The Cleanse

When was the last time I saw Angelica Houston in a project?

It's a lot better than what I was expecting. It's not the best movie but a very interesting one which seem to try hard to stretch a short story into a feature, but it did not have enough meat on it.

When I read the synopsis about a group of people going to a retreat to do an experimental cleansing process which is "more than they realize" I was honestly expecting a horror film, but horror was not one of the genres listed and I thought that's either a mistake and if it's not, it can't be good outside of that genre.

Not sure if I was wrong but, I'm defiantly not completely right. I did like that the visual effects seem to have been done on camera instead of CGI, which made the Sci-fi warmer and realistic.

It was better than what I thought. I think it's biggest mishap was trying to be a feature when it was not.

Paul has recently been dumped by his fiancée and fired from his job, so when he sees a commercial on TV for a retreat, he thinks this may be the jump-start he needs to turn his life around.

To say much more about the plot is to spoil the story, which is precisely the problem with this movie. Running a scant 70 minutes (with almost 10 full minutes of end credits), there's not time to get to know any of the characters aside from the lead and the story feels overwhelmingly underdeveloped, leaving a great many lingering questions. Frankly, it feels like a student film or a padded short populated by recognizable actors and complete with a pretentious ending. The performances are solid across the board (though everyone but Johnny Galecki and Anna Friel have little to do), there's a nice atmospheric mood in cinematography, music and direction, and the FX aren't bad.

I saw the trailer a few months ago and have been stoked for an offbeat oddity ever since. Unfortunately, the trailer played like an abridged version of the movie, leaving out only the resolution. For what it was, it's an okay movie, but it had the potential to be so much more.

Also: I'll show you mine, if you show me yours. A very weird movie, I knew nothing about when I saw it at a Festival. I went through a bunch of emotions during the screening. Happy, sad, afraid and so forth. The movie really puts you out there with the actors and you wonder where it's all going.

It's really best if you don't read too much about it. The mystery that builds while watching it, is amazing. Also the make-up effects are nice if you like old school (not CGI). It really conveys a lot of emotions and it has a perfect ending too. A nice little gem, that not many will have the opportunity to watch.

It's really a simple story, with a peculiar metaphor for people's problems. It's only fault, I guess, is to fall too simple in the end, it really feels like this was one more of the director's idea for a short film (apparently he has quite a few in his filmography) that he didn't know how to develop into something more complex for a full length movie. I'ts still well executed, with good cinematography and acting, and old school SFX, I quite enjoyed it, very straight forward and easy to understand, not at all confusing as I've read in some reviews... It's also quite short, which makes it easier to get through. Definitely worth a watch with no high expectations.

This isn't a terrible movie, it's even mildly entertaining. It's well acted and well shot. However, the story never really hits a satisfying arc or finish.