BY JOSH ROGERS
Patrick Regis as Eric
Paintball, the game, became popular before Americans were re-confronted with the morbid realities of war — so it’s hard to know if the idea of war games where the only casualties are uniforms with bright color stains and twisted ankles still holds the same appeal here. No doubt many still get a rush running around in the woods, matching military wits with competing teams — or at least they think it would be something fun to try.
Directed by Daniel Benmayor, the movie captures that excitement from the beginning as eight strangers on the green team literally hit the ground running. The hand-held camera creates suspense even before the game gets more serious. The movie is similar to “The Descent,” although it is much, much better than that problematic film and is somewhat reminiscent of “The Blair Witch Project,” (with its characters trying to find their way in the woods).
Issues of trust, survival instincts and the difficulties of working together run throughout the movie — which takes place in an undisclosed location. The suspense and tension is strong through the first hour. The film loses a little momentum when the audience learns more about what’s going on; but it picks up with a good ambiguous ending which is open to debate. Like “Blair Witch,” the less you know about “Paintball” the more enjoyable it is.
Spoiler paragraph. The game quickly gets more serious when one of the characters is killed with live ammunition and the rest decide to continue playing the game because it appears to be the only way to get out alive. The flags they are supposed to secure also have suitcases with important gear — the first has a bulletproof vest, which adds to the distrust. Characters gradually are done in by each other or a mysterious hunter.
The ensemble cast does a good job of acting, although the audience learns nothing of their background or initial motivation — namely why they would try paintball without any friends or loved ones. Those missing details do not take away from a good suspense flick, which Tribeca Film Festival puts in the “Midnight Movie” category.
