To begin, “Writer’s Day” is a horrible for name for a film about annual murders aboard a train. Granted, these murders fall on Writer’s Day, but the title is boring and seems to be picked because it’s the one that would least inspire any dread in viewers (as opposed to something like “I Spit on Your Grave,” which sets the tone of the film quite well). Then you read the film’s description on the back of the DVD case and that, too, is bland and so poorly written that it gives you little hope for the film itself.
Once the movie begins you can’t help but think it was adapted from a play. It has essentially one set, and the actors’ every move and line is exaggerated. The dialogue also appears to have been written by someone who knew what he wanted his characters to say but didn’t know how to get them to say it in a way that sounded natural. (The writer also knows nothing about forensics work. Hint to filmmakers: Study that which you are writing about.)
Okay, so the film’s production values and talent have little to recommend. What about the story? Is there a saving grace there?
As mentioned earlier, this film is set aboard a train where every year someone is murdered on Writer’s Day. The catch? Nobody has been able to figure out how these murders occurred or who is committing them. There are theories, and ridiculously long newspaper stories written about it (apparently the writer/director hasn’t read a newspaper in ages, either, as local papers never do stories as long as the one that appears in this film), but the passengers really don’t know what is going to happen to them or when. The viewers, on the other hand, will wish they were all killed about fifteen minutes in.
This is one of those films that will make people hate life. It’s not even bad in a good way. It’s mind-numbingly boring, it lacks passion, the actors are abysmal, and the story leaves much to be desired and had me wishing I was watching “Terror Train” with Jamie Lee Curtis and David Copperfield. There is absolutely no reason to see this film, and even less of a reason for it to have been made.
