arfdawg-1 Five friends break into a closed corn maze in the middle of the night and decide to play a harmless game of tag. Little do they know that a psychopathic killer has decided to play along.As they wander aimlessly through the maze the murderer follows closely behind, taunting them and watching their every move. The game turns deadly when the kids decide to separate and weaken their chances of survival. When the mutilated body of the maze owner is found they realize that something is terribly wrong. As they race to find the entrance of the maze, the murderer cleverly forces them to follow the path that he wants. Manipulating everyone to his vicious will, the killer taunts his victims and leads them further into the depths of the maze. After succumbing to hours of torture will anyone make it out of the maze...alive? Will you care? I didn't. The movie is unbearably slow. And so dark you can barely make out what is happening on your screen.

bababear Five friends drive out to visit a legendary corn maze but get lost on the way, so when they arrive they decide to go explore it anyway instead of getting into the car and driving back to the city. Uh, that would have been the world's shortest movie so forget that.Once in the maze they split up and play an elaborate game of tag, not knowing that they aren't alone.And this is where the problems set in. The protagonists- two women (one of whom will, of course, be The Final Girl) and three men- just aren't too interesting. Shalaina Castle is Jordan, The Final Girl, and while she's a competent actress there's no reason for us to root for her. Her appeal to me was how she resembles Barbara Steele, the British actress who reigned in Italian horror movies like Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday in the 1960's.A mysterious figure wearing a red jacket with a hood- the better to hide his/her face and to stir fond memories of Nicholas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW- begins thinning out the cast until Jordan escapes at the end of the second act. Then director Stephen Shimek shifts the scene of the action to various spots around a totally generic nearby town.Several new characters are introduced, including the highly unlikely killer. We keep expecting that there's going to be a major reveal and we'll find out why this person is doing these completely out of character things. Nope. The script said the figure in red chases down this or that character and dispatches them, so that's what happens. What's good about THE MAZE:Honestly, for $200,000 I'll say that Shimek did a great job. Even though there are a lot of elements that come out of left field- I saw this on Chiller, and have no idea what their editors did to change the film's structure- he got it made. It's something I've dreamed of doing all my life, so hats off to Stephen and his crew.Shimek does know what a movie looks like. And he does direct the actors: I've got enough experience on stage to see that someone is in there pitching.And, oddly enough, it has a tremendous musical score. That was what kept my hand off the fast forward button throughout the film. The score is credited to Lance Montgomery, a name totally unfamiliar to me. Yes, it's influenced by the scores for VERTIGO and PSYCHO, but at least it's influenced by brilliant work. Whether it's "real" instruments or Mr. Montgomery sweating bullets over a keyboard could matter less to me. It creates atmosphere and builds suspense, and kept me watching.And there are two excellent performances. Whoever the actor is playing the man who gave the killer a ride into town was natural and comfortable in front of the camera. Good work, and sorry I didn't catch the character's name. And Richard Dutcher as Sheriff Ben also delivers fine work.The big problem is the screenplay. It just doesn't deliver. And the third act is a shambles (although it does finally gel somewhat better toward the very atypical finish).Honestly, I think the author would have been happier working outside the horror genre and doing something more character driven; you've gotta dance with who brung you, though.If you watch this, think of it like seeing a community theater performance while visiting Utah and appreciate the hard work that these dedicated amateurs put forth on both sides of the camera.

Nick Damian There are actually good points to this lame, uninteresting and sleepy story. It is the camera work.How the production company managed to get somebody skilled to work on such a go nowhere movie is beyond me, but there is some fine camera work on here. The editing is OK as well, but that aside, this story just doesn't have no go.People trapped in a cornfield and can't escape.I guess it must be hard to just walk through the rows of corn if there is no path.I don't know how farmers do it...must be some advanced technology in their abilities.Anyway, a couple teens go to a farm and go into a maze and get killed.During the process you get to learn all about the interesting new aspects about corn - like it's strong as steel and nobody can escape from a cornfield.A horror movie with no scary to it.Just as entertaining as this review.

danspaceman I don't know what the worst part of this movie is. The acting, the story, or the dragging pace.The ending, though not typical, is unsatisfying and it comes after what can only be described as 10 minutes of stupid. Though, that seemed to be the main theme of this film.Five friends in a corn maze at night, one psycho and a bumbling country police force. All the elements of a b-grade slasher flick, but without the charm of one.There is very little lead in, and, after an inexplicable opening sequence which is not explained at all, the action starts withing a few minutes. There is no character development whatsoever before the characters start getting picked off.There is the typical lone-survivor-faces-killer-in-one-on-one-showdown, before escaping. That happens with 30 minutes to go. Then comes the "twist" which is less of a twist and more of an eye-roll.Cue weird and unnecessary flashback reminding the audience of what they just saw - you know - in case your short term memory prevents you from remembering more than 10 minutes of your life at any one time.It's not scary, it's not tense. Despite the opening scene, which is rather good, it is never explained and the rest of the movie is very poor by comparison.Of all the movies I've seen this year, this ranks as the worst. Look for it soon in the ex-rental bargain bin of your local video store.