The Sickroom

After glancing over the reviews, and seeing people's confusion/dissatisfaction, I almost didn't bother to watch. If one can only think linearly, or if they are uncomfortable with an unconventional movie, then this movie will probably not be enjoyable. Off the top of my head I'd call it Paranormal, but there are almost equally strong elements of Crime, and Slice of Life.

I tried doing thing whole "figure-out-the-plot-twist", don't bother.....trust me. This may also be an element of what turns people off. This is purely a story being told. Just empty your mind of any preconceived notions and watch. Everything ties in smoothly at a good pace, and the ending is satisfying. Remember, I also labeled this as a Slice of Life. This means no dramatic moments of extraordinary epiphany followed by action. In the end the MC knows exactly what's going on, and just like every human who exercises free will, makes a choice. Also, just like many of us emotion will overcome sense. His heroic deed was accomplished in an anti-heroic style, but just like in life his obsession will.......well I've gone on long enough I think.

Although that German title of the movie is not entirely accurate, it does describe a certain feel and aesthetic the movie has. It is low budget, but it does have some decent actors in it. One of them you may know from the other side of the law, playing a very charismatic and colorful (no pun intended) character in Justified.

But apart from recognizable faces (maybe) and some decent twists, this also offers some nice effects. Though nice is not the word one may want to use in combination of this movie, it is pretty good for a movie of its size. If you don't take that into consideration, you probably will rate this a lot lower than I have, but you've been warned. Characters are bland of course, but B-movie fun can be there if you look for it

I watched this, basically as the idea (and some other reviews) intrigued me - not sure if it warranted such a low score; but I wouldn't have raised it by much (maybe a 5.0/5.5). The general idea behind it is pretty good, but would probably have made a better book than a film; and here lies the problem.

Not enough is left to the psychological imagination - everything is very 'full on' to the point I wasn't sure if I was watching an action, thriller, horror or sci-fi movie. You get a bit of everything thrown at you, and sadly it gets a bit tedious and confusing after a while.

The storyline could have been conveyed so much better without the 'hey ho' attitudes and rough and tumble action scenes - they just weren't needed. All these did for me was take me away from the essence of the movie until I completely lost track of what it was all about.

Movie takes an interesting turn towards the end - something which I would have liked to have seen incorporated earlier, as unfortunately I had started to lose interest by this stage.

Verdict: if you've absolutely nothing else to watch, give it a go. It's not a complete waste of time; but it will more than likely be easily forgotten. 5/10

I'm not sure about this one. Without giving any spoilers, its odd.

The beginning is interesting, then it goes really really really bad for a while. Better adjectives? Hackneyed. Dull. Gratuitously violent. Confused.

About an hour in, things take a turn for the more interesting, although the overplayed grunt of violence and US style gun fetish get tiring.

There's a theme of fundamentalism, but i'm not sure that there really are any fundamental christians who act like the moron in this movie. Maybe i'm wrong and the world is a far more horrid place than i believe. At any rate, if those people do exist, i don't expect they have any supernatural abilities such as exhibited here. The suspense of disbelief required is a wee bit too far. As is the torture and violence. pointless. endless.

Still, there are scenes in the film that are clever, hinting at places that a less pain and violence obsessed director could take a better movie.

If you like torture movies and the supernatural and old fashioned detective movies, then perhaps this might be your thing.

A detective (Clayne Crawford) must fight for the redemption of his soul when he finds himself trapped in a mysterious hospital that serves as a gateway between heaven and hell.

Writer-director Drew Hall grew up watching the cult classics, including "Maniac Cop" and "Gymkata", and took that frame of mind and mixed it with the literary classic, Dante's "Inferno". For a touch of real life, he relied on something he recalled growing up. As he says, "In Mobile / Pensacola during the 90's there were some really tragic murders committed in the name of God by anti-abortion extremists called the Army of God." These influences, as disparate as they may be, blend very well, and go perfect in the setting of a hospital (filmed at an actual abandoned hospital, no less). Regarding mysterious hospitals, we can trace the motif going back at least to Lars von Trier's "The Kingdom" and probably much earlier... but never before used as it is here.

To flesh out the unique story we have a notable cast. The biggest name is probably Ethan Embry, who really broke out in "Dutch" (1991) and then exploded in "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998). Since 2005, he has been in a steady stream of horror features, and we now know oh so well he can provide a dark side as well as the sweet and innocent. This works great for "Convergence", as he plays both sides in many ways.

Clayne Crawford takes the lead. I was not familiar with his past work, but from certain angles he could pass as Ray Liotta, which is probably a good thing. The actress playing Casey could pass for a younger, more attractive Sandra Bullock... which is definitely a good thing. The nurse's southern accent was a bit over the top (especially compared to her co-stars), but I loved the characters of Grayson and Miles and would like to see more of those actors' faces.

The camera and direction are for the most part great. I could have used less fuzzy, blurry, shaky camera in some places, but this happens more in the first half and is easily forgotten. Some of the great effects later on more than make up for that. The plot is almost what could be called Lynchian. That may be going too far, but I kept getting hints of "Mulholland Drive" for reasons that are not explainable.

This is not something I thought I would ever say, but I love the inclusion of GAPS (the paranormal research team). I strongly dislike "ghost hunting" shows and have no interest in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. But Drew Hall found a way to use such characters in an interesting, innovative way... they are ideal supporting characters and give the film a sense of balance that might otherwise be lacking.

Lastly, thank you for Everclear's "Santa Monica". Some songs just bring us back to a better time in life, and this is one of them.