Panic Fest Film Festival Coverage
The Activated Man review.
Not just another creepy face. The Activated Man is more than meets the eye.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Activated Man
Directed by Nicholas Gyeney
Written by Nicholas Gyeney
Starring Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Sean Young, Andrew Keegan, Vladimir Kulich, Sab Shimono, Jamie Costa and Ivana Rojas
The Activated Man Review
When you look at the picture that up this review (or the poster below it) …you may come away with some strong assumptions as to what kind of movie The Activated Man is. You’ll only be partially correct. Unless you immediately landed on a story about the grief of losing a dog unlocking someone’s psychic abilities, forcing them into the middle of a psychic war between good and evil with deep familial ties. If you did guess that? I am incredibly impressed.
Ors Gabriel (Jamie Costa) is devastated by the loss of his dog, and best friend, Louie. One day he sees Louie’s essence sitting in his old dog bed…and a creepy pale man in a black fedora. He, and police officer/girlfriend Sarah (Ivana Rojas), find themselves caught in an increasingly dangerous situation as The Fedora Man draws closer. Psychic neighbor Jeffrey (Tony Todd) seems helpful…but Ors’ father Laszlo (Kane Hodder) warns that Jeffrey isn’t what he seems.
The Activated Man does have horror elements. One look at The Fedora Man tells you that. He pops up to be spooky and coerces people into doing some bad things. The character begins by appearing in the background…an ominous figure meant to unsettle. He becomes an integral part of the storyline in some surprising ways. He gets more, if you’ll pardon the pun, active as the movie goes on. From creeping in doorways to inspiring violent outbursts to forcing characters to kill themselves against their will. You know…horror stuff.
The Activated Man isn’t content with a simple horror story, however. Ors’s newfound psychic abilities make him a target for two sides of an ongoing psychic war. In over his head and with no way to know who he can trust…Ors discovers that he has a deeper connection to the mysterious world of psychics than he could have ever imagined. When I say “psychic war” I don’t mean there is a large battlefield of psychics doing battle. The Activated Man is all about the deep lore. Ors is at the center of something big. And, at times…surprisingly moving.
Look…dead dogs are an easy path to emotional moments. Anyone with a heart will be hit in the feels when a movie goes to the dead dog well. The Activated Man opens with it. When Ors sees his old friend again…it gets to you. He is totally broken by Louie’s death. Whenever the movie needs to strengthen your connection to Ors…they bring up Louie. It works every time. In a story about a fedora wearing killer and an ongoing psychic battle…you don’t expect all the lumps in your throat.
Those moments work so well because The Activated Man boasts a great lead performance from Jamie Costa (Bring Him to Me). The script wants to tip towards the absurd in more ways than one…but Costa’s work is so strong that you go with him on the journey. The movie also carves out roles worthy of its two horror legends. Tony Todd gets a meaty role as Ors’ psychic neighbor. He’s great, as always. Kane Hodder’s part doesn’t show up until partway through the movie…but he becomes an important piece of the puzzle. He delivers some of his finest work.
The psychic story threatens to pull The Activated Man off the rails a few times…but it always remains interesting enough to keep you engaged. Subplots involving Sarah’s partner Kit (Andrew Keegan) and Ors’s mother Agnes (Sean Young) end up connecting to the overall plot in surprising ways. It’s a well-cast movie that doesn’t waste it…even when they seem somewhat superfluous at first blush.
The easiest thing The Activated Man could have done was to make a basic horror story out of a cool looking villain with a couple of iconic horror actors’ names on the poster. Instead, writer/director Nicholas Gyeney fully utilizes his top cast and expands the story far beyond a creepy face staring back at you. Jamie Costa sells every weird impulse the story has with a genuineness and likability that lets it get away with a lot. Whether the story goes places you want it too or not…it goes there with confidence. Just beware getting caught in your emotions if the spirit of a dead dog stops by to say hello.
Scare Value
With a fine cast in top form and ambition beyond its memorable looking antagonist…The Activated Man delivers something unexpected. It gets some easy reactions to its dead dog storyline…but ends up in places you wouldn’t have expected. It uses its light horror elements well. Even in the most ridiculous moments…Jamie Costa and company keep things on the rails.
