hnhovitz
Let me save you a lot of time. The cop tells the husband "You know why everyone always suspects it's the husband? Because it's always the husband." Guess what? It's the husband. And you know it's the husband. Not for a second does any of the slightly supernatural nonsense make sense. Nor is his psychosis really explained. He killed his wife...but the ghost of his wife kills him? So we have supernatural/not supernatural....and then, the dad is suddenly some evil dude living in the wall who orders his five year old son to kill himself so they can all be together? YOU DON'T KILL OFF A SMALL KID IN THE FINAL 60 SECONDS JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE IT. Oh, and just to make it more ambiguous, apparently, the woman "sees" the ghost son in the house at the end. I could barely get through this movie, but I thought, huh, really decent reviews, it's got to be worth this crippling slow repetitive garbage. The only reason I'm giving this a two is because the child was such a great actor.
Robert Thompson (justbob1982)
Version I saw: Grimm Up North festival screening Actors: 6/10 Plot/script: 7/10 Photography/visual style: 7/10 Music/score: 6/10 Overall: 7/10 I had heard almost nothing about The Canal going into it, which is nice every now and then. It is an old-fashioned chiller that maintains an ambiguity between psychological thriller and ghost story. Main character David (Rupert Evans) has visions including his wife Alice (Hannah Hoekstra) having an affair, but are they hallucinations, dreams or distorted memories? Mostly, the mood of the piece is in the 'quiet-quiet-BANG' mode of Paranormal Activity, with fairly frequent jump-scares. This seems to be the latest fashion in horror, and some claim it is vastly over-used. However, The Canal has a fair share of other scares, including some technically accomplished work.The common filmic predomination of disproportionately beautiful people bothered me more than usual for some reason, but that may be because the locations are well chosen to otherwise realistically portray everyday (albeit quite well off) suburban Britain.I don't think there is much here that you won't have seen before, but it is well put together in a very up-to-date way, and genuinely enjoyable. I wouldn't seek it out, but if it is on TV, or if you run across it on Netflix or something, I think it will pass the time more than adequately.
erolsabadosh
I don't know why the IMDb score and Metacritic score are so low on this one. That's one of the reasons I put off watching it for a while but I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing it; it's one of the better horror films of recent years, and I'm a huge horror junkie. If you like disturbing horror that gets under your skin and doesn't rely on jump scares or constant gore then this is for you. The film is beautifully shot and has some exceptionally creepy visuals. It's sporadically violent and cruel but every moment of blood letting or grotesquerie is expertly handled and actually frightening rather than pure gross-out. I urge you not to watch the trailer as it contains spoilers I wish I hadn't known before going into it. If you want to know what to expect, I'd say it's got elements of films such as The Shining and The Ring, but it has a very unique feel. There's a nice dose of drama along with the horror and Rupert Evans is thoroughly believable and engaging in the lead role, much more so than your average modern horror protagonist. Highly recommended!
ASouthernHorrorFan
The story is a strong, emotional character study that plays out in a melancholy way with moments of tense, chilling energy that seems to ripple through this creative nightmare. "The Canal" blends the concepts of cursed property, tragic lives, and horrendous past in a way that keeps you guessing. Well actually you start guessing midway through the film when suddenly more possible scenarios comes to light. It is still heavy with the paranormal, and keeps with a darker, more sinister tone. The acting is superb and the characters are so developed that you begin to feel for them - I was completely invested. Ivan Kavanagh as created a psychological labyrinth of horror, and tragedy that hooks you from the beginning, drags you through intense melodrama and confusion, then hits with some truly disturbing imagery and finality. The special effects are so well done that you feel the moments of horror as readily as the characters do. There is a few moments when the paranormal trickery isn't quite as effective as most of the stuff in "The Canal" is, but in a market drowning in netherworld nightmares it is hard to make every paranormal gimmick hit home with the audience. The ghost-y stuff is surreal and chilling. True some of it has been seen before but the characters her help to really sell even the basic of effects. The soundtrack is filled with sorrow-filled instrumental music that is full of dread and despair and emotion. The ending is a bit cheesy and not very original. But it creates that moment of finality that actually brings the story out of the whole "guessing game" of "is he? or isn't he?" which takes over in the middle of "The Canal". I really enjoyed this film, it is dark, disturbing and entertaining.
AD
