Directed by Max Lincoln and written by Alex Moran, five kidnapped strangers are forced to rhyme to their captor’s funky beats – or die. Starring: Victor Alli, Mohammad Amiri, Samuel Blenkin, Bethan Cullinane, Racheal Ofori and Olumide Olorunfemi.
Jumping into Rhyme or Die it has an interesting feel that’s neither present nor future, it creates its own little version of reality, familiar yet different. It builds an atmosphere that embraces chaos, it has a violent streak and manic personality, it’s almost reminiscent of the Arkham Asylum games. Especially in that it has a flair for colour and inventive ways to threaten its participants. It also brings through a touch of Escape Room and even a little of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as it dips into sci-fi.
The balance of the aesthetic is well done, it has a lot to offer but requires fairly little, leaving enough of a budget for some great effects work. The violence is present but not over-used, creating a satisfying accent to scenes. The writing makes for an exceptional flow to the story, keeping a high energy and forward momentum, as well as adding in plenty of tension and suspense. It’s extremely creative, its only downfall is perhaps that the ending can feel slightly anti-climactic, not hitting as big or as loud of a note as Rhyme or Die had built up to.
However, it does create a fantastic mix of different characters, building each of them individual and sparring personalities to make for a good battle of the wills, or morals. Especially as the cast all do a superb job of evolving these characters in the short amount of time that they have. Olumide Olorunfemi and Victor Alli in particular, as they have a few tricks up their sleeve versus Mohammad Amiri’s Nidal who’s exceptionally straightforward and Racheal Ofori’s Kaye has a satisfying bite to her. Then there’s Bethan Cullinane’s MC Dynamo who is an enigma wrapped in a dangerously perky package, and a lot of fun to watch.
Rhyme or Die set out with an entertaining, clever concept and made smart choices to bring it to life. Max Lincoln builds a strong aesthetic which is then expanded by Alex Moran’s writing to create a fun, risk-filled story. The balance between genres is excellent, it blends the comedy, horror and sci-fi extremely well, never leaning too strongly on one in particular. There’s a great cast at work and while it may not end on the strongest note, it has a lot of talent on display.
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