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The Activated Man Review
Image Credit: Genie Productions
Loading...The Activated Man Review
Jamie Costa– Ors Gabriel
Ivana Rojas– Sarah Reeve
Tony Todd– Jeffrey Bowman
Kane Hodder– Laszlo Gabriel
Sean Young– Agnes Gabriel
Andrew Keegan– Kit Waller
Scott Brown– The Fedora Man
Vladimir Kulich– Wendigo
Sab Shimono– Mr. Hideyoshi
Jack Eyman– Young Ors
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Nicholas Gyeney
Screenplay by Nicholas Gyeney
Produced by Genie, Mirror Images LTD., and Safier Entertainment
Rated R for some strong violent content and language
Runtime– 115 minutes
https://www.facebook.com/theactivatedmanmovie
The Activated Man, written and directed by Nicholas Gyeney, is a thoroughly heartfelt horror fantasy with an all-star cast, a new potentially iconic horror villain, and a set of beliefs I’m not sure I can get behind and support when it comes to psychics and mediums and all that hooey (and that’s what psychics and mediums are. Hooey. There’s also a bit about the CIA that’s just bonkers). Still, even with those issues, The Activated Man is a terrific cinematic genre ride.
The Activated Man stars Jamie Costa as Ors Gabriel, a man trying to come to terms with the sudden death of his beloved dog Louie. Louie had cancer, yes, but you’re never prepared for when a beloved pet dies, even with that diagnosis (I personally know that to be true). Gabriel’s girlfriend Sarah Reeve (Ivana Rojas) has been trying to console him and support him, which Gabriel greatly appreciates, but it’s still incredibly difficult. Gabriel has also started to experience nightmares as well as flashbacks to the time when Louie died. Gabriel has also started to see Louie’s spirit, which appears as a sort of grainy, ashy ghost that resembles a dog. Gabriela also starts to see a scary man with a harsh, ghost white face, terrifying teeth, and a black hat and trench coat (this is the Fedora Man, played by Scott Brown). Gabriel sort of understands why he can see Louie, but the Fedora Man? Why is he seeing him? Where did the Fedora Man come from?
While all of this is happening to Gabriel, Sarah, a Los Angeles police detective, is in the midst of investigating a series of murder suicides in the city. Along with her partner Kit Waller (Andrew Keegan), Sarah has to figure out why LA is experiencing what other cities have recently gone through, multiple murder suicides that don’t seem to be connected in any way whatsoever. What would cause random people to engage in murder suicides? What the hell was going on in the world to make that kind of thing, to allow that kind of thing, to happen?
And while all of that is going on, Gabriel is suspicious of his new neighbor Jeffrey Bowman (Tony Todd). Gabriel often sees Bowman bring older women to his apartment but then never sees them leave. What the heck is Bowman doing in his apartment to those women? Who the heck is he? Gabriel eventually runs into Bowman one day and finds out that Bowman is a renowned professional psychic and exorcist (a portion of Bowman’s exploits are all over the internets). Thinking that Bowman is a complete fraud and potentially a murderer (again, where did all of those older women go?), Gabriel is taken aback when Bowman offers to help him not only get through and understand his grief regarding Louie’s death (how did Bowman know about Louie?) but also who and what the Fedora Man might be.
So Gabriel starts hanging out with Bowman, learning about the world of spirits and energy and all sorts of other New Agey type horsepucky that is actually real in this movie. These lessons eventually reveal that Gabriel is not only dealing with the grief caused by Louie’s death, but he’s also trying to deal with trauma he experienced when he was a kid, when his father Laszlo (Kane Hodder) left and his mother Agnes (Sean Young) was institutionalized. Gabriel also starts to see his father Laszlo, but he’s not sure if it’s actually him or if it’s a trick of the mind. And what does Laszlo’s strange appearances have to do with the Fedora Man, who seems to appear in and around the same areas Gabriel’s father appears. Just what the heck is going on here?
There are moments in The Activated Man that are hard to take simply because the movie wants the audience to believe in the psychic bullstuff that Bowman keeps talking about and explaining. I mean, yes, you can see what Bowman is talking about, it is clearly happening in the world of the movie, but there’s still a sense of “Oh, come on. Really? You want me to accept this nonsense as real?” At the same time, the way the movie goes for it advocating for a world filled with psychics and spirits and good and bad energies, you can’t help but admire the way the movie commits to its ideas and what it’s advocating for. It also helps that horror icon Tony Todd fully embraces everything his Jeffrey Bowman character says, making it easier to accept that the nonsense you’re watching is somehow real. It’s also amazing how the movie continues having characters explain what’s going on for just about the entire movie and it’s still engaging as hell.
The movie does get a bit convoluted when we find out what’s really going on. I’d suspect that’s why Bowman has so much dialogue (there’s another character, one of the movie’s villains, that has to do the same thing but he’s explaining what’s going on from the villain side). If you let the movie play out, though, and just accept what’s going on, it all does come together. At first, I didn’t think there’d be any real resolution to the “series of murder/suicides” plot (and if there was one it would be unsatisfying) but it does work out. The only aspect of the story that doesn’t really fit is a bit about the CIA. The CIA bit comes out of nowhere and feels like it should be in another movie. The great Vladimir Kulich shows up for this part of the movie and does a fine job, yes (the man knows how to project malevolent sleaze with the best of them), but, again, it seems like the CIA subplot should be in some other movie (a sequel? A prequel?).
The Fedora Man, as portrayed by Scott Brown, is terrifying. You just look at the Fedora Man and you’re already at unease, and that’s before you find out what he is and why he’s in the movie. It’s a great performance, and a great bit of costuming and character staging. A tall looking man wearing ghost white makeup and a set of harsh teeth as well as a black hat and trench coat. I can totally see people dressing up as the Fedora Man for Halloween and for horror conventions. That’s how you know you’re dealing with a potential new horror icon. You can easily see people wanting to dress up as the character.
There’s a person listed in the credits as “Bullshit Police” (that person is Kelsey Aho). What the heck is that about? Aho is also listed as a producer on the movie. Does that role having something to do with “bullshit police?”
Jamie Costa is fantastic as Ors Gabriel. Costa embodies relentless grief with his performance as Gabriel. You can tell that he’s just holding on and dealing with something profoundly bad before you know anything about him, and because of that you want to root for him. When you find out what he’s going through and why and he starts seeing the spirit of his dead dog Louie it puts in a lump in your throat. And because you know you’re watching a horror movie, you momentarily wonder if that lump in your throat is going to be used to gross you out or enrage you later on. Costa’s Gabriel also helps the audience accept the movie’s psychic hooey (it’s sort of a case of “well, he’s living through it and believing it so maybe I should, too”). I adore how Gabriel’s story ends.
Ivana Rojas does a great job as Sarah Reeve, a police detective and Ors’s consoling girlfriend. Sarah seemingly has too much to do. She not only has to deal with the grief her boyfriend is going through as well as her own grief when it comes to Louie while also dealing with the trauma that comes with being a police detective investigating murders and whatnot. It’s amazing that she keeps herself together at all. Rojas also has an interesting buddy cop chemistry with Andrew Keegan’s Kit Waller (the movie could have used more of them together, chasing down leads and interrogating suspects and whatnot). I think you’ll like the way Sarah’s arc works out.
Tony Todd is amazing as Jeffrey Bowman, the professional psychic and exorcist. At first you think Bowman is going to be the movie’s villain because it’s Tony Todd and he’s wearing a hat. Todd’s hat just gives off a weird vibe that you probably shouldn’t trust him. Todd also generates a warmth that you don’t get to see very often from him in any kind of movie, which immediately made me suspicious of him (this movie is trying to trick me!). Shockingly, Tony Todd’s Jeffrey Bowman is one of the movie’s good guys and Todd rocks as a good guy. Todd also has an innate elegance that gets to shine brightly as Bowman (it’s almost like Todd is channeling Sidney Poitier at times). It will be interesting to see if this performance expands the potential parts Todd will get to play in genre movies going forward. I know I would love to see a set of movies where Tony Todd gets to play the hero instead of the villain.
Kane Hodder gives one of his strongest acting performances as Laszlo Gabriel, the mysterious father of Ors. Where id Laszlo go? What happened to him? What was he arguing about with his wife Agnes in that flashback scene? And when we do see Laszlo interacting with Ors in the “real world,” is Laszlo a ghost or a spirit of some kind, or is he a real person? Hodder commits to every line and every moment and it’s a joy to see the horror icon do something a bit unexpected.
