The Canal

I don't know why the IMDb score and Metacritic score are so low on this one. That's one of the reasons I put off watching it for a while but I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing it; it's one of the better horror films of recent years, and I'm a huge horror junkie. If you like disturbing horror that gets under your skin and doesn't rely on jump scares or constant gore then this is for you. The film is beautifully shot and has some exceptionally creepy visuals. It's sporadically violent and cruel but every moment of blood letting or grotesquerie is expertly handled and actually frightening rather than pure gross-out. I urge you not to watch the trailer as it contains spoilers I wish I hadn't known before going into it. If you want to know what to expect, I'd say it's got elements of films such as The Shining and The Ring, but it has a very unique feel. There's a nice dose of drama along with the horror and Rupert Evans is thoroughly believable and engaging in the lead role, much more so than your average modern horror protagonist. Highly recommended!

Without wanting to sound too much like a narcissist, "The Canal" is the type of ambitious, well-intended, and aspiringly convoluted psychological thriller that puts a lot of energy & effort into misleading the viewer... only to end exactly like you presumed since the beginning already. Is the protagonist sane or insane? Is the house haunted or is it historically just a bad neighborhood to live? Do ghosts manifest themselves on video or is David seeing things that aren't there? Is writer/director Ivan Kavanagh stealing ideas from "Sinister"? Well, that's a definite yes.

I want to be gentle on "The Canal", but it just isn't good enough. I appreciate how Kavanagh is obsessed with focusing our attention (or trying to, at least) on the lead character's mental unbalance and heartbroken spirit. I also reckon that Rupert Evans puts down a truly strong performance as David the derailed film-archivist. Well heck, for one of the first times ever, I wasn't even annoyed by the performance of a 5-year-old kid or his mother with an impossible-to-disguise Dutch accent. Let's take it even one step further: the atmosphere is quite often very ominous, the ancient video footage of the 1902 murders is creepy, and the dramatic themes (like marriage failure) feel painfully real. In short, Kavangh and his crew don't do many things wrong. It's just that, when it's finished, the sentiments that prevail are obviousness and "been-there-seen-that".

A pretty effective thriller even if the script uses the usual old clichés of ghost movies. I had a good time watching it and wasn't disappointed. However, I deplore the use (around 43 or 44 minutes of film) of the real photographs of Sharon Tate's crime scene after she was brutally murdered by Manson's followers. I think that is not respectful. The director could have avoided that.

But as others have noted rushes towards the finish line (which is a good thing). But there are a few hurdles the movie has to overcome to win over the viewer. And it might not even achieve this. Not everyone has the patience to wait for a movie to pick up. Especially after not only a slow start, but a character that seems to be doing as many wrong things he can do wrong.

But if you overlook that typical horror movie cliché and can wait for the movie to really pick up, you will like where it goes eventually. The direction is decent and the acting is good too. The story is not really inventive, but moves the film along nicely. There are few good scares along the way and the mentioned ending is really good

Despite some of the poor reviews I've read here, I found this to be a completely coherent and excellent psychological Thriller/Horror movie! Yes you will see some themes borrowed from other films, but let's be honest every movie does that. The cinematography was amazing. The score was arranged with a lot of attention to details and made it perfect backdrop to the film. Transitions and shadows were creepy and eerie. About the only thing that annoyed me what's the editing in which the way the editor wood chop out frames causing a time jump effect. This worked okay as a transition but awful during actress dialogue. All in all it was a great movie.