Opiniones de usuarios

Paul has recently been dumped by his fiancée and fired from his job, so when he sees a commercial on TV for a retreat, he thinks this may be the jump-start he needs to turn his life around.

To say much more about the plot is to spoil the story, which is precisely the problem with this movie. Running a scant 70 minutes (with almost 10 full minutes of end credits), there's not time to get to know any of the characters aside from the lead and the story feels overwhelmingly underdeveloped, leaving a great many lingering questions. Frankly, it feels like a student film or a padded short populated by recognizable actors and complete with a pretentious ending. The performances are solid across the board (though everyone but Johnny Galecki and Anna Friel have little to do), there's a nice atmospheric mood in cinematography, music and direction, and the FX aren't bad.

I saw the trailer a few months ago and have been stoked for an offbeat oddity ever since. Unfortunately, the trailer played like an abridged version of the movie, leaving out only the resolution. For what it was, it's an okay movie, but it had the potential to be so much more.

When was the last time I saw Angelica Houston in a project?

It's a lot better than what I was expecting. It's not the best movie but a very interesting one which seem to try hard to stretch a short story into a feature, but it did not have enough meat on it.

When I read the synopsis about a group of people going to a retreat to do an experimental cleansing process which is "more than they realize" I was honestly expecting a horror film, but horror was not one of the genres listed and I thought that's either a mistake and if it's not, it can't be good outside of that genre.

Not sure if I was wrong but, I'm defiantly not completely right. I did like that the visual effects seem to have been done on camera instead of CGI, which made the Sci-fi warmer and realistic.

It was better than what I thought. I think it's biggest mishap was trying to be a feature when it was not.

This isn't a terrible movie, it's even mildly entertaining. It's well acted and well shot. However, the story never really hits a satisfying arc or finish.

Greetings again from the darkness. Sometimes, it's just difficult to know how to describe or discuss a movie. This happens more frequently at film festivals where the most creative and risky films often find their only audience. This first feature film from writer/director Bobby Miller isn't really a comedy – though there are some uneasy laughs; and it isn't really a horror film – though isolated cabins in the woods and creepy little creatures give the impression that it could go that way.

Johnny Galecki ("The Big Bang Theory") stars as Paul, a down-on-his-luck nice guy who hasn't recovered emotionally from being dumped at the altar by his fiancé. One night he's dozing on the sofa when a TV ad captures his attention … it's a spiritual retreat for the downtrodden! The timing couldn't be better.

He's joined at the isolated retreat by struggling actress Maggie (Anna Friel), a young couple, Eric (Kyle Gallner) and Lily (Diana Bang) working through relationship issues, and a quasi-caretaker and holdover client played by Kevin J O'Connor. The on-site leader is played in full-bellow mode by the great Angelica Huston.

Day one is the juice cleanse, and the participants have to force down a disgusting concoction designed to "eliminate" … the step preceding "termination". Elimination is pretty easy to figure out, as our new friends expel from both ends (fortunately this is mostly implied, not shown). While that part might be expected, the surprise comes in the form of the eliminated creatures unique to each of our players … little critters representing the emotional baggage we all carry inside.

In the midst of misery, the retreaters are told that the movement (no pun intended) leader (Oliver Platt) will be arriving soon. He's kind of a cult-like figure without the expected pretentiousness. In fact, he's a pretty nice guy that seems to really care. Of course, that would be a pretty boring story, so plenty of things go awry during the process.

"Let's Get Pure" is the name for the retreat, and the idea of physically removing our negative energy and emotional baggage does make some sense. Director Miller seems to blend the worlds of early David Cronenberg and "Gremlins" to deliver an odd little film that could develop a cult following of its own. It's a serious message conveyed in a not so serious way. Galecki and Friel do a nice job of keeping us grounded and giving us some peeps to pull for. Just watch that final step … termination can be brutal.

Use 4 large jars of gunk, throw it up to produce a ridiculous rubber cabbage patch doll which is the embodiment of all your negativity which you need to murder.

