The Task (film)
Encyclopedia
The Task is a 2011 horror film
directed by Alex Orwell, written by Kenny Yakkel, produced by Christopher Milburn
and Courtney Solomon
, starring Alexandra Staden, Victor McGuire
and Adam Rayner
. The film
is produced by After Dark Originals
and was released by Lions Gate Entertainment
on January 28, 2011.
), Randall (Marc Pickering
), Toni (Amara Karan
), Dixon (Texas Battle
) and brother and sister Stanton (Tom Payne
) and Angel (Antonia Campbell-Hughes
), are kidnapped to take part in a new reality show which will see them spending a night in an abandoned prison to win $20,000. Show host, Taylor (Adam Rayner
) handcuffs the contestants together, removes their belongings and sends them into the prison.
The contestants find their way to the Warden's office, where they unlock themselves. Soon after, a TV monitor turns on, revealing an evil clown who warns the contestants of the Warden (Valentin Ganev) who used to work at the prison, before being sentenced to death for murdering inmates. Randall is set a task to travel to the chapel of the prison. With a microphone
to communicate with the others, Randall ventures to the chapel and reads a prayer backwards to summon the spirit of the Warden. After completing his task, Randall returns to the others. Outside, the shows team, including Connie (Alexandra Staden), Sclezi (Sam Stockman
), Big Daddy (Victor McGuire
) and Snow (Sean Mcconaghy) begin to lose connection to some of the cameras inside the prison. Sclezi is sent in to fix them, however he is stabbed in the eye by the Warden.
Dixon is set a task, to remain lying in a hole in the ground. Once he is inside the hole, the Warden arrives and locks him in. Connie, Big Daddy and Snow see this, but believe the network had twisted the show to also make them contestants. They let the game continue. Shoe and Randall are set a challenge to eat a meat believed to be human flesh, which they complete. Meanwhile, Toni and Stanton are sent to the Gas Chamber
for their task. Stanton locks Toni in a chair in the gas chamber, and puts a Gas Mask
on her. As the chamber fills with gas, Stanton is instructed to find the switch to stop the gas somewhere in the prison. When he leaves, the Warden appears in the chamber and removes Toni's mask. While Randall and Shoe make their way back to base, they come across the Warden who stabs them to death. As Stanton turns off the gas, the Warden knocks him unconscious.
Connie starts to become worried and sends Big Daddy and Taylor into the prison to check up on the contestants. They are soon attacked though, and Connie attempts to warn Angel to get out of the prison. Angel believes this to be part of the game as she has just been given the task to free Toni and Dixon. Angel enters a cell and finds a knife before the Warden appears with the key. She stabs him, with what she thinks is a fake knife, and retrieves the key. Angel finds Stanton hanging by his ankles in a cell, but before she can help him, the Warden stabs him in the neck before the abused inmates devour him.
Angel runs away, and into Connie who was entered the prison. The Warden returns, and as Angel runs, the Warden catches up with Connie. As Connie prepares to be stabbed, two more Wardens, Shoe, Randall, Taylor and Big Daddy reveal the show was a set up, and Connie was the real contestant. After the initial shock, Connie is sent to retrieve Toni, Taylor to get Dixon, and the others to leave the prison. Taylor finds Dixon murdered in the hole, and Connie realises Toni is dead. The Warden locks Connie in the gas chamber and gases her, while the others are sealed into the prison. Angel just manages to escape out of the prison to Snow, having discovered people were being murdered by the real Warden.
, the review certified it 'Rotten'. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_task/
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Alex Orwell, written by Kenny Yakkel, produced by Christopher Milburn
Christopher Milburn
Christopher Milburn is an English actor and producer who appeared in the last two series of Rumpole of the Bailey as his handsome colleague Dave Inchcape.-Notes:...
and Courtney Solomon
Courtney Solomon
Courtney Solomon is a Canadian film producer.Solomon produced and directed the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons. His latest film, An American Haunting, is based on the Bell Witch legend in Tennessee....
, starring Alexandra Staden, Victor McGuire
Victor McGuire
Victor McGuire is an English actor perhaps best known for playing Jack in series 1–3 of Carla Lane's Bread as well as Ron Wheatcroft in Goodnight Sweetheart, and Sean Hughes' neighbour Tony in Sean's Show .McGuire appeared as Gary, of the pair of "scouser thieves", in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and...
and Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner is an English actor, who has appeared on television in Mistresses, At Home with the Braithwaites and Making Waves. He has also appeared on stage in The Rivals , Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing .-Filmography:* Making Waves, TV Series, 2004* The Line of Beauty...
. The film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is produced by After Dark Originals
After Dark Films
After Dark Films is a horror film production company and distributor founded by Courtney Solomon.-History:The company is the organizer for the annual independent horror film festival After Dark Horrorfest, also known as 8 Films to Die For, which is currently in its fourth year...
and was released by Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
on January 28, 2011.
Plot
Six terrified people, Shoe (Ashley MulheronAshley Mulheron
Ashley Mulheron is a Scottish actress and television presenter.Mulheron trained as an actress on the 1 year course at Central School of Speech and Drama in London....
), Randall (Marc Pickering
Marc Pickering
Marc Pickering is an English stage, film and television actor who appeared in Sleepy Hollow and Calendar Girls.-Biography:Pickering was first attracted to acting aged 8 when he saw an audition sign for The Sound of Music and said to his father "I wouldn't mind doing that". Although he did not get...
), Toni (Amara Karan
Amara Karan
Amara Karan is an English actress who made her film début as the love interest in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival...
), Dixon (Texas Battle
Texas Battle
Texas Quency Battle is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Marcus Forrester on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.-Early life:...
) and brother and sister Stanton (Tom Payne
Tom Payne (actor)
Thomas "Tom" Payne is an English actor. He is best known for playing Brett Aspinall in television drama series Waterloo Road from January 2007 to March 2008....
) and Angel (Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Antonia Campbell-Hughes is a Northern Irish actress of English and Irish descent, best known for appearing in Jack Dee's sitcom Lead Balloon....
), are kidnapped to take part in a new reality show which will see them spending a night in an abandoned prison to win $20,000. Show host, Taylor (Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner
Adam Rayner is an English actor, who has appeared on television in Mistresses, At Home with the Braithwaites and Making Waves. He has also appeared on stage in The Rivals , Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing .-Filmography:* Making Waves, TV Series, 2004* The Line of Beauty...
) handcuffs the contestants together, removes their belongings and sends them into the prison.
The contestants find their way to the Warden's office, where they unlock themselves. Soon after, a TV monitor turns on, revealing an evil clown who warns the contestants of the Warden (Valentin Ganev) who used to work at the prison, before being sentenced to death for murdering inmates. Randall is set a task to travel to the chapel of the prison. With a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
to communicate with the others, Randall ventures to the chapel and reads a prayer backwards to summon the spirit of the Warden. After completing his task, Randall returns to the others. Outside, the shows team, including Connie (Alexandra Staden), Sclezi (Sam Stockman
Sam Stockman
Sam Stockman is a British actor whose most notable role was Lewis Davenport in British Soap Opera Family Affairs from 2002 to 2004....
), Big Daddy (Victor McGuire
Victor McGuire
Victor McGuire is an English actor perhaps best known for playing Jack in series 1–3 of Carla Lane's Bread as well as Ron Wheatcroft in Goodnight Sweetheart, and Sean Hughes' neighbour Tony in Sean's Show .McGuire appeared as Gary, of the pair of "scouser thieves", in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and...
) and Snow (Sean Mcconaghy) begin to lose connection to some of the cameras inside the prison. Sclezi is sent in to fix them, however he is stabbed in the eye by the Warden.
Dixon is set a task, to remain lying in a hole in the ground. Once he is inside the hole, the Warden arrives and locks him in. Connie, Big Daddy and Snow see this, but believe the network had twisted the show to also make them contestants. They let the game continue. Shoe and Randall are set a challenge to eat a meat believed to be human flesh, which they complete. Meanwhile, Toni and Stanton are sent to the Gas Chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
for their task. Stanton locks Toni in a chair in the gas chamber, and puts a Gas Mask
Gas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
on her. As the chamber fills with gas, Stanton is instructed to find the switch to stop the gas somewhere in the prison. When he leaves, the Warden appears in the chamber and removes Toni's mask. While Randall and Shoe make their way back to base, they come across the Warden who stabs them to death. As Stanton turns off the gas, the Warden knocks him unconscious.
Connie starts to become worried and sends Big Daddy and Taylor into the prison to check up on the contestants. They are soon attacked though, and Connie attempts to warn Angel to get out of the prison. Angel believes this to be part of the game as she has just been given the task to free Toni and Dixon. Angel enters a cell and finds a knife before the Warden appears with the key. She stabs him, with what she thinks is a fake knife, and retrieves the key. Angel finds Stanton hanging by his ankles in a cell, but before she can help him, the Warden stabs him in the neck before the abused inmates devour him.
Angel runs away, and into Connie who was entered the prison. The Warden returns, and as Angel runs, the Warden catches up with Connie. As Connie prepares to be stabbed, two more Wardens, Shoe, Randall, Taylor and Big Daddy reveal the show was a set up, and Connie was the real contestant. After the initial shock, Connie is sent to retrieve Toni, Taylor to get Dixon, and the others to leave the prison. Taylor finds Dixon murdered in the hole, and Connie realises Toni is dead. The Warden locks Connie in the gas chamber and gases her, while the others are sealed into the prison. Angel just manages to escape out of the prison to Snow, having discovered people were being murdered by the real Warden.
Cast
- Alexandra Staden as Connie
- Victor McGuireVictor McGuireVictor McGuire is an English actor perhaps best known for playing Jack in series 1–3 of Carla Lane's Bread as well as Ron Wheatcroft in Goodnight Sweetheart, and Sean Hughes' neighbour Tony in Sean's Show .McGuire appeared as Gary, of the pair of "scouser thieves", in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and...
as Big Daddy - Sean Mcconaghy as Snow
- Adam RaynerAdam RaynerAdam Rayner is an English actor, who has appeared on television in Mistresses, At Home with the Braithwaites and Making Waves. He has also appeared on stage in The Rivals , Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing .-Filmography:* Making Waves, TV Series, 2004* The Line of Beauty...
as Taylor - Antonia Campbell-HughesAntonia Campbell-HughesAntonia Campbell-Hughes is a Northern Irish actress of English and Irish descent, best known for appearing in Jack Dee's sitcom Lead Balloon....
as Angel - Ashley MulheronAshley MulheronAshley Mulheron is a Scottish actress and television presenter.Mulheron trained as an actress on the 1 year course at Central School of Speech and Drama in London....
as Shoe - Amara KaranAmara KaranAmara Karan is an English actress who made her film début as the love interest in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival...
as Toni - Tom PayneTom Payne (actor)Thomas "Tom" Payne is an English actor. He is best known for playing Brett Aspinall in television drama series Waterloo Road from January 2007 to March 2008....
as Stanton - Marc PickeringMarc PickeringMarc Pickering is an English stage, film and television actor who appeared in Sleepy Hollow and Calendar Girls.-Biography:Pickering was first attracted to acting aged 8 when he saw an audition sign for The Sound of Music and said to his father "I wouldn't mind doing that". Although he did not get...
as Randall - Texas BattleTexas BattleTexas Quency Battle is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Marcus Forrester on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.-Early life:...
as Dixon - Sam StockmanSam StockmanSam Stockman is a British actor whose most notable role was Lewis Davenport in British Soap Opera Family Affairs from 2002 to 2004....
as Scelzi - Rob Ostlere as Pisser
- Atanas Srebrev as Bob
- Jonas Talkington as Clown
- Valentin Ganev as Warden
Release
The Task received a limited theatrical release in the US on 28 January 2011, Rated R for violence and language. It was released on DVD July 26, 2011. Of the one review the movie holds on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the review certified it 'Rotten'. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_task/