Lonely crime scene photographer Aiden (Josh Lawson), after years of taking pictures of murder victims on the decaying streets of Detroit, is fast losing his grip. Retreating into fantasy as a mechanism to cope with capturing the horrific images that make him a living, he imagines himself as the hero of the hour in various daydreams. Increasingly under pressure from the conflicting voices in his head, his dark, vengeful side grows along with a simmering frustration at his own cowardice and social awkwardness. After meeting attractive neighbour Virginia (Emma Lung) and sparking a curious relationship with her, Aiden becomes ever bolder in attempting to make his daydreams a reality. However, being the hero isn't quite as easy as he has imagined it to be.
Crave initially begins with a stylish appearance and swathes of jet black yet gleefully malevolent humour. However, the character of Aiden is very underwritten, despite a strong performance from Lawson and this seems to be the story of the film as a whole. From it's visually arresting and intriguing opening, the film quickly finds itself going nowhere.
There is little meat to the bones of the script with the storyline just plodding around, seemingly waiting for some time to pass so it can get to the final third. Director Charles de Lauzarika would appear to have thrown everything at the final half hour or so, with things getting increasingly ludicrous as the possibly schizophrenic Aiden blunders from one catastrophe to the next. The problem is, with so little attention being given to the script and direction of the middle third of the movie, you increasingly find yourself becoming rather disinterested as the plot is meandering and lacking in substance for much of the running time.
This is a shame really, as there are flashes throughout of de Lauzarika's flair and inventiveness, helping to sometimes bring the film out of mediocrity. Unfortunately, Ron Perlman is wasted as Aiden's homicide detective friend, as well as the increasingly bizarre Edward Furlong. Lung does well as Aiden's love interest, however all the supporting parts are as woefully underwritten as the lead character's. The soundtrack to the movie is just as skeletal, all synths with plenty of treble and reverb, but with nothing that you would ever recall.
Stylistically, Crave is a nicely filmed piece of work, with strong cinematography and a moody yet macabre feel. However, it's rendered distinctly average fare thanks to such a threadbare script that not even a talented cast like this can get much out of. Ultimately, Crave is as entirely soulless as the crime ridden streets in which it's set.
