The Appointment

I daresay I have seen my fair share of slow-brooding, mystical, cryptic, and subliminal thrillers/horror movies already. Some of them are brilliant and incomparable to anything ever seen before, but most of them are overly complex, pretentious, and unworthwhile. "The Appointment" is a bizarre case, to say the least, because it balances somewhere in the middle.

The suspense building and overall ominous atmosphere in this movie can only be described as pure genius. Even though absolutely nothing happens during approximately 50-60% of the running time (endless pans of an empty living room at night, long winding roads, ...) you're still guaranteed to gaze at the screen because the music and photography are so foreboding. The tension in "The Appointment" is literally unbearable. But for what?

The story opens with the unsolved disappearance case of a young girl. Four years later, in the same community, high school teenager Joanne looks forward to her music recital - including her very first violin solo - in the presence of her parents. But then her daddy announces that he cannot attend, due to an emergency at work, and must leave early in the morning to travel. Joanne is exaggeratedly (childishly) disappointed, and that same night both her parents are plagued by nightmares and visions about daddy's trip ending in tragedy. And, of course, they turn out disturbingly real the next day.

What are we supposed to assume? Is Joanne paranormally gifted and does she - deliberate or not - inflict a curse on her father for not attending her recital? If that is the case, I don't want to know what'll happen to the first boyfriend who cheats on her, or a future colleague who steals a promotion! And what is then the link with the missing girl from the intro? Did she also somehow "wronged" Joanne-from-Hell? As usual with these type of films, you're not getting any answers or clarification. I can praise writer/director Lindsey C. Vickers for his obvious talent of generating suspense, but what is the point if there isn't a real (and plausible) story to tell?

My Ratings: Story 1.00 : Direction 1.00 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 0.75 : Entertaining 1.00 Total 4.50 out of 10.00

This is one of those little films that leaves you wondering, why? Indeed I had that question in my mind at the climax of the movie, though, I realised I had enjoyed the movie too.

The story is quite basic and leaves you to draw your own conclusions as to the climax and how we arrived there. The main body of the story centres around Ian, who is a loving family man. On the eve of his daughter Joanne's violin recital, his company calls into an important business meeting the following day. That night dreams of his death plague his sleep. Though, like most dreams, they fade in the light of day. We, the audience, though, quickly see the resemblances of his journey to his appointment and the previous nights' nightmare. We know that events on this road may not bode well for our family guy.

Woven into this is the awkward and slightly unnatural relationship between Ian and Joanne. The scene where she tries to use her sexuality and sweetness to get her way, while her mother watches on, left me uneasy and cold. You have the feeling there is something not quite right with Joanne... but you can't put your finger on it.

Though you never get to see any connection of the supernatural to her it is subtly, yet strongly, insinuated.

One of the strongest elements of the story and the film is how little conversation there is. For the better part of the film, nobody speaks. Even in the nightmare sequence and the continuing night scene, everything is controlled by sounds and visions. Lindsey C Vickers who both wrote and directed had a concept for this story. The nightmare sequence didn't captivate me. For me, it lacked imagination and tensity. Which is strange as the following night scene is a milieu of tension and ingenuity. Vickers uses not only lighting to set the scene and create ambience but slows the pace a tad to add an eerie and nervous feel. To that, he throws in a smidge of imagery, in the form of three large shadow dogs. Are these the hounds from the dream?

The next morning's journey is handled better than Ian's night terror trip. Though they could have provided us with more imaginative outside shots. Mostly the audience has to make do with looking up at Ian driving and watching the beautiful scenery flow speedily by the window. This is a great shame, as some long shots and downward views and sweeping camera pans would have made this such a better film. It could only have added more character and a sense of feeling to the film.

I would love to see this story reshot today. Imagine the beautiful drone camera work you could get. Flying across the desolate moors and swooping down a cliff face to come to rest on the only car on the road. I think this is the isolation Vickers was aiming for... but only somewhat captures.

I have to doff my cap to Vickers for the opening sequence. Showing the disappearance of Susan was genius. Not because it starts the story off in a creepy manner, but rather, because it has one of the best abduction scenes, ever. Now we know how the effect was implemented, though we can't help but feel creeped out by it. I even found myself saying, "Ouch!" as she's violently yanked into the undergrowth. I then doff my cap for the audacity he has to then give us the worst car crash, ever. If you decide not to hunt down this film, then you can pop over to YouTube and check out these two scenes. You'll quickly understand why they made it there. Awesomely Good - Awesomely Bad.

