The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

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.

I wasn't aware that Stephen Kings Rose Red (2002) had a prequel, upon finding out I was quite excited as the potential was really quite good.

Sadly this was not penned by Stephen King at all which I find to be a really strange decision.

It tells the story of Rose Reds construction and how it came to be. The setting, the cinematography, the writing is all quite good but feels forced.

I enjoyed Rose Red, though I don't think it was exactly ground breaking it did manage to accomplish what it set out to do. I don't think however that this does.

Though it tells a great story it gradually falls apart and when the credits rolled I was left with a frustrating number of unanswered questions.

I think perhaps it could have done with an additional 30-60 minutes to flesh it out, in it's present state it is passable but very underwhelming.

The Good:

Couple of great moments

Looks great

The Bad:

Few plot holes

Too short

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I'm anti-remakes/reboots but this and Rose Red could perhaps be considered

"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")

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.

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer definitely held my interest enough and made me curious to see Rose Red. In my opinion, Ellen Rimbauer was the better of the two.

I loved the historical aspect of the movie, giving a definite history and personality to the house than a typical haunted house movie does. It was unique and realistic in this way, perhaps one of the reasons I preferred it to "Rose Red".

This movie contains much more mystery than "Rose Red" and is much less typical. Don't go into it expecting a regular horror/thriller movie, because that's not what it is. It's a great movie to make you think and wonder about the house, and does no more than insinuate answers, which leaves you in the mood, thinking, and drawing your own conclusions to the story, which I find much more satisfying.

Left me dreaming about the Winchester Mystery House. Believable, unique and thought-provoking. 8.5/10.