User reviews

Replace (2016) has been on my watch list ever since the official poster came out, what motivated me to watch the film was the body horror genre and the potential this film had. I knew almost nothing about this film, other than the IMDb bio and the mixed reviews. I recently found the film on DVD in HMV without a price-tag. When I sat down and watched the film I was instantly stunned by the introduction, however I quickly found myself foreseeing a disaster after the introduction.

The execution of Replace is very amateur and bombastic, mainly the music choices, sound editing and the editing. The music was quite hyperbolized attempting its hardest to provoke any emotion that's intended, the problem is that the development for this film is lacking, so the soundtrack appears as bombastic. The sound editing was very baffling, you could clearly tell when a line was dubbed, however voices of the actors would echo randomly for no reason, the sound editing was very inconsistent and became a massive distraction.

The editing for this film is perhaps the worst aspect, the editing really damages the film stylistically. This film is utterly confused on what style it intends to illustrate, this is conveyed through the complete switch of style of music, initially the soundtrack choice is synthetic, although later the soundtrack becomes orchestral, with very stock violins and bombastic motifs utilised to force the emotion down your throat. The editing is also a problem due to its tendency to flicker uncontrollably. At times you have no idea on what's happening.

In terms of what this film accomplishes, the twists and gore effects are superbly done. The gore effects seem very organic, although these gore effects are juxtaposed by the unphased performance of the main character, the pain is barely felt.

As a whole, Replace is a student film that has some great cinematography although also includes baffling editing, terrible sound design, sometimes laughable dialogue, and a score that's very bombastic and confused.

....as the heroine says at one point. There is a really good story lurking in this film somewhere, but it's too stylised to really pull you in. It's a sexy and sometimes gory film, but it is too heavy on the style and sound to continually keep your interest. Reminded me a bit of the film The Hunger, more pop video than coherent narrative. An enjoyable watch, but some scenes were just dragged out to long. The editing was annoying and detracted from the flow a bit. Still, not a bad film, but could have been executed better.

The sole reason for why I sat down to watch this movie was because Barbara Crampton was in it.

I started to zone out from the movie after 20 minutes of absolutely and complete boredom. The first 5 minutes of the movie was adequate, then the movie just fully lost momentum and assumed a very monotonous pace. In between 20 minutes to 50 minutes, where I turned this ordeal of a movie off, I have little idea of what happened, because I started to do other things whilst the movie played on.

The storyline here was abysmally boring and uneventful, and it didn't really bolster the movie much that the characters were so non-distinct and pointless that they could just as easily have been replaced by mute and inanimate cardboard cutouts.

I will admit that the synopsis of the movie and the movie's cover oversell the movie, because the product that is the movie was just rubbish.

I have absolutely zero interest in returning to give this movie a second chance, because there was no appeal in it for me at all - well aside from Barbara Crampton, but not even she could manage to do anything to lift up the ordeal that is known as "Replace".

Kira Mabon (Rebecca Forsythe) is a young woman with frequent memory losses. She slightly recalls Jonas Swierczynski (Sean Knopp), who had one night stand with her and does not remember where she lives. Her next-door neighbor, the lesbian Sophia Demeraux (Lucie Aron), visits her to know whether she is OK, and they befriend each other. Out of the blue, Kira's hand begins to age and deteriorate, and Kira runs to Dr. Rafaela Crober (Barbara Crampton), who takes samples of her skin to investigate what is happening with Kira. She requests a transplant of skin, but Dr. Crober tells her that she needs the results of the exams first. During the night, her skin deteriorates in other areas, and she goes to Dr. Czerny (Adnan Maral) in a hospital to request a skin transplant. He says that it is not possible, and she needs to wait for Dr. Crober. But soon Kira learns that she can replace her deteriorate skin by a fresh one and she starts a crime spree to replace her skin. One night, she breaks in Dr. Crober's office and discovers the truth about her and Dr. Crober.

"Replace" (2017) is a strange movie with an interesting plot, but messy and boring screenplay and direction. The story makes sense after the discovery of Kira about the relationship between Dr. Crober and she, but the slow pace does not help to develop the plot. The conclusion is predictable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Replace - Maldição de Pele" ("Replace - Course of Skin")

How many times can you say bombastic? Did somebody learn a new word?

Having read the other reviews on here I don't really see any valid reasons for this film getting such a low rating.

I think people were expecting some kind of Texas Chainsaw Massacre gore fest - which this film isn't. It requires a bit more attention.

The acting is superb, the story well written, and this is excellently executed.

The pace of the film is good and engaging.

The best thing to do is watch this and make your mind up.

