Final Review

PARAGRAPH 1: SYNOPSIS (65 WORDS)

One bizarre board game brings disturbance to a cluster of close friends who opted for a serene evening of sipping wine and chatting, but each roll of the dice chucks a new challenge which channels fear and bewilderment amongst the group. In this intriguing short film, four friends discover the brutal consequences of one friend’s greed as they become victims of a life gambling game.

PARAGRAPH 2: CHARACTERS/CONTEXT (96 WORDS)

The remarkable confidence of the actors shone through wonderfully, making the experience more engrossing to watch; the inclusion of nifty camera shots allowed scenes to upsurge with expertise and Olympus smartly kept the focus on the board game as if we were in the shoes of the villainous Monopoly man himself. The characters continuously progress around the board until they land on a ‘Chance’ card and the players have a 50/50 chance of the card being positive or negative. Nevertheless, in a departure from the familiar game, supernatural occurrences ensue, producing real money to the participants.

PARAGRAPH 3: GENRE/AUDIENCE (162 WORDS)

Supernatural elements are explored to justify the sinister events produced by the Monopoly board that are inexplicable to the human eye. The enigma generated conveys the aspects of a Horror genre whilst sustaining elements of a Fantasy in the mayhem caused by the sorcerous board game. Conversely Jon Favreau’s film Zathura uses a comparable narrative of two brothers discovering a board game that also causes unexplainable events. Contrastingly however, director Favreau uses repeated conventions of a Sci-Fi Action Adventure film as opposed to a Horror Fantasy which uses financial snags to drive the narrative. Both films target a different audience; Zathura targets a family audience due to its playful spin on the Astronaut protagonist which the film reveals to be an important character due to the unity he brings to the squabbling siblings. Olympus’ Advance to Go attempts to appeal to an audience aged from seventeen to twenty-five by characterising their protagonists as young and realistically troubled in terms of financial issues.

PARAGRAPH 4: REVIEWERS EXPERIENCE (96 WORDS)

What makes this Fantasy Horror so captivating is the simplicity of the familiar family board game being possessed and the financial theme which addresses their young adult audience. But was it not inevitable that this Monopoly driven narrative was going to involve someone cheating? Unsurprisingly, Charley Baker’s portrayal of his character Russell projected greed and selfishness which caused him to be a dislikeable character. It’s clear that Olympus have successfully fed their young adult demographic with generous helpings of hellish events which are enough to keep them satisfied until their next craving for another spine-tingling film.

WORD COUNT: 419