lathe-of-heaven

This is most definitely a Very different type of Horror movie. That cannot be overstated whatsoever...

First off... If you prefer a more linear, clearly understandable narrative in your Horror films then definitely give this one a pass.

But... if you love really 'Out There', extremely offbeat and very Surreal films like I totally love, then you should very much find this one quite entertaining.

Right from the first scene you will be able to tell if this movie is for you. I won't give anything away, but from the very beginning when you see the person holding this kind of 'Divining Rabbit' (and it is a Super Creepy looking rabbit!) where something in the walls is causing it to shake itself in a very animated way, you will have an excellent idea as to what kind of Horror movie this is... :D

Personally for me, this is Absolutely up my very imaginative and quite Surreal alley, Bigtime! I frigg'n Love stuff like this and you don't see films like this very often. And when filmmakers do Try to create something like this, it is rarely this well done and effective. Think David Lynch after dropping either ecstasy or acid, your choice.

Obviously, I feel that If you like this kind of very Way Out There and Surreal type of Horror film, then like me you likely will find it quite entertaining. Most Highly Recommended and fully deserving a very rare '8' rating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

My title pretty much says it all. What an excellent film made very, very well and tremendously engaging, holding the audience tightly by the Nutz and absolutely Never letting go!

Pierce Brosnan has never played a more chilling and terrifying role, ever...

The writing, direction, and all the acting is superb. If you are not absolutely on the edge of your seat, then you do Not have a pulse! : )

Extremely suspenseful, and what really makes this film even way better than most that are similar to this is that there are some profoundly shocking twists and turns that, believe me, you will Not expect. And, the ending, which of course I will not give away, packs an extremely powerful emotional punch, not to mention surprise that it will most definitely stay with you (Just for those who may be more sensitive like me, I am Not saying the ending is depressing or horrible. It just is powerfully impactful)

So yes, truly one of T H E most profoundly engaging, edge of your F'n seat, Suspenseful Thrillers that I have ever seen. Fully deserving the '8' that I gave it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

Heh, couldn't help the comment about Michael Biehn... What the hell? The guy had an absolutely Nothing role that lasted Maybe all of 2 minutes and could have been played by anybody. Absolutely one of the greatest examples of a 'Star' dropping in for Maybe a day, half a day, for what?

Anyway, not a big deal and has no bearing on my thoughts about the movie as a whole. Just one of those WTF moments. I mean, we totally expect that nowadays with say Eric Roberts or the recent Michael Madsen, but Michael Biehn...?

Sorry... Didn't mean to get too sidetracked there, just rather a curiosity... : )

So, how about the movie? Well, I guess when I first saw it several years ago for some reason I was rather impressed by it and apparently had given it an '8' I vaguely remember seeing it. I just watched it again and now I'm a little puzzled why I had liked it so much so as to give it a rather rare '8'

The basic story and concept are just fine, nothing wrong with them at all. And, some of the atmospheric effects and jump scares are effective. The acting is decent, but for me I felt the little boy stood Way out above all the others, he was quite good.

Where the film falls down is somewhat difficult to pinpoint exactly, but I think some of what it is is just the way the story unfolds and the way the plot is developed. Like I said, I do feel the basic idea is very good, just the way it is presented struck me this time that it just didn't seem to hold together that well and despite the good story didn't really hold the audience's interest as well as it should have.

It's like the way they told the story was weirdly disjointed, almost like there were several really good scenes, but the way they were put together and the 'Flow' of the story didn't seem to me to be progressing as smoothly as it should have.

In other words, whatever they did, I don't feel that they properly ratcheted up the tension effectively enough, building from scene to scene in such a way as to be very convincing or engaging. Almost like it was just kind of strung together rather haphazardly or half-heartedly without much real thought being put into the way the story was being developed.

I don't know... something along those lines, like I say it is kind of hard to focus in on exactly what wasn't right. Somehow, I think the plot needed to unfold in a much more effective way instead of giving the feeling like separate scenes were seemingly just dropped together carelessly. That's the best way I can put it.

I think a Horror story like this, especially if it supposed to have strong Supernatural overtones needs to be crafted with more thought in order to create a strong sense of Mystery that really grabs the audience and draws them in, which simply didn't happen here.

So, what I think we end up with is a great premise, but flawed in its delivery to the extent that it is 'Okay', but not as stellar as I had originally thought. It's like you are just simply 'Watching' these things happen rather passively, rather then being drawn Into the story and experiencing it the way you should. Strange that it didn't strike me as much that way years ago when I first saw it.

So, I changed my rating and gave it a moderate '6' for the good scenes that are in it, but I can't truly give the movie a wholehearted recommendation. I guess if maybe you aren't too demanding in the cohesiveness and thoughtfulness of the way the story is presented, you might find some passing interest in the film as long as you can overlook the not-so-hot way it is put together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )