Christian Slater? Mark Metcalf? Daryl "Chill" Mitchell? What happened?

Playback is a weird little movie. Mostly because every twenty minutes or so, you'll go, "Is that... is that Daryl Mitchell? What the fuck is he doing in five minutes of this movie?" Same goes for Christian Slater* and Mark Metcalf, who similarly show up for just long enough for us to go, "...the hell?" The producers clearly spent all their budget on these guys, though. I mean, it's easy to make fun of movies about movies, because they are the most solipsistic thing to make a movie about. But somebody in the writing chain here though, "You know, the films they shot way back in the day, those little random soundless pieces where you can barely tell what the camera's pointed at? Those are kinda creepy." And that's how Playback happened.

*Christian Slater actually is in it for long enough to get lead billing, kind of hilariously. Honestly, he's good, in a very sleazy and off-putting role. Good enough to make me wonder, seriously, Christian Slater? What kind of personal problem has led to you being in this movie? Because he's not visibly desiccated or bloated or high on something. Why did the world turn against Christian Slater so hard that he's in this movie? And could he do some kind of Mickey-Rourke-in-The-Wrestler-style comeback, maybe? I'd pay to see that.

Leaving aside what all those random people are doing in this movie, it's kind of cute. Again, the basic idea is, "Nineteenth-century film footage is creepy looking!" But it's a valid point. It is creepy-looking. And Daryl Mitchell gets to declare that Louis le Prince was the devil. Which is entertaining. I mean, it's on Netflix streaming, so with a little booze to get you through a few slow scenes, it's worth watching. I liked the people, I wanted to see them survive, I was a little sad at the de rigeur nihilistic ending. That's how you can tell if the characters in this kind of disposable horror movie are effective: nothing will end well, but how do you feel about that?

I'm being easier on Playback because I'm a little drunk. That's probably ideal. A fire in the fireplace, a cat, some vodka, and a difficult time in your life. That's what you need Playback for.