Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Recovery, Slasher in an Insane Asylum

Okay...so its not an insane asylum, per se.  Technically its a treatment facility for heroin addicts...babe heroin addicts.  More importantly...this is a slasher film in the traditional sense.  A knife wielding killer slicing up babe heroin addicts.  Classic theme yes...classic plot?  Not quite.  This may appear to be a standard slasher film, and that would be fine, but it takes another road...not a road to recovery, either.  Directed by John Liang, today we look at 2019's "Recovery."

Ronnie (Stephanie Pearson) was a soldier in Afghanistan.  The highly decorated Ranger was a trained killer.  The absence of war and horrific memories drove her to addiction, and eventually committed to this remote treatment center in the middle of nowhere.  On her first day a raging snow storm isolates the patients and staff from the rest of the world.  Ronnie is angry and hates everyone.  The beautiful Dr. Jessica (Hope Quattrocki) tries to reach her.  Ronnie's fellow patients patients seem quite insane.  Temper issues see Ronnie getting into multiple catfights with everyone else.  She does make friends.  Meg (Liz Fenning) and Dana (Arielle Hader) are two beauties and a lesbian couple.  Her other friend is the nearly catatonic Katherine (Aily Kei) who has totally withdrawn from reality.

Soon, patients start getting slashed.  Suspects?  Everyone...but not for long.  We figure the bodies will pile up and the killer will be identified by attrition.  Nope.  The menace is revealed way before the ending and manifests as much more lethal than your ordinary slasher...you'll see.  Now Ronnie, who was the main suspect, must call on her soldier/killer skills to protect her new friends from a deadly menace.  As bladed weapons discharge many of the heroin addicted babes, Ronnie reverts to her killer mode to fight for the good guys (or gals, actually).

Will the PTSD ridden and addict Ronnie find happiness and recovery in this insane asylum/treatment facility?  Will the surviving babes eventually have to fear Ronnie more than their current tormentor?  Will Dr. Jessica be able to rewrite the textbook on treating addiction after this bloodbath ends?  No humor and a dark setting (literally and figuratively) enhance this slasher tale.  For some dreary horror with a high body count see "Recovery."

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