I haven’t spent any time sailing, but one thing is for certain: once you enter the Bermuda Triangle, you’ll be hard-pressed to make it out. All the reason to avoid it, though I will say it is an intriguing urban legend. Christopher Smith’s awareness of that shows; in fact, he gets a lot of mileage out of the time loop idea, what with alterations, differing perspectives on events, and a sense of déjà vu, all of which beg the question as to whether the cycle can be broken. It is for this reason that Jess’ attempts to convince her friends that they’re in danger carry weight. The fact that they aren’t aware that they are perpetually boarding the ocean liner upon dying goes to show how inescapable the time loop is.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t board an abandoned ocean liner. That’s certainly one way to ask for trouble, and boy, is there plenty of that to go around. Victor can’t seem to catch a break; Jess engages in an intense fight with her doppelganger; and Greg, Downey, and Sally find themselves playing target practice with a masked killer. Spending some time at sea sure sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Well, when you have a guy like Smith at the helm, you can bet he’ll make the most of things. Not only does he use the claustrophobic setting to his advantage, but he amps up the chaos when necessary. It’s a winning combination, indeed.

If changing a past event was possible, would it be worth it to do away with regret, or would it simply be a fool’s errand? It’s a question that the film has left me with as I look back on the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t think Jess’ efforts to put an end to the cycle are merely a means of bending time to her will; if anything, they are demonstrative of character development and a desire to reunite with her son. The lengths that she goes to speak to that, so there is a chance she can break the cycle. On the other hand, she is seemingly caught in the middle of an endless loop that isn’t willing to let her have the final say. It’s as though she is destined for a fate that she has no control over, as though she has no choice but to be stuck in limbo.

Triangle is heady at times; there’s no denying that. I wouldn’t say that I have it all figured out. Still, it is thought-provoking in its own right, and it’s competently directed. I couldn’t complain about that, even if I was knocked overboard by my doppelganger.