Today’s quick reivew: Urge. Wealthy executive Neil (Danny Masterson) takes his brother Jason (Justin Chatwin), his assitant Theresa (Ashley Greene), and the rest of his friends (Chris Geere, Bar Paly, Alexis Knapp, and Nick Thune) for a weekend getaway on a secluded island. There, The Man (Pierce Brosnan), the owner of a bizarre nightclub, sells them Urge, a powerful drug that lets them act out their deepest desires.
Urge is a thriller with horror elements about a drug that makes people run wild. What starts out as a relaxing weekend turns into an orgy of violence as Neil and his friends let the drug carry them away. Urge aims to be a dark and steamy commentary on the animal side of human nature. However, Urge never puts in the legwork to set up interesting character arcs, meaning that twisted sex and senseless violence are all it has to offer.
Urge makes only a token effort to tie its story to any deeper themes. Under the influence of the drug, Neil and his friends tear themselves apart, but the vices they succumb to are picked more for shock value than any insight into the human condition. The escalation is also handled awkwardly; madness simply erupts around the island without any sensible cause. Finally, the mystery surrounding The Man is a weak payoff for what is already a thin story.
As a result, Urge is a movie with limited appeal. Its lurid content is more off-putting than it is enticing, its attempts at meaning fall flat, and it lacks the suspense or sharp twists of a proper thriller. Viewers who are into dark movies for their own sake may get something out of it, but ordinary viewers will find it to be an unpleasant watch without any real compensation.
For a psychological crime drama that deals with similar themes, try Revolver. For a similarly bizarre thriller about a descent into violence, try High-Rise. For a darker and more realistic look at the consequences of drug abuse, try Requiem for a Dream. For a crime movie about a miracle drug, try Limitless. For a budget crime thriller about a group of friends torn apart by their darker impulses, try Money.
4.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.0 for an unconvincing story and misplaced sex appeal.