Supernatural Mind Games – The Deaths of Ian Stone’s Twisted Loop

Okay, so we have here a young Mr. Ian Stone. Ian is a handsome fellow with a pretty girlfriend and all of life ahead of him. He’s a hockey player. No, that’s not right. He works in an office. He’s a cab driver. A heroin addict. A patient in a hospital. The truth is he’s all these things, all these people. It seems that Mr. Stone has some demons in his life. Every day he dies, only to be born again as the same man, but in a different setting. He has a constant in his life and that is Jenny. Every time he dies and every time he comes back she is there. These are the lives and the deaths of Ian Stone.

The 2007 British-American horror film The Deaths of Ian Stone transports viewers into a nightmarish cycle of murder and resurrection. When American expat Ian Stone finds himself hunted by sinister beings, he is killed and reborn each day into alternate lives with no memory of the past.

Director Dario Piana maximizes the mind-bending premise as Ian slowly pieces together the patterns in this sadistic game. Strange familiars in each existence provide cryptic clues, hinting at Ian’s true supernatural nature and his hidden past connection to the entities stalking him.

Mike Vogel brings raw desperation to Ian’s confusion, grounding the surreal plot with palpable emotion. As he desperately tries to escape the loop, the film probes thought-provoking themes of identity and reality. The inventive deaths also provide sufficiently violent jolts.

While explanations become muddled in mythology, The Deaths of Ian Stone maintains intrigue through sheer what-if speculation. As Ian struggles to reclaim his life, the line between nightmare and awakening blurs. For a trippy plunge into a deadly repetitive realm, The Deaths of Ian Stone will keep viewers locked in its twisted puzzle.

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I mean, it’s not every day we get to see a horror film revamp of Groundhog Day with a little bit of Jacob’s Ladder added in. Mike Vogel is good in his role as the titular character. The last time I saw him was in Cloverfield and before that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. He is a very capable actor and I’m a little more than perplexed as to why has hasn’t gone any further in his career.

Jaime Murray, who I am sure quite a few people will remember as Lila from the second season of Dexter, brings all of her bad girl charm to the role of Medea. Medea is linked to Ian in a more sinister fashion than Jenny and Murray’s darker attitude is well suited for the character. Christina Cole does okay with her part as Jenny. It’s not that she’s a bad actress, but that the character is rather bland.

The Deaths of Ian Stone is a good film, but not a great one. Who knows? Maybe greatness could have been accomplished with a more original story.

Mike Vogel as Ian Stone

Jaime Murray as Medea

Christina Cole as Jenny Walker

Directed by Dario Piana

Written by Brendan Hood