Like a well-crafted Dark ‘n Stormy – unsettling, layered, and full of sinister surprises
🥃 Rating: PREMIUM POUR (4/5) – Highly Recommended 🥃
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
A Mind-Bending Maritime Nightmare You’ll Want to Rewatch Again (and Again… and Again…)
If there’s one movie that has quietly haunted horror genre fans for over a decade, it’s Triangle (2009), a chilling, cerebral horror-thriller from writer-director Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance) that proves low-budget doesn’t mean low-impact. This isn’t your average slasher flick at sea – Triangle is a psychologically taut descent into madness wrapped in the looping threads of fate, guilt, and time itself.
And trust us, it’s so much more fun with a cocktail in hand…
The Plot (Without Spoiling Its Twisted Soul)
Melissa George stars as Jess, a struggling single mother who accepts a boating trip invitation from a friend hoping for a relaxing escape. But when a sudden electrical storm capsizes their yacht, the group takes refuge on an eerily deserted ocean liner drifting nearby.
Once aboard, things feel wrong. The ship is strangely silent, their reflections seem out of sync, and something – or someone – is stalking them. What begins as a standard horror survival story spirals into an unnerving psychological thriller as Jess starts noticing bizarre repetitions, cryptic messages, and fragments of events she swears have already happened. Kind of like a messed up Groundhog’s Day.
Soon, she – and the audience – realizes she’s caught in a time loop. But this isn’t some Groundhog Day gigglefest. This is an existential scream into the void, and every loop tightens the noose around Jess’s mind and morality.
Melissa George Deserves More Credit
Melissa George (30 Days of Night, Alias) carries this film with intensity, vulnerability, and increasing desperation. Her performance as Jess is layered, subtle, and completely gripping – she transforms from confused bystander to horrifyingly aware victim of her own cyclical tragedy. Watching her piece together the loop while emotionally unraveling is one of the most compelling performances in modern horror.
She doesn’t just scream and run – she breaks, rebuilds, and collapses all over again. The role demands a lot, and she delivers.
Surrounding her are the other boaters. Greg, played by Michael Dorman (Patriot, For All Mankind) is the well-meaning friend who invites Jess on the doomed yacht trip. He brings a subtle groundedness to the early scenes, playing the level-headed captain with a hint of unspoken affection for Jess. As the loops begin to fracture reality, Greg’s calm demeanor becomes a key contrast to the growing chaos. His performance is quietly compelling, providing emotional stakes early on.
In one of his earliest roles, Liam Hemsworth plays Victor, a younger crew member who becomes increasingly suspicious and unsettled as the shipboard horror begins. Hemsworth’s performance is raw and reactive – perfect for a character trying to make sense of a nightmare in real time. He brings a vulnerability to the role that works especially well in his encounters with Jess, as layers of the loop begin to reveal themselves.
Though she has the least screen time, Emma Lung (The Jammed) is memorable as Heather, Greg’s date. She plays the innocent outsider with a mix of charm and unease, and her fate becomes one of the early indicators that the narrative is spiraling into something darker. Her limited scenes carry more weight upon rewatch, adding to the cyclical dread.
Rachael Carpani as Sally & Henry Nixon as Downey round out the ensemble and brings emotional tension to the group dynamic. Carpani (McLeod’s Daughters) portrays Sally with simmering jealousy and suspicion – especially toward Jess – which adds friction even before the supernatural horror kicks in. Nixon’s Downey is more rational and reserved, and his disbelieving reactions help reflect the audience’s confusion and dread.
Together, they embody the kinds of characters you’d see in a typical group horror setting – but the time-loop device fractures them in fascinating ways. Their subtle shifts in behavior across loops give the film its eerie tension and a sense that nothing – and no one – is quite right.
Christopher Smith’s Under the Radar Masterwork
Christopher Smith doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what he pulls off here. Triangle is a masterclass in minimalist horror filmmaking that weaves time-travel paradoxes into real emotional stakes. The film plays with memory, fate, and guilt in a way that feels like Memento collided with The Shining – all while keeping you guessing.
Smith smartly avoids over-explaining the mechanics of the loop. Instead, he leans into atmosphere, visual clues, and recursive dread to drag you deeper into the mystery. The pacing is tight, the repetition never feels redundant, and the reveals are sharp as a knife.
Why This Time Loop Hits Different
While most time-loop movies play with comedy or cleverness, Triangle weaponizes its loop to horrifying effect. Each cycle reveals more blood, more regret, and more of Jess’s own role in this cursed purgatory. And unlike most horror flicks that rely on jump scares or gore, Triangle deals in existential terror.
This isn’t about escaping the monster. It’s about becoming the monster. And worse – realizing you always were.
The dread here is claustrophobic, despite the ocean setting. The ship becomes a ghostly labyrinth of repeating horrors, and the silence between loops is often more terrifying than the violence.
Final Verdict: Watch With the Lights Low and a Dark Drink in Hand
Triangle is the kind of movie that rewards repeat viewings – each rewatch peels back another layer of its haunting spiral. It’s unnerving, smart, and emotionally devastating in the best way. If you’re a fan of puzzle-box horror with emotional weight and unsettling atmosphere, this one’s for you.
It’s not just horror – it’s philosophy with a body count.
🥃 Suggested Pairing: The “Bermuda Blur”
🎬 The CocktailsandMovies.com Bottom Line
Triangle is one of the best under-the-radar horror films of the 2000s. It’s a spooky good time that messes with your head, your heart, and your sense of linear reality. Complex, creepy, and criminally underrated, it’s the perfect movie-night pick when you’re craving something smart and sinister.