Kira is terrified of getting older and, one day, she notices a strange growth on her finger that starts to spread to other parts of her body, rendering her skin flaky and rough. After seeing a doctor and a specialist who don't seem to know what's wrong with her, she suddenly realizes that replacing her skin with other human tissue can heal her, but it doesn't last forever and she needs more and more victims to heal herself.

On paper, the concept of Replace sounds excellent, but the script is complete mess with characters doing things that require huge leaps of logic. The first 45 minutes are mostly a series of odd decisions made by our heroine which are never explained even when a big mid point twist arrives, trying to make sense of everything we've seen up to that point.

Kira does things like pick up a slice of her friend's foot that's just been injured on a broken wine glass and stick in on her own skin. Why was she lead to do this? I suppose because the script said so. Even weirder is when she leaves her doctor's appointment and decides to take a trip down to the morgue to flay the skin off of a corpse and try it on for size. It's never explained why she jumps to these extremes and it makes for an infuriating watch.

On the plus side, Replace is one of the most beautifully shot indie horror films I've seen in years, but it almost has to be to keep the audience interested in its moronic script and characters. Even horror icon Barbara Crampton can't save this mess of a movie.

Kira (Rebecca Forsythe)'s skin starts to age rapidly, dry out and crumble away. But then she discovers that she can replace her own skin with somebody else's.

"Replace" is a film with an impeccable horror pedigree. Co-writer Richard Stanley is something of a legend with his films "Hardware", "Dust Devil" and the ill-fated "Island of Dr. Moreau". Co-star Barbara Crampton needs no introduction, wowing audiences since her time as a Stuart Gordon regular. And star Rebecca Forsythe adds a multi-generational aspect to the mix: she is the daughter of genre favorite William Forsythe. Horror fans will be thrilled to see her continue the family tradition.

The film's imagery starts off hazy and is somewhat disorienting for viewers, which may be mildly annoying. Relax, however, as this effect quickly subsides and the need for such an introduction becomes understandable as the plot unfolds. You may say, "I thought this was a film about skin, not memory loss." But be assured that all your questions will be answered.

And you will have questions, because the film is scripted very elaborately with multiple twists. Some of these will be obvious in retrospect, some much less so. This plays into the film's subtle brilliance, because once you think you outsmarted the filmmakers, be prepared to accept where they take the story next. This is a multi-layered onion with a treasure at its core.

"Replace" is a film all its own and defies comparisons. Some of the bloodier scenes might evoke thoughts of "Eat", and the idea of fighting against the aging process may call to mind Debbie Rochon's "Model Hunger". But "Replace" bears less than a passing resemblance to either of them, and far surpasses them both (with all due respect to Ms. Rochon). Very rarely is any film ever completely "new", but "Replace" manages to pull it off.

The film in general is quite strong, with excellent performances from Forsythe and the supporting cast. Crampton's cold, emotionally-distant doctor is a bit off-putting, but considering that is exactly who her character is supposed to be, she nailed it. A special note of praise must be reserved for the set designers. Presumably, the film had a modest budget, but you would never know this from the use of spacious apartments and a very cleverly-constructed medical facility. This is filmmaking with heart.

"Replace" screens on July 16, 2017 at the Fantasia International Film Festival and is certain to be a fan favorite. Produced by our friends at Sparkling Pictures and directed by Norbert Keil, be sure to check it out.

Had a great start that made me start it over and put down my phone. Now that we have passed that; I'm reading the news. I'm. Just. Bored. Girl kills girls - repeat! Sigh.

Replace is a nice twist on the vampire story, but instead of fresh blood to stay alive, Kira requires fresh skin from her victims. Sounds a bit more messy than simply biting a neck, but the film is much more than a gore fest and has plenty to say about life and death. Kira is an intriguing character and is played with a quiet bewilderment by Rebecca Forsythe. When her friend cuts her foot on some broken glass, the sight of skin stuck to a shard stops her eyes from moving, captivated by the fresh replacement before her. It's a great moment for Forsythe, who flashes a wild discovery in her eyes, a moment of re-evaluation of what she needs to survive There's a wonderful scene in a morgue, Kira walking through the corpses doused in green light as layered organ music plays underlined by a steady, mechanical sounding heartbeat. The scene invokes rebirth as she cuts a swath of skin from one of the bodies in a Frankenstein-like attempt to complete her body. But the dead skin doesn't take and, like Dracula, she needs the flesh of the living. This is when Replace delves into the darkness of vanity, taking the lives of others in order to maintain a beautiful and youthful appearance. There's a scene of Kira looking in the mirror and when her image reflects an old version of herself back to her, she screams at the sight. It's not that Kira is dying, it's that she'll look like a monster if her skin condition continues to crust over her body, something she's not willing to live with. Even her doctor (the great Barbara Crampton), can only seem to do so much for her. Although her interest in Kira seems to run deeper than just being a patient, and her too calm demeanor is an alarming mix of sweetness and mild obsession, adding an element of unknown danger. All of this is quite the cocktail for the haunting journey of a young woman forced to watch her body decay, threatened to lose her looks decades before wrinkles naturally appear and take deadly measures because of it. Much is revealed as Replace unfolds. Themes of aging, memory, ghosts, death, vanity, love, and loss are all explored with a unique vision. The final act, despite a hiccup or 2 in pacing, is an exciting and surprising odyssey of revelation, a great and unforeseen ending to a provocative science fiction thriller with a strong message: Replacing what's on the surface will conceal truth for only so long when what's underneath is rotten.

This was one mixed up movie.

Zero character development, no real plot, not sci fi - but a weird nightmarish fantasy, and wow, very ponderous to watch with the extremely slow pace.

I watched the first 40 minutes, then watched the rest at 2x speed until I saw something that might be interesting (it never was interesting).

I'm a hard core sci fi fan, and will give any sci fi production a chance, regardless of a very low rating here at IMDb, but this is defo one you can pass on.

Replace is about a young woman (Rebecca Forsythe) who suddenly develops a fast-spreading skin condition (it looks like she's peeling) and desperately looks for a cure. At least that one aspect of the story. The young woman also has short-term memory loss and slight moments of distorted reality. She meets strangers who say they've already met, including a skin specialist. Is she going nuts? Or is she already there? Let me back up. When we first meet Kira, she's heading to the apartment of a man she met at a bar. They laugh, they flirt, she spends the night. When she wakes up, he's gone, and the skin condition appears. She tries scratching it and picking at it, as one is wont to do, which only makes matters worse. She visits a dermatologist (Barbara Crampton) who prescribes some medication "for the pain." But Kira discovers something really wacked, and completely by accident. She learns that if she peels off some affected skin and then applies someone else's skin to that spot, the new skin will adhere immediately to her body. This contradicts known medicine, as skin grafts can be a very lengthy and painful process. Has she found a cure for her malady? Lest one think this is just about a woman and her need for some good lotion, there's a mindbending twist, a psychological smack in the head for the viewer. It's too wonderful to explicate here, but in the great tradition of these thrillers, not all is what it seems. In fact, little is.

The final twist is perfect. Enough pieces fall into place that Kira's situation makes some sense, although not every question is answered neatly. The script is well written (by Norbert Keil and Richard Stanley), and Forsythe, Crampton, and Lucie Aron (as Kira's neighbor) turn in strong performances. Well made all around.

Ugh, another wanna be artsy fartsy director/writer looking for praise for their crap attempt at avant-garde filmmaking. The story is so dull, fast forward will be your best friend if you choose to watch. Lesbians, funky lights, and camera angles and spins.... oooh so new and edgy. Yeah maybe 30 years ago. Don't waste your time on this piece of garbage.

Overall an extremely dull waste of film, extremely stupid concept, and created by a writer/director who obviously thinks very highly of themselves (but shouldn't).

Solid production and decent acting. But the overall story isn't interesting enough to care about the characters or what the story is. Intriguing at first as the main character starts to suffer from a rapid drying skin condition. This starts the unraveling of what is behind this, but the swerve in plot actually distances from the initial intrigue to something entirely else that is banal ultimately. Sad too given the effort to make this film look nice. But looking nice isn't enough in this case.

I'm not sure if a movie that is in the public domain can be made without compensation to the person that originally wrote and produced this movie but if not these pirates should look out. I found something interesting when looking to see if this was a remake, I found a remake of the movie that is identical to this was made in 2009 under the original title. The movie in question is Atom Age Vampire and the original was a 1960 Italian, English dubbed film which this version has something other than the plot in common, they are both crap. The difference is that the 1960 version is crap in the best way possible it's entertaining crap his movie is not entertaining in any way. I will admit that my dislike is partly due to my knowledge of the 1960 film, but no part of this film did I find to be non crap. If the plot appeals to you or you want to compare the two just about any horror channel on a streaming device like Roku will have it as well as YouTube

Was drawn into seeing 'Replace' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing and creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Replace' is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. As a film it's lacklustre, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is very little good about it

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky and 'Replace' is surprisingly well shot.

Found too that the acting was not bad, doing their best with disappointingly nowhere near enough material to work with, and that there were a few nice twists that intrigued and weren't telegraphed too early.

Unfortunately, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. The effects are ropy at best.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever (definitely one of the worst assets), while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags with very little going on worth caring about. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense.