The acting is okay. There's not too much to say about it as there's little interaction between the characters. However, what is there, works. I will say, the actress who plays Joanne, Samantha Weysom, is much better when she doesn't speak. Her deliverance of lines is dire and unconvincing. Though, the scene between Woodward and herself is perfect in body language.

Though people have classed this as a gem, I will say it's not that good. It's passable, and it has some good ideas. A few of which work well, while others fall flat. This isn't a must-watch or a rush-out-to-buy film. It's a watch after you've caught up on everything else film. I'm glad I watched it and I'll be talking about the abduction and crash scenes with friends, but I'm not in any rush to watch it again soon. It could and should have been better.

Make an appointment to check out my Absolute Horror list and see where this car crash-landed in the rankings.

Take Care and Stay Well.

Three years ago, the 12-year old Sandy Freemont disappeared after taking a shortcut through the woods. The mystery is yet to be solved.

'The Appointment' is an interesting film. There are supernatural elements, but very subtle. Then there are the creepy dogs. One never really knows whether they are related, but both forces are frightening in their own right.

The film also contains family drama, with Ian (Edward Woodward) having to leave town for an appointment on the same day of his daughter, Joanne's first classical concert. Joanne is upset when she realizes he will miss the concert, and throughout the evening she keeps nagging him about it. There are suggestive moments that makes one believe Ian fooled around with his daughter, or still is, but this never surfaces.

Some scenes linger on purpose to create an unnerving suspense I haven't felt in a movie in a while. Ian's sleepless night before he had to leave, was incredibly suspenseful - thanks to clever photography and editing. That night - which seemed to go on forever (in a good way!) - had me on the edge of my seat.

Soon we realize his dreams were actually a premonition, with Ian's fate being sealed. 'The Appointment' is a horror movie without blood, guts and gore, but it is horrifying in a psychological sense - and creepy as hell. You have to read between the lines to fully understand it, though. There's more going on here than you might think.

A young girl is abducted by an evil force in the woods and 3 years later another 14 year old girl, besotted with her father, is upset that he will miss her music concert because of a last minute appointment he has to drive to. Evil forces visit the family in the night causing all sorts of unpleasant dreams as well as seemingly affecting the family car.

Whilst there is a lot wrong with this in terms of stilted acting and dialogue and a plot which is no doubt filled with clever metaphors which I missed, there remains plenty to admire here. The whole thing is rich in atmosphere and whilst it is clear where it's all heading, you are really drawn in. The plot itself makes little sense and the fairly shocking beginning and post climax scene feel like a disconnected afterthought and the 'haunting' of the car, a bit bewildering. Again, this is compensated for by carefully pacing and strong focus on scenes leading to an exciting, extremely well crafted climax - Hollywood should take note.

The Appointment is a genuinely foreboding supernatural thriller. Intelligently conceived, meticulously paced, it quietly and deftly unravels the disquieting course of events until the astonishing final scene. While it is set in a very ordinary, quiet English town, there is an almost palpable atmosphere of pent-up malevolence, introduced in the opening scene, and persistent throughout. Whether it emanates from a human being or it is something all together different, is left to your imagination to decide. Ian (Edward Woodward) is about to embark on an unexpected long trip to a business meeting. His daughter (Samantha Weysom), a musically gifted but peculiar girl who is overly attached to her father, takes it to heart when he has to leave instead of attending her violin recital. The girl is cloying and demanding, driving her mother Dianna (Jane Merrow) to the edge of impatience. The girl pleads with him not to go until his tight-lipped tolerance finally snaps, only to regret it and be condemned to a restless night. Troubled by his daughter's behaviour, and anxious about the long drive the following morning, sleep eludes him, until, finally dozing off, he experiences a pervasive disturbing dream. The inclusion of dreams in films is so often fascinating, and rich in symbolism, and sometimes the dreams can be portents or forewarnings that the dreamer should heed, but rarely do. There are carefully placed clues to caution him from taking the trip, from an incident in the garage repairing his car, to the moment, halfway to his to his journey's end, he calls home and is cut off just as his wife is telling him she had the same dream. She is feeling that something is amiss but doesn't have the chance to tell him to turn back. Although he observes a number of troubling motifs as he drives, he cannot make sense of them and continues on. Even an opportunity to alter the outcome, when he realises his watch has stopped and inadvertently left it in the phone booth after calling his wife. He returns to retrieve it, and proceeds on his way. Woodward is superb as an overwrought man who appears to have an unshakable feeling that things are not quite as they seem, and that his destination is also his destiny. This film might not make you jump out of your skin, but it will haunt you with an uneasy feeling of dread long after the extraordinary ending of one man's appointment with fate.