Or to put it another way., this film.

No comedy at all.

No horror.

Dire anamatronics. So ridiculous that maybe that's the comedy element.

I kept waiting for something, anything to happen, but no, it didn't. Yawn.

Please, why was the treatment free? What happens if you don't kill your negativity muppet thing? It eats you. Ok. Obvious. Like the plot. Tiny plot hole. The thingy that is the characters negative stuff has no legs. The entire threat is negated by walking away briskly.

Non sensical up-chuck worth walking away from. Honestly it doesn't get better at the end.

It's really a simple story, with a peculiar metaphor for people's problems. It's only fault, I guess, is to fall too simple in the end, it really feels like this was one more of the director's idea for a short film (apparently he has quite a few in his filmography) that he didn't know how to develop into something more complex for a full length movie. I'ts still well executed, with good cinematography and acting, and old school SFX, I quite enjoyed it, very straight forward and easy to understand, not at all confusing as I've read in some reviews... It's also quite short, which makes it easier to get through. Definitely worth a watch with no high expectations.

I thought I had already seen everything, but yes this is the worst movie I have ever seen. Houston alone will not save this, one star is too much.

REVIEW - THE CLEANSE

Let's imagine that all the bad, the negative, the little monster we hide inside is actually real.

So this monster lives inside us and is a part of us whether we like it or not and this monster basically makes us who we are and how we interact with people and deal with situations.

What if you could literally take the monster away.

Nice premise for the film but this does get lost in the journey, especially at the end which was disappointing because from the trailer I had great hopes for this silly, go nowhere story with no conclusion only confusion.

Honestly if this is on TV this is your last resort, it's either this or........ And after sitting through this I'd rather be doing the or.

One film I wish was better but it wasn't.

5 out of 10

I feel like I lost an hour and a half of my life and the ending ???? I was left feeling very disappointed to be honest but I guess some one will like it.

The story is quite bizarre, but it captivates me from start to finish. It has suspense and you just can't guess what will happen next.

Sad that they bothered making it in the first place. Don't bother watching!!!

I'll keep this short and sweet. It was very heart warming, strange and in the end a nice simple movie that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Shame on you Johnny Galecki and Angelica Houston... Given the possible potential of a decent storyline, this one really missed the mark.

Slightly absurdist, mildly dark, profoundly understated. Somewhat fantastical, moderately interesting, reasonably amusing.

Before I knew it, 'The cleanse' was more than half over, and these were still the only things I had to say about it. It's not a bad movie, but for far too much of the duration, it feels not just unremarkable, but altogether lackluster.

There comes a moment, with 11 minutes left in the story, when it seems like the writing has struck on a revelation, a spark of cleverness that neatly ties the narrative together. We get a witty visualization of what the titular detoxification actually portends. Hand in hand with that, we get a smart commentary on how people are incapable of walking away from those things that are harmful to us, just because we grow attached to them, to their familiarity.

From T-11 minutes onward, through to the end, 'The cleanse' is actually pretty outstanding. Every story beat that was downplayed almost into oblivion for the preceding 60 minutes is reprised, amplified, and handily clinched with the same marked intelligence. Leads Johnny Galecki and Anna Friel leap to life in their roles, injecting palpable vigor into their performances that were wholly unexceptional previously. The rush to the conclusion is genuinely exciting - captivating - engaging. The final moments, echoing that linchpin brilliance a few minutes before, is gratifying in the resolution it provides.

Here's the problem though: In a film with a total runtime of 81 minutes, 10 of those minutes are credits. Sixty of those minutes are so underwhelming that I questioned my decision to watch the movie, and they are put on life support only because of the excellence of the last 11 minutes before the credits roll.

'The cleanse' should have been a short film, of no more than perhaps half the length of this final cut. There are some very recognizable names and faces in the credits: Anjelica Huston, Kevin J. O'Connor, Oliver Platt, Mark Acheson. They are given nothing to do; their involvement, their skill and star power, is superfluous. There IS a modicum of substance to the first hour of the film, which I otherwise feel lacks meaningfulness and direction. Yet so much of it could have been trimmed, omitted, excised, left on the cutting room floor - cleansed. Had that been the case, the resulting feature would have been far better for it.

The special effects that produce the results of the cleansing regime are impressive for how seamlessly those results blend into film, looking and feeling very real. That is, unfortunately, about the most praise I have to offer for the first hour of the movie, and in a re-cut version those effects would still remain intact.

Maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but it feels a bit like writer-director Bobby Miller, given the opportunity to realize his first full-length feature, simply went a bit overboard. There are, in fact, some very good ideas in 'The cleanse,' yet there is also a significant amount of excess. It's a good effort that required more forceful editing.

Perhaps other viewers will be able to extract more from the picture than I did. I say it's ultimately worth watching - just keep mindful of the long slog before that value manifests.

This is my first review on this site. I felt compelled to warn others to not waste their precious time watching this movie.

All I can say is what a load of rubbish!!!!

"The Cleanse" is a simple, effective, and far-out movie about a therapeutic retreat that is not what it seems.

The practical effects are nicely done, and the actors are doing a fine job.

The subtle and well-composed music deserves special praise.

If you don't get the metaphor, the movie may be even more important for you to watch again.

It's not really a comedy, though it's quirky. Don't expect a gory horror romp.

When you get it, the ending is really satisfying and leaves no questions open.

This is exactly 1 hr and 21mins, that I will never get back. I tried so hard and just let myself down. I hope these actors got paid before they released the film. I feel ridiculous that I was so excited to watch.

Also: I'll show you mine, if you show me yours. A very weird movie, I knew nothing about when I saw it at a Festival. I went through a bunch of emotions during the screening. Happy, sad, afraid and so forth. The movie really puts you out there with the actors and you wonder where it's all going.

It's really best if you don't read too much about it. The mystery that builds while watching it, is amazing. Also the make-up effects are nice if you like old school (not CGI). It really conveys a lot of emotions and it has a perfect ending too. A nice little gem, that not many will have the opportunity to watch.

I do get and like the whole "cleanse" yourself angle, that the only way to overcome trauma, negativity within yourself is just as hard as to unalive oneself.

I thought the premise of this movie seemed like a fun B-horror with an analogy of how we deal with our mental health issues. Paul (Johnny Galecki) decides to go on a juice cleanse trip because he wants an easy fix for a better, happier life. What happens after is what you see in trailer. Nothing much else happens.

Storywise: Aside from a half-assed backstory about being dumped by his girlfriend, you don't really get a lot of depth as to the actual problems people could be dealing with that motivates them to go on a retreat. Missed opportunity to give some substance to this film in my opinion. If you want a movie about literal inner demons, the least you can do is give them some character.

But let's ignore that, because it might have potential in the actual horror or comedy department, because that's what it claims to be. However, aside from a few slimy yet adorable looking creatures, there is absolutely no horror. I kid you not: literally nothing happens. I swear Gremlins (1984) was scarier.

So what about the funny part: there is no funny part. Had it not been specified as a comedy in the movie info, I would not have been aware I was watching a supposedly funny movie. I expect a lot of TBBT fans to see Galecki and go "oh that must be fun!", but prepare to be disappointed.

To end on a positive note, the one good thing that can be said for this movie is that it keeps it simple and is therefore unpretentious, but in doing so forgets to deliver an actual feature length film worth watching. Even the ending felt unfinished.

That was a strange movie. Doesn't really go anywhere. Just meanders without any real conflict. Kind if a WTf ending too. Strange.

The cast was good, the acting although not steller was watchable. The premise was interesting and well thought out, but the outcome was just dropped. I was left thinking 'and?'.

People with issues go on a retreat to find the negativity theyve created, is not what they expected.

This film contains a sleep-away retreat plot, a small love story, as well as a comedic undertone. I really enjoyed the storyline, it feels original. Character development and conclusion could've been much stronger and more dramatic. Fun watch.