher scenario.
Bob (Paul Proios) and Andrew (Daniel Magill) are avid Geocachers who receive a mysterious message from an old buddy named Shep, who has disappeared after stealing $2 million. The pair have reason to believe Shep is sending them on a GPS search for the cash, and since it coincides with a camping trip they have planned, they enlist their friends to help.
All goes well until they find the first clue, consisting of Polaroid pics of a bound and gagged woman tagged with a message to not let her die. Soon after, members of the expedition are knocked off one by one.
The Blair Witch meets “Amazing Race” format gives director/co-writer Eric Colley plenty of opportunities to have fun with horror movie clichés. Colley displays a lot of talent behind the camera in what IMDb indicates is his first feature-length directorial effort. He makes good use of his Washington-state surroundings and keeps the action moving nicely.
His efforts earned GPS the Without a Box Best Action Film award at the Action on Film International Film Festival, as well as Best Local Film at the Tacoma Film Festival.
Extras on the DVD include an online game tied to scenes in the movie, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a commentary track and bonus footage from Colley’s short film Mistaken, starring Twilight’s Cam Gigandet.