S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Objective’

Travis:

‘The Objective’ is the newest film in the slowly evolving new genre of reality-themed quasi-docuscary thriller films. Huh? Exactly.  The film, directed by Daniel Myrick (Blair Witch  Project),  follows CIA Special Agent Keynes (Jonas Ball) as he leads a company of experienced special ops soldiers on a top secret mission into the mountains in Afghanistan. Keynes keeps his “objective” closely guarded, which leads the troops to question him along every step of the journey.

For three-quarters of the film, the story feels as though we [the audience] are watching from the point of view of an embedded journalist, traveling with the company of marines who are on a mission of which they have no knowledge. For them, the mission feels too risky but the orders are coming from beyond their commanding officer. Keynes maintains his focus on the mission, but is obviously nervous about the situation and the ultimate fate of his own and the troops who accompany him. Eventually, we learn the details of the mission as it begins to take on elements of the supernatural. Strange, unexplainable things begin occurring and the troops become restless and angry.

The  first three-quarters of the film is relatively entertaining as a character-driven story, relying heavily on the mystery of what’s at stake and what exactly Keynes is after. There is a suspended sense of suspense as the troops are constantly alert and aware of the danger inherent with being exposed to terrorist fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan. As the supernatural elements of the story begin to unfold, the film becomes more interesting. The concept for the film is taken from historical and middle Eastern mythology, but the  story takes a decidedly bizarre turn near the end that feels slightly out of touch with the rest of the film.

Generally speaking, ‘The Objective’ stays on course and offers an interesting foray away from the normal fare of supernatural horror films, benefiting from a more psychological approach to scare it’s audience. It’s clear that the Myrick is pulling a lot of experience from making ‘The Blair Witch Project’, but this film is far more professionally shot and doesn’t suffer from the shaky hand-held motion frenzy of ‘BWP’. ‘The Objective’ has an unconventional ending for a fairly conventional story.

[Overall: 3.25 stars out of 5]