UK Shaun
The ending worked, I liked that. The journey towards the ending is dull. Acting wise, Sean Bean is good, Sophie Stuckey plays her part well of Sarah the bitchy daughter, but Maria Bello the mother, seemed a bit OTT, in panic mode from the word go.Reflecting on the comments printed on the DVD cover: "Seriously Scary" "Chilling" "Gripping" I didn't identify with any of them. Harry Potter is more scary.Not recommended.I'm struggling to find more words to write, as they would only be negative. IMDb requires a minimum of 10 lines of text per review.Seeing as the film takes on a Cliff side in Wales, complete with a single house, there is a sense of budget limitations. This should not be an excuse, as I've seen some excellent films that use very few locations.
Jen Riot
First off, anyone giving this movie less than a 9 should really re-watch it. It is based on an old Gaelic myth, and manages not to cheese it up one bit. As far as horror movies go, I seriously have yet found a movie that made my heart thump as well as kept my mind going like this one. It's one of those movies like say...Donnie Darko.,.. where the more you watch it, the more you figure out, and the more you realize how genius the writer(s) were. If you like genuinely genius thriller/horror movies with beautiful cinematography and amazing acting, please watch this. Sean Bean and Maria Bello tore it UP! If you enjoy movies like The Fall, Donnia Darko, What Dreams May Come, Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage, Sixth Sense, The Others... Then this movie is one you'll want to pick up. It may change your life. =)
Danii Disaster
It's a watchable movie with an original plot. The execution is a bit too poor for my taste, though.It should not be classed as "horror" in my opinion. It's deliberately dreary, depressing, and somewhat disturbing, but it's not really horror. This movie seems to rely on the assumption that unkempt little girls with heavy make-up, who like to draw picture, are scary. Well, they are not.The main problem, in my opinion, is the characters. They are too wooden and under-developed. We know nothing about these people, and therefore - have no desire to care for any of them. If anything, they were ALL kind of obnoxious and unlikeable.Not the worst movie I've seen. At least it's something different.
Raymond
I liked it. Average score of 5.3 is really low for this one. It's not a classic or a masterpiece, but it's well directed, spooky and I even found it quite consistent. I really like these psychological sort of horror movies rather than splatter gore stuff. The cast is mostly adults here and of course the children, but this movie is clearly not aimed at young audience, but rather for people a bit older, parents of children will probably feel it the most as it is about loss of a child.I was a bit bummed to read that the author didn't like this (if the review really was his), but then again, I don't know if original authors ever do like adaptations. I think the movie works pretty well, even tho there are a few twists that might confuse. I think they were handled quite well actually.Only downside I could figure out is the sound editing and fx. They did go where the fence is lowest and add cheap fx where appropriate. You really wouldn't have needed an fx every time something a bit scary hits the screen. Maybe I'll try to watch this without sound later.Give it a shot if you like spooky horror. The scenery is really nice to look at if nothing else.
AD
