Hallowed Ground

A mediocre "remote religious community with a stupid cult" horror, in the "Children of Corn" manner. I watched it because of Chloë Grace Moretz and Jaimie Alexander, it wasn't boring, but soon I won't have any idea that I watched it, let alone what it was about. Within the genre, it can pass with the weaker

6/10

I don't care for thrillers, however, this one was better than most I've been forced to watch. I saw it on Sci-Fi, and watched it from beginning to end.

That, in and of itself, speaks volumes about the film. I'm not one to watch films if I become bored or if I dislike it.

The highlight for me was a stupid bird flu joke, which, now, I cannot recall. It will drive me crazy all day. Care to help a gal? I enjoyed the film... was drawn into it and had the opportunity to leave half-way through it... but stayed til the end just because I was having a good time.

It was enjoyable. Not bad.

Most reviews make this out to be horrid. I watched it because of Jaimie Alexander and Hudson Leick. I wasn't expecting very much, especially with plot keywords like "Killer scarecrow", and it's not my particular favorite horror sub-genre.

In the end, it wasn't that bad. It was somewhat predictable, falling prey to many clichés of the genre. It had a couple twists to make it seem to break away though. Overall the acting was OK...some of the townspeople seemed a little cardboard, but the leads do a good job.

It could have done with a few less scenes of people running through cornfields, but at 83 minutes with credits, I think it needed all the time it could get. If you like Jaimie, it's a good view. While the storyline is a little generic, overall it is mostly put together well and better than some things out there.

Hallowed Ground was neither a good or great movie. In my eyes, I'd say it was mediocre. I did like the stylish camera work, there are some haunting moments in the score, the acting is decent considering what they had to work with and there are a few good ideas in the mix. On the other hand, while not bottom-of-the-barrel awful, the effects do still have a rather cheap look to them, the scarecrow is alright but not as menacing as he should be as a result. The characters are clichéd and not really that engaging and the script has a rather stilted nature about it, but the biggest let down was the story, which promised much but was too derivative and dull in alternative to thrilling and atmospheric. All in all, not good and disappointing but not as bad as some have made out. 4/10 Bethany Cox

HALLOWED GROUND is a peculiar little movie. Good camera work. Decent actors. And dull as watching paint dry.

Somebody forgot that the first six letters in "thriller" are t-h-r-i-l-l. The object is to make people's pulses race, not to put the audience to sleep.

Elizabeth's car breaks down in a strange (and underpopulated) little town. She gets it to a garage, only to be told that the needed part can't be gotten until tomorrow. Stranded.

She goes to a diner and gets into a conversation with a tabloid reporter conveniently in town to do a story on strange events in the area many years ago. The reporter conveniently provides exposition establishing the main conflict that the story will cover.

And so we're treated to Elizabeth's adventures trying to escape a crazed cult. So we have a little CHILDREN OF THE CORN, a touch of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and a dash of those movies Hammer Studios made where Christopher Lee's cult got outsmarted by Peter Cushing. For seasoning add a cute little girl. But no original ideas involved.

This would have been a great thirty minute episode of Tales from the Darkside. But stretching it to feature length was just cruel.