Andron (2015) Movie Review

What happens when you combine elements from Cube, The Matrix, The Maze Runner, and The Hunger Games into one movie? Do you get the greatest film of all time ? Let’s find out. I also want to mention that I found 2 different versions of the movie poster. One with Alec Baldwin and one without. Which do you prefer ?

Did it make my list of The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters ?

Andron (IMDB) (Amazon)

Andron movie poster
Andron Movie poster

Also known as Andron: The Black Labyrinth the film starts with people awakening in an unknown place without any memory of why they are there (Cube). The place is very dark and industrial and set-up in a very confusing maze like fashion (The Maze Runner). Slowly they group (called contenders) finds out that only 1 of them can escape the maze and win their freedom (The Hunger Games). The game is controlled by evil corporations in the future and they are connected into a neural network (The Matrix). So then, this IS the greatest movie you have never seen right ?

No

It’s terrible. With bad effects, numerous plot holes, bad acting and really no character that you want to cheer for or against. The Bad guys go down like Storm troopers in outfits made by your aunties crafting group. The special effects give special a bad name. AVOID. 3/10.

Foxes (2011) Movie Review

I seem to be on a movie kick lately. There have been some great maze movies and there have been some terrible ones, umm…. The Funhouse Massacre, The Maze and Mazes and Monsters . So how is the short film Foxes ? Have you seen Vivarium ? That is important to understand this review.

FOXES (IMDB) (Amazon)

Foxes movie poster

This is actually 2 different reviews based on one piece of information that only you know - Have you seen Vivarium starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Potts or not ? The movie poster and trailer should help you if you are not sure.

vivarium movie poster

Best movie trailer thumbnail ever ?

Now read the appropriate section !

I have seen Vivarium - Read this

I found this movie when I was researching the movie Vivarium which was based on this short film from the same director, Lorcan Finnegan. So comparisons between the 2 movies make sense, like how this film feels much less maze-like than Vivarium. Remember how the housing complex in Vivarium had a very artificial and plastic look to it, well the housing complex this couple is trapped in has a much more realistic look to it. While the couple in Vivarium has a much more linear timeline, this couple appears to be in a more Groundhog Day type loop of sameness. The wife eventually senses this and tries to break out of the monotony. And there are shrieking foxes. And things are weird. There aren’t a lot of answers in this film but there sure are a lot of questions. It is worth a look (see the video below!).

I have NOT seen Vivarium - Read this

The 2011 short film Foxes is directed by Lorcan Finnegan who later directed the film Vivarium based on this same story. Have you ever been to a planned community in suburbia where every house looks the same and they seem to stretch on forever ? Every street you turn down curves around to another street that looks the same as the last one. You are more likely to meet a roundabout dead end than the main road because the traffic planners did not want to make streets that could be navigated quickly, slowing vehicles down and keeping the local children safe. Those subdivision developments are built on the edges of towns where large amounts of land can be secured and they have names like The Meadows, Canyon Estates and Magnolia Country Lakes. Now you have a sense for the setting of this movie. Now add in a bit of Groundhog Day like daily grind of being that you can get stuck in from the routines we have from going to work each day. And every once in awhile because the subdivision was built on new land you get visited by foxes. Loud foxes. And you begin to question what exactly is really going on. What does this all mean ? You won’t find any answers here, but you will have lots of questions. This is a short film worth watching. I recommend it.

Hey, no need for a trailer, why don’t you just watch the whole thing !!! If you have 16 minutes, I think it is worth your time !

Vivarium (2019) Movie Review

I watch any movie that features a maze or labyrinth as part of the plot. Usually that means some great maze movies that I would recommend everyone watch. But it seems I got the best movies out of the way first based on my last 3 sub-par movie reviews: The Funhouse Massacre, The Maze and Mazes and Monsters . So where does Vivarium come out ? Let’s find out….

Vivarium (IMDB) (Amazon)

Vivarium movie poster

So Vivarium is a comedy horror film starring Imogen Potts and Jesse Eisenberg as a young couple looking to purchase their first house. They stop into the Yonder Homes rental office and decide to visit the development where they are shown house #9. The sign as they pull into the development says “Quality Family Homes. Forever”. Everything from there on out goes wrong. The rental agent mysteriously leaves them and despite a full day of driving they cannot find their way out of the development, continually driving in circles stuck in a maze of identical looking homes. Exhausted, they spend the first night in the house eager to try exiting again the next day.

And the next day.

And creatively the next day.

And again, and again. . But they are stuck. Forever ?

Invisible workers that can never be caught are dropping off food and taking trash, and one day the drop off something a bit more interesting with a note that says if they complete a task they can leave.

Things get weird (wait they weren’t already weird ?) from there. And creepy. And finally a bit crazy.

This is an interesting concept for a movie but the last 20 minutes could have been improved. Still I liked the movie better than the critics and would recommend it as a free stream/ library rental. It certainly is worth having a conversation about with friends. What would you do in this situation ? What the heck was going on ? etc. What’s was the deal with ****** (spoiler free question !!!) ? And when you are done watching the movie, if you were interested, you will search for “Vivarium ending explained”.

This movie is the longer version of the short film Foxes (2011) from the same director. The theme is the same with a slightly different story, and I would recommend it. You can read my review which includes a link to watch the entire movie.

One of my favorite parts of this movie is the thumbnail for the trailer below ! We’ve all felt this way.

Mazes and Monsters (1982) Movie Review

I love watching movies where mazes and labyrinths are a key part of the movie. They usually make for some great maze movies. But there are also movies like The Funhouse Massacre and The Maze. So where does this TV movie from 1982 starring Tom Hanks rank ? I mean Tom Hanks is in it, it must be good !

Mazes and Monsters (IMDB) (Amazon)

Mazes and Monsters movie poster

Mazes and Monsters premiered on TV just after Christmas in 1982. This was a time when Dungeons and Dragons was becoming very popular (and in researching this it happens this game changes in popularity often) and the movie tried to play off of that. This was also a time when parents started to become worried about demonic influences in games/tv/video games that eventually led to congressional hearings.

The movie revolves around 4 college friends who play M&M together. One night they vote to play their next game inside the local caverns to add some excitement to the game. Of course things don’t go as planned, monsters begin appearing in dreams, and one of the players gets lost in the caverns (they are like a maze). Eventually the police begin searching for missing player but the caverns are difficult to search….

But this movie is NOT about some plot, it is about a moral that the viewer must learn and that is- Playing Mazes and Monsters (or in real life D&D) leads to dangerous and disturbing behavior (see what I did there, D&D) in players and mental health problems. Parents, be careful in what you allow your children to play/watch.

For Tom Hanks, this was his 6th ever credit as an actor, right after some single episode work on Taxi and Happy Days, and before a 3 episode run on Family Ties. But by March of 1984, 15 months after this TV movie first aired Hanks got his break in film by appearing with Daryl Hannah in Splash. As of this writing, Mazes and Monsters is considered the worst rated movie or show Tom Hanks was ever in !!! Don’t fight it, avoid this movie !!!!

OR. You can check out this short video: