Hey gang, Valkor here. There's been many a film that have completely captured my attention at the jump, only to let me down towards the end. For example, Pressed; it has such a strong beginning, but the characters do things that just draw me completely out of the film, scratching my head in confusion. And this next film, Finders Keepers: The Root of All Evil, does exactly the same thing – it starts out strong, but disappoints at the end. Major spoilers ahead.
In Finders Keepers, four friends are out on a little forest getaway, when one of them splits from the pack and finds a sack full of money. This found loot actually belonged to a couple of rednecks, who stole the money from a bunch of bigwigs at a card game and afterwards, they kill the guy who planned it all. Now the two thugs are on the run and in the very forest where the protagonists will be later in the day. And after being spotted by the forest ranger, the two quickly ditch the money with plans to retrieve it later.
Unfortunately for the rednecks, one member of the foursome – Sierra, finds the money and decides to keep it all to herself, hiding it to retrieve later. The two rednecks quickly ascertain who may have taken the money and that evening they take the group as hostages. But they're dealt another blow as Sierra can no longer find the money. And as punishment they decide to let the four go… only to hunt them down. Yup, instead of finding this money they worked so hard to steal, they decide to give up on it and play cat and mouse with the foursome. Is the money ever found? Yes, but sadly everyone dies, including the rednecks, leaving behind one lone hippie hitchhiker who gets it all.
Finders Keepers gets the award for having the SLOWEST credit scroll in the history of films I've ever had to sit through. Total runtime for the film is about 70 plus minutes, but the credit scroll takes up 13 minutes of that! Insane!
The Good:
Finders Keepers is a solid effort by director Timothy Woodward and crew, who piece together an interesting film that explores the nature of greed; you not only see the cause of wanting to have more, but you see the effects as there are others who want more as well and what they'll do to get it. The acting is also pretty decent and for extra points, most of these guys have never acted before, giving the film a natural feel to it. Other than that, we switch to…
The Bad:
I was almost all in with Finders Keepers… that is until the two rednecks decided they wanted to hunt down the foursome rather than look for the money. I thought, given that Sierra couldn't find the money that maybe they'd do whatever it takes to get her to remember, up to and including torturing her and her friends. Instead we watch as they threaten and chase the group down, and one by one each member falls, until no one is left standing. Next, the bad guys in this film can really drag out a threat; rather than just popping off a guy (or gal), they toss out a string of endless threats that becomes annoying over a time – and this is a short film, mind you. This is where the editing could have been tightened a bit or the dialogue patched up as to allow the threats to flow out more naturally; watching a guy scream out what he's gonna do and then a minute or so later he actually does it can get annoying real quick. A prime example of this is right at the very beginning with the whole back and forth of "where's the money". I've heard of stretching the soup, but geez that went on way longer than it should have. And I won't even go into how at the end, Sierra, who after running away with the money, goes back to save whomever may still be alive with the money in tow. And yet when the hippie hitchhiker steals teh car, he has the bag with the money inside. I won't even go there (or did I just go there?)
The Ugly:
Hamburger head. Pic below is very related.
Finders Keepers: The Root of All Evil is available now in digital format (Check most Video on Demand and digital download services for availability). And honestly? I'd pass on this one. Sure the premise is cool, but the payout isn't worth the effort of sitting through this one. As it stands, out of TOV 5 stars, I'm scoring this film a 1.5.