There are a good deal of underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, with little sense of horror or urgency. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden, inexperience seems to be all over the film. There is no creativity or anything shocking.

As said previously very well, the music, sound and editing are the worst assets. The music is too loud, sounds cheap (may have worked 25 or so years ago but doesn't work here), tries far too hard to generate emotion and is far too predictably placed and often out of kilter. The sound is too echoey and often without warning or reason and makes some of the voices sound strange. The editing is haphazard and affects the coherence of some of the goings on and story structure.

Overall, lacklustre but far from unwatchable. 4/10 Bethany Cox

The story is an emotional confrontation of body image, self identity conflict and cultural expectations wrapped in a slow-burn psychological thriller. It is completely realized and development meticulously. The emotion almost feels aching and takes center stage- almost too much. It seems to overwhelm any suspense or thriller edge, that at first glance seems to be a potent element of "Replace".

The characters are compelling and the cast show some real talent. Throughout the film the level of quality as far as character development and story structure, maintains a true indie quality that shows the director and writers maturity. My only complaint is the pace moves too slowly and the melancholy overpowers the excitement of events.

That being said, "Replace" has some pretty cool body horror moments. A few that show a small influence of graphic visceral gore reminiscent of Italian horror. The special effects are mild but quality moments. Moments that should have been helped along by more outward, sensationalized suspense. Beyond what the great music score and soundtrack is telling us to feel in those scenes.

Overall "Replace is a strong indie scifi drama with some thriller edge. It offers a strong dreamlike level of surrealism that accentuates the subject matter and emotional conflict of the main characters. I found the pro-lgbtq aspect mindful and positive as far as the relationship is concerned. I just think the horror elements could have been more present considering the acts committed in"Replace". Plus Barbara Crampton should have been utilized better.

Poor watch, wouldn't do it again, and can't recommend.

While the story seems well written, the premise is intriguing, and there are some great twists, most of the execution is poorly delivered. It almost seems like it's by design as the mood is complicated, subtle, and soft throughout.

I literally doubled my volume at one point and didn't notice a difference in the speech levels, so most of the dialogue is delivered so softly its hard to tell what they're are saying. Or it happening in a nightclub with music drowning it out.

The disease is actually very interesting, making a solid premise. I'd love to see another attempt at this with an actual 2017 budget and some bigger actors.

A young lady found her skin getting old day by day soo she went to doctor for getting treatment.meanwhile she killed few ladys for replace her skin..later she found that hospital using her for skin experimentation.. Nice story and screenplay and few twists.. Must watch for mystery and thriller..!

Loved the camp of this movie. Reminded me of Reanimator or some Lynchian nightmare like Mulholland Drive or Blue Velvet. I'm not saying it was that level of cinema, but it definitely had that vibe. A dream-like, verging on nightmareish quality works in some spots, but is too muddy at other times. I enjoyed the budget make-up and FX which actually caused me to wince at times from its realism. Overall, I found this a perfectly respectable budget slasher/thriller. Grab some popcorn, relax, and try not to be too critical; we need films like this from time-to-time to unwind and unplug. I'm personally glad that I stumbled across this on Frevee. Reminds me that 4 - 5 star movies on IMDB can still be a pleasant surprise.

Sorry for the inappropriate political pun I used there, but I just couldn't resist. While that is timely and I'm not sure the joke will be understood in 10 years (or even when the next president is on), the movie itself is timeles (pun very much intended). Immortality is something humans have been seeking out forever and something that is both appealing and appaling, if you really take your time and think about it.

The movie starts off a bit weird, with a scenario that might leave you wondering what is going on. Like me, because I didn't read what this was about. Most twists can be seen way ahead of the time they arrive on screen, but it's still very enjoyable to watch. The actors are having fun with this ... let's call it body horror movie. And while it has quite a few flaws (pun intended), it is more than decent enough

As with most modern "horror" if you go in with lower expectations you'll do fine with this movie. The premise was interesting, the roles well done, and the twist (there's always a twist) was enough. It's somewhat of a slow burn, but there's enough to keep you engaged throughout. Will I return and watch it again? No. But for one view it's a decent flick.

Replace does some interesting blending with time, memory loss, and blurry overlays to various degrees of success. When it's taking you for a ride it becomes a very surreal experience, but it doesn't succeed every time so it has a muddy feel for some parts.

The story and the mystery are both alright, and I thought the acting was all pretty good albeit a strange experience. The pace was a bit too slow for the amount of story they had.

Obligatory warning: There's lots of gross skin peeling and cutting that will make you squirm.

One interesting note is that the description I saw on prime video was different from the description in IMDB and different from the actual movie.