The Task (2011)
So in the wake of way too many reality TV shows we now have way too many movies about the making of reality TV shows. And most of them are classified as horror. Sigh. I was resigned and prepared for more of the same here and I wasn't disappointed.
We have the usual setup - boring, stereotyped young people that you want dead the second you see them are interviewed and seven are picked. Instead of being told they won however, they are 'kidnapped', and brought to an abandoned prison while wearing masks that cover their vision. One guy even wets his pants. Hmm, that was a little different. And the subject of instant lawsuits if this were in any way real. The rules are simple: These stupid kids are to spend one night in the prison doing 'tasks' and if they last the night they get $20,000 each. That seemed pretty damn cheap to me. Oh well. So a fake history is set up - a maniacal warden decided in 1931 to save money because of the depression by executing prisoners at his discretion, usually eating dinner as they died. The last one to be executed was him.
So our six stupid kids (oh yeah, the seventh was a plant to make the other ones more scared) go on with their 'tasks'. They are ordered to perform by an evil clown (Is there really such a thing as a nice, happy clown anymore?) and at first the 'scares' are pretty routine. Of course, things start to go wrong.
Cameras go on and off, a figure is seen wandering the halls (the warden of course, but for the movie he has to wear pants) and people start to die for real. The producer, Connie (Alexandra Staden) begins to get nervous - the show is not going as planned (not the deaths silly, they don't know about those yet). Finally after she actually witnesses the 'warden' appearing and disappearing and several of the kids dying, she realizes it is horribly wrong. She rushes in to 'save' whoever's left.
So in the wake of way too many reality TV shows we now have way too many movies about the making of reality TV shows. And most of them are classified as horror. Sigh. I was resigned and prepared for more of the same here and I wasn't disappointed.
We have the usual setup - boring, stereotyped young people that you want dead the second you see them are interviewed and seven are picked. Instead of being told they won however, they are 'kidnapped', and brought to an abandoned prison while wearing masks that cover their vision. One guy even wets his pants. Hmm, that was a little different. And the subject of instant lawsuits if this were in any way real. The rules are simple: These stupid kids are to spend one night in the prison doing 'tasks' and if they last the night they get $20,000 each. That seemed pretty damn cheap to me. Oh well. So a fake history is set up - a maniacal warden decided in 1931 to save money because of the depression by executing prisoners at his discretion, usually eating dinner as they died. The last one to be executed was him.
We find the 'real' history of the Pennyville Prison - The maniacal warden cruised the women's wing naked, beating, raping, starving anybody he chose. He made some women carry and bear his children, and actually had a couple eat theirs. Since it's closure, twenty homeless people had been found dead inside. Nice.
So our six stupid kids (oh yeah, the seventh was a plant to make the other ones more scared) go on with their 'tasks'. They are ordered to perform by an evil clown (Is there really such a thing as a nice, happy clown anymore?) and at first the 'scares' are pretty routine. Of course, things start to go wrong.
Cameras go on and off, a figure is seen wandering the halls (the warden of course, but for the movie he has to wear pants) and people start to die for real. The producer, Connie (Alexandra Staden) begins to get nervous - the show is not going as planned (not the deaths silly, they don't know about those yet). Finally after she actually witnesses the 'warden' appearing and disappearing and several of the kids dying, she realizes it is horribly wrong. She rushes in to 'save' whoever's left. 
The joke's on her though - the whole thing has been a set up. This is a movie about a fake reality show that is actually a fake reality show about the PRODUCER, with cameras capturing her every response and guaranteeing a good time for all. The 'dead' kids and crew reveal themselves and everyone has a good laugh... until the doors all lock shut, a blinding wind comes from somewhere and here is... the warden. For real. The 'real' history was a true story (for the movie) and now he's gonna clean house. The remaining girl 'contestant' manages to escape out of the prison to the last living crew member. He follows her with his camera asking her for a final word, not realizing the shit got real. She responds by breaking his camera. Do they live? Who cares?
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