Sean Young is mysterious as Agnes Gabriel, the institutionalized mother of Ors. Why was she institutionalized? Is she real or is she an evil spirit of some kind? The big “mind reading” scene she has with Ors is one of the best scenes in the movie. And be on the lookout for Sab Shimono as an old man Reeve and Waller question while investigating the most recent murder suicide.
The Activated Man is a fascinating horror fantasy movie. It isn’t what I was expecting it to be. It’s heartfelt and emotional. It’s weird as hell and it advocates for things that are hard to accept and believe in, but the movie is directed with an energy and a vigor that is truly infectious. The movie also has one of the coolest looking (and scariest) potential new horror icon in the Fedora Man. Writer/director Nicholas Gyeney is clearly passionate about The Activated Man and what it represents and believes, and that is always something worth celebrating. The Activated Man is a worthwhile horror fantasy flick, and it’s something that you should absolutely make an effort to see when it’s unleashed upon the world.
See The Activated Man. See it, see it, see it.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: Around 8
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A kid in a bookstore, a blood red moon (maybe), a pretty cool opening theme, opening narration, nightmare hooey, a dead dog, attempted consoling, hallucinations, teeth brushing, internet research, free stuff, attempted date, psychic bullstuff, talk of energy, a bookstore that may or may not be the same bookstore as in the beginning of the movie, a deep conversation in a book store, talk of negative energy and “planes of existence,” some bullhooey about a ball of light, walking, talk of a “psychic war,” a sudden argument, mild domestic abuse, pie eating, wine bottle breaking, flashbacks, serious popcorn eating, sudden shirt changing, face washing, attempted advocating for suicide, text message hooey, talk of demons and reincarnation, mental hospital hooey, psychic mind reading, whispers, spirit walking, a “mind fuck” montage, a leather bound book, multiple supernatural battles, pocketknife attack, murder, off screen murder, murder suicide hooey, bullet to the head, flicking lights, some bullhooey about the CIA, an abandoned dog, and book buying.
Kim Richards? None.
Gratuitous: “In Memory of Louis” in the opening credits, a “growing murder-suicide epidemic,” a “dog dying” nightmare, Kane Hodder in a flashback, a crystal stone necklace, a scary bad guy, internet bullhooey about reincarnation, a chewed up dog toy, Tony Todd, Tony Todd wearing a white hat, a celebration of dogs, a Punisher action figure on a shelf in the background, a “books” store, Tony Todd talking about the plot of the movie while also acting in the movie, a “Vintage Record Player for Sale” sign in the background, talk of “The Third Eye,” dish breaking, Tony Todd inviting himself over for dinner while also bringing pie, some gigantic dude explaining the philosophy of time, a Nazi spirit with a gun, a business card, items falling off the shelves by themselves, a psychic energy hand fight, Tony Todd doing “spiritual exercises,” talk of a leather bound book that supposedly has all of the answers in it, an old picture of Kane Hodder, Vladimir Kulich, and Tony Todd, Kane Hodder talking about killing people with telepathy, suicide by gun, bullet to the head, a final battle, Vladimir Kulich, some bullhooey about the CIA, an abandoned dog, book buying, and “Protect yourself with light.”
Best lines: I keep seeing him die. Over and over again. I can still feel his fur,” “To cancer,” “All for a dog,” “It’s like losing a son. I lost my son,” “Does it look grainy to you? Grainy?,” “I guess we all have weird neighbors, right?,” “I’m Jeffrey. Bowman. Your weird neighbor,” “How long is the grieving going?,” “Goodnight, my hero,” “Light warrior,” “You don’t think you’ll win, do you?,” “Guess I’m late. You’re here exactly when you’re supposed to,” “I’ll give it to the Catholics. They know their art,” “Forty-five. Forty-five murder suicides in this city in just the last year. Sometimes I wonder if this is hell,” “The more you learn, the stronger you’ll be,” “Always remember, my boy, all time is always happening,” “God, what is happening?,” “You’re not real. You’re not real. You’re not real,” “Is this what crazy looks like?,” “He’s a liar,” “You’re out of Berry Berry Kix,” “I believe a demon took her,” “To have a human life, one must forget,” “I’ve heard a lot about you,” “So, what, you’re some psychic assassin from hell? If there were such a place,” “Who the hell are you?,” “Ors! I will always have her back. So you were not here. Got it?,” “Oh, shit. He’s here. Who’s here? The electrician?,” and “You are not stronger than me!”
