The Yellow Wallpaper

A real movie that has been developed for real entertainment, devoid of the fake images that Hollywood now depends upon instead of good acting, and creative scripts.

Good performances by actors, seems to be a rarity in my eyes. This movie is fantastic, with actors actually and professionally performing their skilled trade that seems to be vanishing in big Hollywood Productions and replaced by loud music and fake imagery. Oh that Hollywood, they need to come back to earth!

Extremely entertaining, beautifully and skillfully shot, scary and intriguing, an artful adaptation of the original short story, this movie seems to have it all.

I am privileged to have seen this unique film and meet its creators.

I saw this film in a private screening of 30 industry professionals. Producers came out and said, they understood if we didn't like it, no problem. I guess they have been laboring over the film for a couple years. Do not expect your typical horror film from this one. A few people looked a little stunned after the film. Since I had never read the story -- I guess it is required reading in high school and college - - how the hell did I miss that? ... probably from being a total deadbeat in high school... I went into the film unaware. It is a period film, which is pretty cool, and set before 1900 or something. . . I can say one thing about the film... I never guessed the ending. You actually have no idea was is going to happen in the end. This is a breath of fresh air, when it seems like everything nowadays is just a remake or some stupid idea that has never been fleshed out correctly. Because the story is famous, I am sure more people will hate it because it doesn't adhere to the story exactly. I don't know much about the original story, but what they did with the the film was pretty unique. it has a dream-like. I think this is what movies are supposed to capture. Good job Mr. director.

Don't expect this film to do any justice to the short story, hence the "adaptation." If you enjoy period pieces for the accurate sets, costumes etc. then The Yellow Wallpaper may be for you. If you want narration to do the digging for you, again this may be the film for you. On the surface it felt much like your typical horror/thriller with the appropriate high strung music to curdle your insides before the action has even begun. Many of the shots also felt excessive in building the tension. The subject matter seemed strong enough on its own without a series of 'creepy' face close ups. The characters were well cast for their appearance, though the acting felt very... dry? I suppose this was to match a 'gothic' aesthetic. For me, it was disappointing to see such a film baring the name of great Gothic lit, but I can see how some may still find it entertaining in its own right.

I just can't understand why everyone loves this movie! The acting was comically wooden, with the exception of the sister and the psychic. My husband gave up on it after 15 very painfully slow minutes, but I persevered with it. The story by the the way has NOTHING to do with the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" other than a reference to the "rest cure" and place of women in Victorian society. And as mentioned by another reviewer, the main character is named Charlotte, a reference to Charlotte Gilbert, who wrote the short story. Oh, and there's an attic room with yellow wallpaper that the wife sometimes retreats to, but it's existence is Pretty arbitrary. THe plot was very broken up, and half the scenes take place in very dark rooms, making it difficult to see what was going on. The ending was a bit of whatever as well - it didn't seem to match the rest of the movie. it was an interesting premise, too bad it just didn't seem to flow. This could have been a good movie if: 1. They didn't call it The Yellow Wallpaper. False advertising! Why not give it it's own name? 2. The plot had some kind of flow to it, 3. better acting! Especially the male lead, who gave the most wooden performance I have EVER seen. Sadly, these elements were not there, making this clunker a discombobulated boring mess.

This is a film which honors patience. It is not for those who need action-packed adrenaline stoking from beginning to end. This is a film for those who appreciate the slow build up to terror of a classic Gothic ghost story.

The characters speak slowly in careful Victorian, but Midwestern American, English as the year is 1892. The camera reveals scenes with a languid, sensuality. Yet, there is a discomforting eerie quality that builds as the film progresses. Most of the scenes are outside or within a 100-year old haunted house. A few sequences are of a bleak landscape separating the house from town. The sound track has a threatening undertone. John encounters a rat-killing couple on a bicycle ride into town. The encounter is the first of increasingly bizarre experiences that John, his wife, and sister-in-law, Jennifer have, after renting the house with yellow wallpaper. Suspense builds, like waves, each reaching a bit higher, and the viewer's tension notches up.

The film is wonderfully atmospheric and full of symbolic allusion (e.g., town represents safety, where there is civilization, but it is cut off by desert, forest, and distant mountains, thus unattainable for those caught in the web of terror). The stark Victorian mansion, at first, seems to offer a comforting respite for the grief-stricken family. John and Charlotte have lost their daughter in a fire that consumed their previous house. True to its Gothic literary antecedent, however, the house's hidden terrors slowly enrapture and capture its occupants. The descent into terror and madness is a slow but steady incline, not a dash from a spring board.

John, a medical doctor, demands that the family maintain its rational, civilized understanding of reality and thus seek understanding of the inexplicable events that begin to occur after moving into the house. Charlotte embraces the irrational-supernatural aura of the house as a means to reconnect with their deceased daughter. Jennifer, the pragmatist, brings in a "ghost-buster" from back east. So, what force will prevail and will the 3 survive as they approach the final horror the house dishes up? The production is first class in all respects. The sets appear historically accurate to the Victorian era. The soundtrack music is wonderfully eerie and then shrieks like Psycho when the viewer's nerves are about to snap with tension. The acting is superb by all 3 of the main characters, and the walk-ons are appropriately creepy. The writing and direction bring to life for 21st Century viewers a classic Gothic tale of terror.