Visions

After watching a few disappointing horror films the past couple of weeks this came as a pleasant surprise. The horror element is there but really this is more of a psychological thriller. Special mention goes to the orchestral music score which works well to set the mood throughout.

Quite a short movie at around 75 minutes yet probably to the films advantage. Red herrings are thrown in here and there, the plot twists and turns and keeps you guessing. Some of you may figure out what is going on but the reveal is not entirely obvious.

I was never bored, not once. Is the house haunted? Is she going mad? Are the neighbours stalking her? Could the husband be up to something? As the intrigue builds you feel very included searching for the answer. The ending satisfied. No gore required. No silly ridiculous twists that make no sense, just a satisfying conclusion to a very enjoyable film.

As a cinematic release this may not do very well. As a film to watch cuddled up on the sofa at home it is a first class thriller that dare I say Hitchcock would approved of.

After a car crash where the baby of the other driver dies, Eveleigh Maddox (Isla Fisher) is declared non-guilty for the accident. One year later, her husband David Maddox (Anson Mount) invests all their savings in a vineyard and they move to start a new life in the countryside. When Eveleigh learns that she is pregnant, she stops taking her pills to protect her baby. Soon she has strange visions and daydreams in the house and David believes it is a side effect for not taking her medicine. Meanwhile Eveleigh befriends the also pregnant Sadie (Gillian Jacobs) at the gym and meets the connoisseur and critic of fine wines Helena (Joanna Cassidy). David convinces Eveleigh´s doctor Dr. Mathison (Jim Parsons) to prescribe her medicine again. But when she stops using the pills again, the visions return. What is the secret of the house and Eveleigh´s visions?

"Visions" is an intriguing horror film about a woman with visions. The plot has no gore and holds the attention of the viewer. However, the lack of chemistry between the protagonists Isla Fisher and Anson Mount, and the stupid conclusion destroy the promising film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Última Premonição" ("The Last Premonition")

I caught this on cable. It's not too good, and you laugh about some details, but the ending makes it up. The acting is not very good.

As I watch more and more movies, I have started to judge them based on their promise and delivery. The trailer is the promise and the movie is the delivery. The Departed marketed itself as a realistic crime drama and delivered. It was also a great movie. So it gets very high scores. American Pie promised to be a raunchy high school comedy and delivered. But it's not exactly Oscar worthy, so it gets a high score. Adventureland promised to be like superbad in its trailers, and even though I thought it was a solid indie drama, I was upset watching it because I felt like I was misled. So it gets a mixed score. It is through this scope that I write my reviews.

I read user reviews over critics reviews because they tend to be more honest and trustworthy. And I want anyone who stumbles across any of mine to feel like after reading it they know exactly what they are in for. Nothing is more annoying than reading a review, watching that movie, and feeling like you were just hoodwinked into wasting your time and money.

Visions is not a great movie that will stay with you. But it delivers on exactly what it purports to be - a B movie with some cheap thrills and scares. It also had a satisfactory ending, which is a nice bonus for these types of movies. There is a creepy storyline, the acting is not so bad or unenthusiastic that it distracts from the story and does not have too many slow moments where your interest could wander. Movies like this always have plot holes where the character would have certainly done something more logical in real life and sometimes these holes are so large they cannot be overlooked and ruin the movie - but this one did not have any major holes. Of course, the character could have been a little safer but nothing too outrageous.

I would have preferred a little more creepiness in the shots and sometimes the stakes did not feel high enough, but going in you are not really expecting a horror movie on par with the Shining so I cannot really complain too much.

My advice is this - if you want to kill a couple of hours before bed with a low budget horror movie, whose scares are more psychological than gore, Visions is a watch.

I'm really wondering what kind of people make the reviews at IMDb? Movie scholars? The Gods of Movie Reviews? Can't anyone enjoy a movie anymore?...Visions is not an Oscar contender for sure, but it is a solid entertaining movie. My girlfriend and I enjoy it from start to end, I was not looking for some deep existential film that makes me change the way I see the world, I was just looking a movie to have a good time, and I got it.

Visions has a well-developed story, decent visual effects, good acting (Isla Fisher won't be nominated to the Oscars), and some pretty good scary scenes that makes you jump out of your seat...everything you need from a low budget horror flick. Give this movie a chance you won't be disappointed.