Le journal d'Ellen Rimbauer

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer was supposed to be the prequel to answer some of the questions about Rose Red's history from last years mini-series. Instead, it seems like Rose Red answers more questions about The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer. The story and acting were well done and pretty easy to follow. To say the least, it does keep your interest. It starts out with the building of Rose Red and how there was a nurder the day the a young and engaged Ellen Rimbauer first lays eyes on the place. The Diary of ER was entertaining, it still left a few unanswered questions and a wanting for more. My first and perhaps biggest complaint was the fact the place and the atmosphere seemed foreboding and dark, there was not as much a supernatural element to it as Rose Red. People disappeared in it, but if I recall correctly one was a famous lady who disappeared. Instead we get to see the horrors of how much a philandering, sex addicted and possibly sypohilis infected bastard John Rimbauer was and how everybody he slept with then disappeared in the house. He was basically the worst seen being in the Rose Red mansion. The movie also came up short in that it stopped before Ellen and her faithful friend from Africa also disappeared or had something happen to them in the house. There was not the horror or even suspense element that had been in Rose Red.The house's history had been made somehow less scary than what it had been in the subsequent movie that followed it. Like, I said the movie was decent, but it left you wanting more of everything. It was lacking in detail and horror. It was a decent movie about a mysterious place and the sadness suffered by a women with a sex addicted and philandering husband but little else. A little more hooror and suspense, not to mention detail would have been nice.

I have certainly seen bigger budgeted movies in the genre far worse than this effort, it is competently acted, has some nice visual touches, and the director knows how to best utilise the monolithic house. That said, without genuine suspense it is hard to succeed in the genre, so without a fearful story as well it has little to no chance of making it. The crux of the matter is that the story really isn't that interesting, we have seen and read about this plot on numerous occasions, so for a TV movie to win you round it really is asking way too much. Basic ingredients are all here, creepy house, pretty wife confused, servant with big role to play, and of course the genre staple of sexual deviant husband with dark overtones. The film moves along sedately which is fine if the pay off is worth the wait, sadly it isn't here and it limps over the finish line instead of leaping over as the build up had promised.

Just below average for me, but a gentle round of applause for effort to those involved, 4/10.

I am disappointed because the film never explains the disappearances or the circumstances around Rose Red. I think it would have been better if they tried to convey the cause of the mysterious disappearance of April, Ellen, Sukeena, and anybody else who vanished for no reason. I wish Rose Red existed so we can visit but it's too far-fetched and it doesn't explain the paranormal around the house to the audience. I admired the actresses who played Ellen and Sukeena but I never did understand the relationship as a whole. I felt there were too many unanswered questions about the whole house in general. The house Rose Red mini-series should have answered what happened to the people trapped in the house whether by body or spirits. I was hoping for answers but I didn't get them.

Using the Stephen King characters from "Rose Red," THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER is a prequel to that little saga of a monstrous house that seems to be devouring its victims.

This version of the Rose Red story is handsomely photographed and well acted but suffers from a script that never really bothers to explain anything. The viewer is left pondering plot details up until the very end, when again there is a letdown of even more ambiguity.

Nevertheless, it manages to impress with the performances, the settings, the costumes and the plot itself is a mixed bag of so many thrillers from the past, even including the more genteel JANE EYRE or any of the Victorian novels that dealt with a house of dark decay and a sinister leading man.

STEVEN BRAND is the darkly handsome head of the household whose soul is corrupted by carnal desires, an unfaithful man who brings his bride LISA BRENNER to live in Rose Red, where she is gradually subjected to all sorts of vague fears and terrors and things that go bump in the night.

It's really silly stuff, not to be taken seriously, but does give rise to some goosebumps once in awhile. Eventually, the murky plot just gets muddier and all of the elements mesh into one big, slow-paced thriller that is efficient enough to produce a few chills but too ambiguous for its own good.

"The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" is a prequel to the Mini-Series "Rose Red" (2002). The cinematography and the art direction are excellent, depicting Seattle in 1910 and a few years after. The cast is also great with good performances. However, the story is weak and disclosed in a very slow pace. The great mystery of the disappearances of women is never explained and there is no explanation about the evil entity that torments Ellen Rimbauer. In the end, "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" is a huge disappointment and never satisfies fans of horror, thriller, drama and romance genres. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Diário de Ellen Rimbauer" ("The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer")