DVD Review: Shiver

By Brad Henderson

When the name Danielle Harris appears in a movie, millions of fanboys cry out in joy. However, Shiver is a film that will just make you cry. Shiver isn’t terrible and has a decent plot, but the film suffers from a lack of cleverness.

I’m not a fan of films where people are saved at the last minute over and over or those where people are at the right place at the right time through the course of the film. Shiver isn’t paced well at all and it hurts this film dearly. Danielle Harris and Casper Van Dien have great chemistry and work really well together and their dynamic flow is the only entertaining thing in the whole film. It would be nice to see these two on screen again in a different film.

The main issue with the film is the performance by John Jarratt. I know that is hard to believe because he is amazing in Wolf Creek, Rogue, and Django Unchained. John Jarratt isn’t a bad actor at all; in fact, he is quite terrifying at times and often steals the show. In Shiver he plays the serial killer but he is so unconvincing that it makes the movie comical at times. Whenever he attacks his victims it isn’t scary at all, it is just boring.

I’m not sure who is at fault here but the film had potential and a decent cast. Yes, I do think Casper Van Dien is a decent actor. If you laugh at this I recommend you see the The Pact because he acts his ass off in that film. I know Van Dien, Harris, and Jarratt are competent and have shown us spectacular performances all around, so I’m not sure what happened with Shiver.

Please don’t take my negativity to the bank and let it prevent you from watching this horror flick. Wait for it to be on Netflix, give it an early morning watch, and see what you think. Am I just not seeing the elements that make this film work, or are they not there? I’m a huge fan of all the actors involved and I was actually looking forward to seeing Shiver, but unfortunately I was let down. Sorry.

Shiver was released on DVD on October 8 from Image Entertainment.