Solstice

Okay, so this movie went straight to DVD, which would have many people assuming that it can't be all that great, and while it wasn't the best horror movie I've ever seen it wasn't bad at all. Despite what I've read, it had really good pacing with a number of creepy scenes spread out in the movie enough to keep one interested and slightly creeped out. The acting really helps too and you can see all the inner conflicts of the two main characters as they struggle to come to terms with what they're dealing with. The only thing I didn't like was the way the climax of the movie ended. The rest of the climax is great, but the resolution...not what I would have done. All in all, this movie was worth watching and I'm glad I saw it.

After watching this, I kind of agonized whether to come here and write a review. I really had high hopes for this one, primarily because I usually really like Supernatural tales or Ghost Stories that are done well, but sadly this one left me a little bit flat (kind of like Chaz Bono)

The tricky thing about this movie is that technically it is rather good. The photography and look of the film lend well to the overall mood and atmosphere of the story. It's just that to me personally, in my lowly and wretched opinion, there was just something substantial missing that might have made this film better. Even the acting, which normally can be quite abysmal in these low-budget 'Teen' Horror films, was decent enough with what they had to work with. I don't know... I almost want to say that I got a slightly shallow 'MTV' type of vibe from it, especially with the sound design, but I'm not sure that was quite it...

I will say that there were 2 VERY brief moments that I really liked in the film. Without giving anything away, I liked the part where the dog was chasing her into the woods and what happened. Also, and this was like ONE minute only... I liked the old-fashioned / religious sounding choral voices in the soundtrack when they were sitting outside and the main girl got up and left the group and approached the barn-like structure (I also liked the lighting effect that went along with that)

I'm thinking that probably the reason they went back and released this older film is because now Amanda Seyfried has become much more famous. I was quite surprised that it was made in 2008! She, was not particularly outstanding in her role, but she was okay. Actually, I felt that the main girl did a much better job (granted, she had a LOT more to do) She kept reminding me of someone (I don't think I have seen her either before or since) It wasn't just her looks, but her expressions and manner. I THINK who she was reminding me of was a younger version of Lisa Kudrow, sort of... Heh, not really relevant I guess, but still it kind of nagged at me while I was watching the film...

Anyway, I usually really LOVE a good Cajun / Haitian Voodoo flavoured film. As a matter of fact I just saw the recent 'JESSEBELLE' and really liked it. I think, overall, that film was a better example of creating a more creepy and suspenseful mood and ultimately being more effective than this one. In reading some of the other reviews here, it appears that many people DID indeed find the movie satisfying enough. Most of the reviews and the current ratings seem to land between '5' and '6', which sounds about right to me (I gave it a '5' because it just seemed to fall a bit short in a few areas)

As far as whether to recommend this to others as a 'Good' film, that would have to be based I guess on how demanding you are with these types of movies. Definitely, if you don't really go for Supernatural or Ghost Stories that much, then for sure give this one a pass... But, if you do like those types of films and if you are not expecting TOO much, then you might enjoy this one somewhat. But honestly, I personally just found it a bit weak. And I really do think that there are similar but much better films than this out there...

Well, Solstice gets a high-five for good casting, visuals, sound and overall atmosphere.

Only problem is the story. It's the same type of ghost story a proper horror fan has seen a gazillion times. And it's a remake! Why? Also, at 87 minutes, this felt like hours. Bo-ring. There are red herrings, scary shadows, MTV-style flashbacks from the dead, and while it's all well done, it's all been done before. Thank you, but no.

Myrick had a mediocre movie (Believers, also (V)) and a good one ruined by a terribly miscast main actor and a "gotcha-sucker!" ending (The Objective). At least here, justice was served and this went straight to DVD where it belongs.

Eduardo Sanchez' "Altered", although more of a sci-fi horror hybrid on a low budget, is superior to all of the above mentioned films in my opinion. Here's hoping that Myrick (who has loads of talent) will make a proper great movie in the future.

5/10

When I watched this movie, I was struck by how bland, boring, and predictable it was. It was never actually bad or anything, but it was arguably memorable for being so forgettable. It was only after I came to the IMDb that I discovered it was directed by one of the guys responsible for that utter borefest, The Blair Witch Project. At that moment, everything made sense to me, and I felt totally vindicated in my intense dislike for TBWP (which all my friends, at the time, seemed to think was pure genius). I also realized that this director had done The Believers, which was, unsurprisingly, a bit of a borefest, though the ending was kind of cool (even though it was stolen from a Arthur C. Clarke story). Unfortunately, this movie doesn't really have an interesting twist to save it, unless you're really, really unfamiliar with the last 50 years worth of ghost stories coming out of Hollywood.

Eduardo Sanchez, the co-director of TBWP, made a pretty good movie a few years ago, called Altered, about a group of friends who have a really nasty series of run-ins with malevolent aliens. Unlike this one, I walked in to that movie thinking it was going to be crap, but I was quite surprised at how much I liked it. It was suspenseful, gory, and, while it wasn't really original, it still managed to put its own spin on a common theme (alien abduction). Really, it was more a movie about rape than anything else, couched in science fiction/horror elements. This movie? It's exactly what it looks like -- a group of stupid teenagers (played by 30 year old actors, of course), including a depressed girl, the depressed girl's best friend, an insensitive jerk, the insensitive jerk's long-suffering girlfriend, and the depressed girl's love interest (who also happens to be her dead twin sister's ex-boyfriend), spend about 70 minutes getting drunk, followed by about 15-20 minutes of plot, wherein they follow the psychic intuitions of the depressed girl, only to solve a Scooby Doo mystery. Unfortunately, this movie has all the thrills, mystery, and suspense of your average Scooby Doo episode, perhaps due to the PG rating. Amusingly, the ghosts ended up just standing around, in the background, looking as bored as I felt, while I was watching this movie.

Prepare to be bored to death, rather than scared to death.

After the death of her twin sister Sophie, Megan heads of for a few days with her friends. However, on arrival at the family cottage, Megan begins to experience visions and dreams. Is her sister trying to reach out to her from the dead, or is it something else....?

Directed by Daniel Myrick, who co-directed The Blair Witch Project, Solstice has many things going for it. The cast are pretty good, with special mention to Elisabeth Harnois, as Sophie/Megan. On screen pretty much the whole film, meaning the film stands or falls on her being convincing, and she is very good indeed.

The setting does give the film a nice atmosphere, and the story has enough of a mystery about it to keep you interested until the end.

But as a film that is supposed to be a horror film, Solstice fails. Yes the setting is atmospheric, but none of the so-called scare scenes work at all. Myrick, who has made scarier films, doesn't pull of the scares here at all. In fact, I think the film would have been better as a mystery-type film, dropping the horror elements completely.

Despite this though, I did enjoy it, and while it will never be remembered as a classic or highly regarded, I was never bored at any point and found it to be an enjoyable film.