The new film Triggered is enjoyable enough as nine young adults try to survive in the woods with bombs strapped to their bodies. The acting is better than most movies of this type and a propulsive score adds to the tension. The picture, however, does not stand close scrutiny of some of its premises and constructs.

We first see a man tied to a tree. He has been beaten up, gagged, and has a vest strapped to his body. Another man who looks like the Unabomber blames him for what is about to happen. He stabs the bound individual in the gut and then turns on his vest display, which cryptically indicates that it is looking for other players.

The film cuts to a campfire around which are the 9 friends from high school who have staged a reunion. They are in the woods 30 miles from known civilization and so there is some carping about that fact.

The group includes four couples: CiCi (Kayla Privett) and Ezra (Steven John Ward); Amber (Paige Bonnin) and Kato (Russell Crous); Rian (Reine Swart) and PJ (Cameron R. Scott); and finally Shea (Suraya Santos) and Bobby (Michael Potter). The lone wolf is Erin (Liesl Ahlers), whose boyfriend Caleb died when he was in high school of a heart attack at a house party.

More facts about the group are revealed. PJ is a drummer in a band called Butthole Equinox and Rian is about to graduate from MIT. CiCi is giving Ezra the cold shoulder because she is convinced he cheated on her since she has herpes. Kato was a drug dealer in college but no longer does this. Bobby and Shea end up having loud sex in a tent to the bemusement of others.

When Erin takes some toilet paper into the woods, she discovers the Unabomber-like man. He punches her in the face and knocks her out.

She awakens in the camp with her friends, all of whom have the vests from the prologue on. The Unabomber-like man reveals himself to be the old H.S. science teacher, Mr. Peterson (Sean Cameron Michael), the dead Caleb’s father. He blackmailed Bobby into luring everyone into the woods by threatening to reveal that Bobby was bisexual. He knocked them out with halothane. The vests cannot be removed because of super-strong cabling.

He turns on their vests and they each have different timers. Mr. Peterson says that his life was ruined after Caleb’s death. His wife suicided on drugs. Now they are all going to have to pay. Only one of them will come out alive. He then kills himself with a shot to the head.

Bobby is the only one not in the camp. They find him tied to a tree. When confronted, he admits that he was blackmailed. His time runs out and he blows up.

The group scatters in shock. PJ has the lowest time indicated by red lights on his vest. He calls for Rian. While they are talking, Shea sneaks up on PJ who conks her with a flashlight so hard that she dies. Her time is given to PJ.

Now the friends convene to realize that they have to kill each other to get more time on their vests. They split up into teams to live out the night.

As the movie progresses, more facts are revealed that keep your interest in the movie. This is particularly so regarding Caleb’s death. Under the stress of the situation, long-repressed feelings surface.

The action level in this film is first-rate. The script is focused, so there are not wasted scenes. The pace varies between ratcheting up tension or all-out combat.

The acting is better than usual in a film of this genre. Crous as Kato gets the best comedic lines. Ward as Ezra shows a considerable emotional range. Swart as Rian ends up being the most complicated character. Scott as PJ is a classic everyman. He and Swart have excellent chemistry as a couple.

The film uses a variety of sources to illuminate the woods. At the camp, there are the fire, flashlights, lanterns and car lights. In the woods themselves, the vests emit either a red, green or blue glow, in addition to flashlights and lanterns. The cinematography in the night scenes is well-done.

The score is hard-charging and ominous, adding a welcome tone to the story.

On the downside, there is Mr. Peterson. It is true that he is a science teacher. But even in a few years, did he have the financial and technical wherewithal to construct these vests and their intricate sensors that operate over long distances? Is it realistic that he can install the vests so quickly and yet they are super-difficult to take off? Is he also an engineer to design the cabling that will not let the vests be taken off without special tools?

Peterson also suffers from what I call the old Batman TV show problem. The villains just cannot kill Batman and Robin immediately but have to devise some Byzantine method to kill them, giving the Dynamic Duo time to escape.

I also found it hard to believe in this day and age that Bobby would be so easily blackmailed into luring his friends into the woods just because he was bisexual. This seems like a relic from a bygone era.

The coup de grace is the fact that people who get stabbed and severely beaten just get up afterward as if very little has happened. They may limp a little and look ugly, but in real life they would be severely disabled. It is such an easy factor to remedy in a screenplay. The extra credibility would have added to the cachet of the picture.

Frankly, this film is so violent and bloody that it deserves an “R” rating. If you can suspend your disbelief, this movie is an engaging, fast-paced film.

Three out of five stars

Nine friends, all harboring a dark secret, go camping in the woods. After a wild night of partying, they wake up with SUICIDE BOMBS strapped to their chests, all with varying times on their countdown clocks. They decide to work out how to disarm the bombs or find help – until they discover they can ‘take’ one another’s time by killing each other.

Starring: Sean Cameron Michael, Liesl Ahlers, Reine Swart
Directed By: Alastair Orr
Written By: David D. Jones