The Marsh

THE MARSH is yet another scary movie to satisfy the apparently inexhaustible demand for fright films of this genre. It is obviously a low budget film that suffers from a silly script resurrecting tired themes of communication with ghosts and the intervention of paranormal specialists.

Successful children's book author and illustrator Claire Holloway (Gabrielle Anwar) is besieged by recurrent nightmares that prompt her therapist to recommend a sabbatical, advice she heeds as she moves out into the country to a little creepy town called Marshville. She rents a old house near the marsh from a woman Mercy (Brooke Johnson) and discovers from the local newspaper editor Noah (Justin Louis) that the town is riddled with history of hauntings following the disappearance of a little girl into the marshes, the victim of sexual assault that has never been adequately investigated. Claire's time in her new 'home' is racked with appearances of the dead little girl and her muddy perpetrator and she finally seeks the help of a Paranormal expert Hunt (Forest Whitaker) who helps her solve the etiology of Claire's nightmares and provides an exit for the ghosts.

Most of the film is dark with poor Claire just wandering around the creepy house with her open-mouthed/wide-eyed frightened look, avoiding the flying detritus caused by the angry spirits that haunt her. Gabrielle Anwar is beautiful to look at but is not really called upon to act. Likewise Forest Whitaker is paralyzed by an inept script that even this fine actor can't overcome. The music is the canned, synthesizer variety and the camera work is jerky and gets in the way of the story. This is a movie for avid fans of scary flicks who can overlook the multiple production and writing problems. Grady Harp

***Contains Spoilers*** I can't quite believe the previous review. I have also just seen The Marsh at London's Frightfest and I and my friends were wholly unimpressed.

It feels like another film in a long line of by-the-numbers supernatural thrillers that have come out of Hollywood in the last five years such as Stir of Echoes, Hide and Seek, Secret Window, The Sixth Sense, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Skeleton Key, The Mothman Prophecies, Bless the Child, The Forgotten, The Others etc, etc (Some of these films are quite good, but you get my point)

I have become very bored of creepy houses (this one was particularly un-imaginative) creepy cornfields, creepy little girls in night dresses, creepy dolls and scarecrows, creepy children's drawings, creepy children's songs, windows blowing open in gusts of wind etc, etc

It is also frustrating when EVERYTHING vaguely frightening is accompanied by a thunderous drum beat, even things like a shot of a child's teddy bear hitting the floor during a flashback! This device seemed to be the only means of creating any scares.

While this film was very professionally made it was very well-worn and tedious, with a series of flashbacks and revelations about something terrible which happened in the protagonist's past. The set in particular was not good and most of the flashbacks centered around a stained glass window in a door which was entirely modern and looked like it could be bought in any home improvements store.

The ultimate villain-ghost that is finally revealed to have triggered the events is actually just a rather misguided and pathetic character so when they came over all demonic at the end it rang really hollow for me.

The events themselves which triggered the haunting were, once again, rather unimportant yet predictable and wholly unoriginal.

A by-the-numbers money spinner in my opinion

Maybe it is the string of terrible horror flicks I have seen lately, but I actually liked this movie. Most of the stuff of late has been plagued with low budget effects, completely incompetent acting, and lines that made you cringe.

I don't know why so many hated this film, because the acting was good, story was decent, and effects OK. It may not be a blockbuster, but it was definitely worth watching once you have seen all of the other big name movies.

PS: My wife felt there were too many characters so it was hard to keep up with them all.

A Halloween movie--not terrible if you actually watch it on that Holiday, with a few drinks, as you do other things.

Not an amazing or terribly original film. Smooth and seamless special FX.

Forrest Whitaker does a very fine job...with what he is given screenplay-(and direction)wise.

Just don't expect to be amazed by the plot and execution.

No one who worked on this project should be shattered if some viewers notice that it was done for the money.

Nothing wrong with that.

Entertainment.

I saw this film at Frightfest in London and it was by far and away the worst film that I saw over the weekend. Everyone that I spoke to at the festival agreed that it was a stinker so I'm not sure who posted on here giving it 10/10 and saying it was awesome?! Can you spell PR agent? On the plus side the effects were good, the direction wasn't bad and the acting was generally sufficient (given what they had to work with).

On the down side was everything else. The plot was clichéd, hokey, difficult to follow and incredibly boring! The dialogue was amateurish at times and generally cringe worthy throughout. Worst of all (and this is clearly the cardinal sin of a horror film) it wasn't remotely scary. Even the occasional BOO! would have been appreciated... but no.

The director is young and seemed like an affable young chap who I'm sure will progress in the industry. He will look back on this with embarrassment (if it ever gets released, fingers crossed not). He did seem like he'd had budget and studio constraints as evidenced by the fact that when I asked him the likely rating of the film in the Q&A after the screening he replied, "y'know... PG-13... gotta keep it marketable".

That summed up the extreme rubbishness of this film. Billed as a supernatural thriller it's preternaturally dull. If you want to see a half decent film of this type check out something like "Skeleton Key"... and if anyone thought that was bad (which I didn't, but I know it has its critics) then woo... really don't go and see 'The Marsh'!