The Veil

...But, when all was said and done, I just couldn't. Could it have been better? Yes. Was it as bad as others here have written? No. I think the reason people here have given it a bad review, is that it IS lacking in some respects, however, it's an interesting story, original in it's execution. It's filmed beautifully, for a horror film. My kudos to the Cinematographer, it looks amazing.

I think most people now a days want their ghost stories to have more 'jump scares' and less 'story' and THAT'S why it's getting bad reviews. If they were more familiar with Rod Serling, or had seen some of the Hammer Film movies, they'd appreciate this one more.

This movie takes the typical 'abandoned cabin in the woods' story to an entirely different area, tying into 'true events' and putting a solid twist ending to good use.

I rated it a 7-10 because I think what this movie really needed was MORE Thomas Jane, and maybe some John Carpenter-esque sound tracks, but over all I enjoyed this movie more than I expected it to.

Finally! I saw something better! It's been a while, well, with the exception of Sweet Home, good productions are rare these days.

Let me start by saying I am a huge Thomas Jane fan, so of course I may get a little subjective here, but beside his great acting skills and the rest of the crew involved, The Veil does deliver. A nice plot, used so many times, way better job this time, some good jump scares, intrigue and a good ending. I would almost grade it a 7, but I'm going to give it 6 stars, cause it got predictable real fast. My only complaint about the movie.

The Veil is a nice surprise, a great start this year for horror fans, so far at least, lets keep our fingers crossed and see what else is out there!

Cheers!

The premise of cult suicide eerily resembles real life tragedy, perhaps it is such intended effect. A cult leader Jim Jacobs (Thomas Jane) allegedly leads his congregation to their deaths in a promise of unworldly reward. In a pleasant surprise Thomas Jane is bizarrely fitting cast for the charismatic leader. He's been delivering good characters in last few years and he seems to get better each time.

After the events of mass suicide, a sole survivor is found, Sarah Hope (Lily Rabe). It takes her 25 years but she eventually returns to the site with a film crew. The Veil already produces anticipation more than the usual documentary crew fumbling into uncharted territory.

Its premise and ambiance are presentable, often using grey tone and cryptic air to its advantage. Although it uses found footage element, it doesn't force the gimmick for the entirety of the movie, thus it could show the past and present sequences freely.

Most of the horrors are based on foundation of Jim Jacobs' cult, which effectively produces a creepy setting. Furthermore, Thomas Jane as the prophet role has a way to allure interest as well as secretively shows some hints of violence. He's magnetic but still a shady person. The dark forest gives a proper visual for the ordeal, maintaining the sense of isolation well.

Unfortunately, few of the potentials for the scare end up in predictable fashion or blunt jump scares. Aside from Sarah Hope and the lead director Maggie (Jessica Alba), the rest of cast are not fully fleshed out. Still, the mystery effect and the appropriately crafted presentation manage to construct overall frightening atmosphere.

The Veil rallies and promises a great horror from its harrowing cultist vibe. It stutters a bit towards the end, contrasting the good basis it has set, yet the narrative and atmosphere still create gratifyingly creepy experience.

In a way it was disappointing, but in another, it's what it claimed to be. A Jim Jones-type of guy (Thomas Jane) commits suicide with is cult, and several years later, the lone survivor -- Sara -- returns to the scene with a film crew headed by Jessica Alba. I won't give away any spoilers, but it was not good in my opinion. The acting was fine, but the story line was wanting. It was very slow to the point that it dragged in many places. I started it around 9:30 in the morning, and I was falling asleep half-way through. Much of the coloring looked like a transition between black-and-white and color, giving it a somewhat grayish look. Maybe I just saw a bad copy. It's not a found-footage film. I do not recommend.

I am the biggest critic of horror films. If there's just one thing that doesn't seem right, I automatically dislike a film. I really liked this, though.

It has a unique story, one that hasn't been touched upon very often: scary cults. It has a good cast who all work well together. There's not too much crappy dialogue, like the ubiquitous "Die you f-ing b****!" that is found in a lot of movies. (I've never understood how someone, who is fighting for their life, could be thinking of screaming cuss words at an attacker, and I curse like a truck driver.) I'm not a huge fan of Jessica Alba but this role worked for her.

The scares were a success. I jumped a couple of times.

Overall I think it's a very good scary movie. Is it Oscar-worthy? No, but that's not why I watched it.