SnoopyStyle
It's 1990 and satanic cult hysteria has swept the nation. Police detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates John Gray who admits to abusing his daughter Angela (Emma Watson). Kenner calls in professor Kenneth Raines (David Thewlis) to use memory regression. George Nesbitt (Aaron Ashmore) is a cop and a suspect. The story is a muddle with limited tension. This movie needs to sell the audience on the supernatural cult before surprising them with a twist. It never really sells the cult idea possibly due to the opening text. I read it as a hysteria unfounded by reality. There is a brooding atmosphere and Hawke has a brooding personality. It's trying to be Se7en without pulling it off. Filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar has done much better. Honestly, the cast is more intriguing than the movie. This may function better as a straight up horror but then the final twist is a betrayal of that.
gbkmmaurstad
It's the 90s in Minnesota. Angela's (Emma Watson) father has admitted he sexually abused his daughter, but he says he has no memory of his actions. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) believes Emma and must coax the truth out of her, but what is the truth? If you were a teen or adult in the 80s and 90s, there were quite a number of sexual abuse allegations in which satanic cults or rituals were allegedly involved. This story is similar to that time in many ways.Good movie for Halloween if you're staying in. Adult themes.
kallmekarter
Starring: Ethan Hawke and Emma WatsonReview: Regression started off like a pretty good movie. It had a dark, ominous tone. I like Ethan Hawke as an actor. Emma Watson is pretty hot. It seemed like it was going to be a solid movie about questioning one's faith, the brutality of man, and the intricacies of the human mind. It had all the makings of a good movie, but it wasn't one. There were some good parts. The revelations at the beginning were intense and the weird satanic visions that haunted Ethan Hawke were pretty creepy and built suspense. Overall, it was pretty predictable, though. In the age of plot twists, it's pretty common for people to try and guess what it is. Filmmakers don't usually stray too far from my first guess so it's kind of hard to be surprised. Regression's "plot twist" was obvious from a mile away, though. It would have done well as a horror movie if it had stuck with those elements, but that's not what type of movie it was. Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson's talents were wasted on this movie just like Ethan and Selena Gomez's were wasted on Getaway (literally the worst movie I have ever seen).What I Would Have Changed: I would have scrapped the psychological aspect of the movie along with the "twist" and made it a straight up horror movie about a cop helping a girl who's been abused by a satanic cult. Those were the parts of the movie that made it interesting. The ending pretty much negated all of that.Verdict: I wouldn't watch it again. If you haven't seen it but want to, I'd recommend waiting until it airs on TV to watch it. Or get somebody to rent it from Redbox for you.Follow me: @KallMeKarter
pozytywny-maniak
I'm very surprised by the low score of this movie. Screenplay is good, directing work is very fine, cinematography is well done... There's little wrong with that movie from technical point of view. Hawk played well. Good role. Even Emma Watson did pretty good job. Supporting characters are doing good job as well. Story itself is interesting and movie is doing good job of feeding your paranoia. You are getting to know what's what maybe too soon but nevertheless this is well produced movie. One thing I have agings this movie is very typical liberal-like approach to the matter of faith. Basically all who belief are stupid little people and the atheists/agnostics are the only straight thinking folks around. Cliché. This is not a high-flyer of Alejandro work but it is very decent movie.
AD
