A Resurrection

I enjoyed watching A Resurrection. Unlike the dumbed-down horror flicks offered today, this movie recalls the era when thrillers like this actually had a great story behind them. I saw the end coming from a mile away. But, when the end finally came, it wasn't at all what I expected. That was a welcome surprise. At first I thought that too many people had been killed. After all, only six souls had to be taken, according to the Bruja's spell. But, after thinking back on it, I realized that some of the departed were not victims of the dead brother. They were killed by others instead. When is the last time a horror movie made you think? It's been a while. If you're fairly young, you may not have ever experienced an intelligent horror flick. Go rent Psycho. The camera work and editing are top quality and often quite creative. The acting is varied, but excellent in the most important characters. Eli is an example of casting perfection. I took my girlfriend to see this movie and she jumped and screamed at all the required scare points. That's a whole lot better than looking over at your girlfriend to find she's fallen asleep! It's also refreshing to walk out of the theater talking over the story. Too often these days I walk out, sometimes before the movie ends, wondering why I wasted so much money and thinking about asking for a refund. Go see A Resurrection. It's easily worth twice the price of admission.

In Middletown high school, the outcast Eli (Jonathan Michael Trautmann) is bullied by the braggart Brandon (Nick Jandl) and his friends. They are hold in detention by the principal Addison (Michael Clarke Duncan) to be interviewed by the psychologist Jessie (Mischa Barton), who is engaged of Deputy Travis (Devon Sawa) that is the son of the local priest.

Jessie and Addison realize that the mentally disturbed Eli misses his big brother Devon (Patrick de Ledebur), who was murdered in a hit-and- runner. When Eli finally talks to Jessie, he tells that Devon was killed by Brandon. Further, Eli tells that he found the body of his brother and a witch has put an evil spirit in his body. Now he needs six souls to live again and he will seek revenge against Brandon and his friends. The skeptic and atheist Jessie does not believe in his words.

"A Resurrection", a.k.a. "The Sibling", is a low budget horror movie with a tense story but all the potential is wasted in a terrible conclusion. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Despertar do Mal" ("The Awakening of the Evil")

"A Resurrection" is a dark supernatural tale from director Matt Orlando that focuses on a small town during a tragedy. The film is about a young boy named Eli who is picked on in school and who's brother is tragically ran down by a high school rival. Days after the funeral the group of bullies are held in detention as unexplained events begin to unfold that predict dire consequences for the high school kids. The movie stars Mischa Barton, Brenden Meers, Devon Sawa, Michael Clarke Duncan, J. Michael Trautmann, Stuart Stone and Matthew Willig.

For me personally I am split on how I feel about "A Resurrection". The film was shot very well with a complete seriousness to the story's subject matter. It held a continuous dark foreboding and atmosphere of unease which kept the film in a complete suspenseful state of drama. The acting came off as believable and I felt these characters come alive in this twisted story of loss and resurrection. The movie hit on a pretty prevalent subject that plagues communities and schools across this nation with underage drinking, bullying and teen violence not to mention the social inequalities. All this made for a very dramatic and intensely entertaining plot line in the film. My issue lies with the fact that the horror was mediocre. It was as if the director made a staunch attempt to avoid any elements that a story like this practically demands to be displayed. There was no real scares or moments of intense chills in scenes that needed to be and the sequences that lead to death were completely shied away from which was very disappointing.

"A Resurrection" is a safe "PG-ish" film for fans of supernatural melodramas but if you're a straight up horror fan then your going to be very disappointed because the horror is non-existent in this film . The story is a good one and the suspenseful and dark atmosphere make the film a nice movie to watch with your grandmother or someone who doesn't like other more gory horror films but it is also a film that could have been better in so many ways. So I am conflicted on the movie because I liked what it turned out to be even though it wasn't what I hoped for. So for anyone setting out to view this film just keep in mind that it is a psychological thriller more than it is a horror film.

A strange outcast kid who likes to draw has recently lost his brother in a mysterious hit and run accident. He claims his brother is returning from the dead with the help of a witch, becomes entangled with the brother's former rivals, and the school shrink attempts to intervene. Some really crazy and tragic stuff follows.

A RESURRECTION is decently acted and quite well-filmed: The winter scenery adds a great deal to the atmosphere. The first 20 minutes or so are very engrossing, but the storyline then progressively staggers, quickly degenerating into a pretty ho-hum slasher flick. A RESURRECTION may be worth seeing if you're a big supernatural horror (or Mischa Barton) fan; but then again, you've probably seen this movie many times before.

There's a lot more they could have done with this. More back-story on the brother's death and why it happened might have helped.

-1 Star For This one seeming to take forever for something interesting to happen.

-1 Star for the unsatisfying ending

This one just wasn't very impressive. Sad that this was Michael Clarke Duncan's last role. Even having him in this one didn't help it.