The Scribbler (film)

The Scribbler

Movie poster
Directed by John Suits
Produced by
Written by Daniel Schaffer
Starring
Music by Alec Puro
Cinematography Mark Putnam
Edited by Mark Lowrie
Production
company
  • Caliber Media Company
  • New Artists Alliance
Distributed by XLRator Media
Release dates
  • March 1, 2014 (2014-03-01) (Glasgow Fright Fest)
  • September 19, 2014 (2014-09-19) (United States)
Running time
 89 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Scribbler is a 2014 American thriller film directed by John Suits and written by Daniel Schaffer, based on his own graphic novel of same name. The film stars Katie Cassidy, Garret Dillahunt, Eliza Dushku, Kunal Nayyar, Michelle Trachtenberg and Sasha Grey.

Plot

Suki, a young woman suffering from multiple personality disorder, moves into Juniper Tower, an apartment complex that serves as a halfway house for mental patients who don't need to be institutionalized any longer, but are not completely cured yet. Suki has been given an experimental device that lets her perform a procedure known as The Siamese Burn on herself. The machine is supposed to "burn" all her extra personalities until she only has one left.

At Juniper Tower, Suki reconnects with her friend with benefits Hogan, a man who fakes depression so that he can stay there as the "rooster of the henhouse". She also meets several female tenants and learns that Hogan has slept with most of them. One by one, the girls are found dead from apparent suicide.

Suki soon realizes that the girls have actually been murdered, and is worried that one of her multiple personalities is responsible. She keeps using the "Siamese Burn" to delete them, but the machine has been heavily modified, which leads Suki to believe that one of her personas, the one that committed the crimes, is trying to keep Suki from getting rid of her. She suspects the mysterious "Scribbler", a superpowered being who communicates with her by scribbling messages backwards.

Suki finally understands that the Scribbler has really been trying to help her solve the murders, and embraces her alter ego in order to fight the real killer, Alice, an escaped mental patient who's been hiding at Juniper Tower. Alice turns out to be the evil personality of Veronica, a young woman who unsuccessfully used the "Siamese Burn" to remove her. After the Scribbler overpowers Alice, Veronica commits suicide.

Later that night, Suki is interrogated by Detective Moss, who believes she committed all the murders, and Doctor Silk, who's hoping to figure out what really happened. During the interrogation, Hogan creates a distraction, and Suki uses the Scribbler's supernatural abilities to escape.

Cast

Production

Filming began in May 2012 in Los Angeles at Linda Vista Community Hospital.[1]

Release

The Scribbler premiered at the Glasgow FrightFest on March 1, 2014.[2] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 21, 2014.[3]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 40% of ten surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.7/10.[4] Metacritic rated it 27/100 based on six reviews.[5] Geoff Berkshire of Variety likened it to Sucker Punch as if it were made by The Asylum.[6] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Although ultimately far too muddled in its concept and execution to be anything more than a curiosity, The Scribbler does manage the dubious feat of being one of the strangest films you're likely to see this year."[7] Film Journal International wrote, "With its endless edginess and unhealthy obsession with madness at its most flamboyant, The Scribbler strains to be a cult film, but even the most diehard lovers of cinema strangeness may find it ultimately too nonsensical and needlessly overwrought."[8] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Director John Suits seems more concerned with plying eyeballs with creepy atmospherics, showy visual effects and sexy interludes than with propulsive pacing or roiling tension."[9] Mark Rabinowitz of Paste wrote, "The Scribbler is overwrought, absurd, occasionally exploitative, completely lacking in subplot, takes a good 20–25 minutes to really get going and has acting that varies from excellent to, well, less-than-excellent. It’s also hugely fun!"[10] Matt Donato of We Got This Covered rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "While The Scribbler isn't exactly in contention with the best that the comic book genre has to offer, Katie Cassidy utilizes the numerous voices in her head to create a unique hero for a bit of stylized freshness."[11] Jess Hicks of Bloody Disgusting rated it 4/5 stars and wrote, "The Scribbler is a great example of how you don’t need a few million dollars to make an entertaining superhero movie."[12] Scott Hallam of Dread Central rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "The Scribbler is entertaining and has plenty of action to keep viewers interested. If you can handle an ending that feels like an afterthought, then you'll dig this one."[13]

References

  1. ↑ "'The Scribbler' Starts Production With Katie Cassidy Starring". deadline.com. May 9, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Scribbler - John Suits: FrightFest Glasgow 2014". London FrightFest Film Festival. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ Barton, Steve (September 25, 2014). "The Scribbler Takes Notes on Home Video". Dread Central. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Scribbler (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Scribbler". Metacritic. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ Berkshire, Geoff (September 19, 2015). "Film Review: 'The Scribbler'". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ Scheck, Frank (September 18, 2014). "'The Scribbler': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Film Review: The Scribbler". Film Journal International. September 18, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (September 18, 2014). "Review An indecipherable 'Scribbler' goes nowhere". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ Rabinowitz, Mark (September 24, 2014). "The Scribbler". Paste. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ Donato, Matt (September 15, 2014). "The Scribbler Review". We Got This Covered. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  12. ↑ Hicks, Jess (October 28, 2014). "[Review] 'The Scribbler' A Better Origin Story Than Most". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  13. ↑ Hallam, Scott (September 15, 2014). "Scribbler, The (2014)". Dread Central. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
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