QUIZ (2012)

QUIZ REVIEWED

“Quiz” shouldn’t exactly blow my socks off. The premise is pretty basic. A total psycho kidnaps a game show host’s family and now he has to answers some questions, play the game, etc to get them back. Somewhere between Dr. Phibes and Jigsaw, that kind of setup became old. What makes this film so exciting is what Dick Maas mines out of the material. Many people have called the film schlock, but I feel they miss the world that Maas has built over the last 25 years.

When you watch a Maas TV show or film, you’re seeing a mix of satire with lampooning American film conceit. His Netherlands are a world where everything plays bigger and you’re always keep an eye out for the grand finale. Do the endings play a little corny? Yeah, but this film embraces the ridiculousness of having villains like this. In the real world, they’d be dispatched rather fast. “Quiz” gives them the chance to play their own game with a never-ending amount of victims.

I’ve been on a Dick Maas kick recently, so expect two more reviews rather soon.

FILM STATS

• 1 hr and 25 mins
• Not Rated
• Available on Vimeo

RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!