Movie Reviews

‘Wrong Place Wrong Time’ review: ‘Resident Evil’ inspired horror heist mash up never lives up to promise

Lots of promise.

May 1, 2021

Wrong Place Wrong Time starts with bloody shootout between law enforcement and a group of masked individuals. It turns out they are a team of mercenaries planning to steal billions of dollars in laundered money. Of course, when it comes to that much cash, the government and organized crime will target them. After being double crossed they find themselves in a more horrific situation.

The film is an interesting mix of genres. Things start off as a typical heist film. The first act involves lots of planning and tough guy posturing. There is little character development before Wrong Place Wrong Time takes a sudden turn. The plot takes an inetersting turn. When the group is forced to break into a home, they find two women unwilling (or unable) to speak who are chained to some chairs. The house seems to be empty otherwise.

Wrong Place Wrong Time never quite lives up to its promise, unfortunately. The film is content to stick to heist formula and horror tropes. The characters are little more than stand ins. There is the psychotic one, the sensitive one, and the one who is not as evil as the rest. The generic dialogue only adds to the cookie cutter feel. Once it moves in a scarier direction, it relies on loud noises and some (admittedly awesome) gore.

'Wrong Place Wrong Time' review: 'Resident Evil' inspired horror heist mash up never lives up to promise

Making it even harder to get into the film is the lack of rooting interest. There is nothing wrong with shades of grey, but Wrong Place Wrong Time only offers the lesser of two evils. When even the least awful character has callously murderer civilization, the viewer is in for a long ride. Characters do not have to perfect to be likable, but they also cannot be cold blooded killers.

There are some good effects in Wrong Place Wrong Time. From the opening gunfight, it is clear director Justin Price is not going to shy away from blood. These moments help break the monotony and sillier moments. The story constantly offers promise, but it is never able to be better than lost potential.