The Chosen

Well, it was at least amusing for how pathetic it was. But my friends and I couldn't finish it because it got boring after a little while.

This film is not the best, but also not the worst. I found myself fairly intrigued by the beginning, but soon the movie begins to fall apart. I disliked a lot of the main characters as their actions felt unrealistic (even in a supernatural horror) and were constantly mad at one another. The creepy factor is quite nice, however, and is the saving grace for this movie. The effects are awful and the acting is terrible and stale half the time. Okay, but I would only watch again for the disturbing plot.

How can I put this? You know how when you go to the dentist to have root canal work done and the dentist tells you that you may experience some 'discomfort' afterward and what he really means is that you'll be in agony once the anaesthesia wears off and you'll just want to lie down in a dark room and pray for death rather than live through one more second of the pain shredding its way through your nervous system? Yeah. This movie. This movie right here is like having root canal work carried out on your soul. Forget it. Don't watch it, don't look at it, don't even bother reading the rest of this review. For real. You will find no redeeming qualities in this movie. Okay, so maybe the main guy was OK acting wise. I do have one question for the movie producers...what was with the end credits soundtrack choice? Really? You're gonna hit us with some trap rap hip hop tune that was in no way related to anything that happened in the movie and really really really didn't go with the atmosphere (or lack of) that you tried (and failed) to aim for? Nope. I'm out. NEXT!

This film is visually interesting and disturbing, yet the acting seems wooden at times. It appears to rip off a rather more well know horror film in unimportant ways or at least refer to them. There are nice atmospheric touches throughout, and what we learn about the characters as they develop adds to the creepy feel of the piece as a whole. Willing suspension of disbelief fails occasionally, but there is plenty of detail to add a sense of creepiness to the film overall. On the one hand it is a bit difficult to keep track of who is related to whom, and in what way, but this, too, adds to the effect of the film as a whole. Films referred to seem to include The Exorcist and The Shining.

When I found "The Chosen" I had no knowledge about it at all. I didn't know who starred in it or what it was about. I just happened to find it in the horror section. And being a horror fan I needed very little persuasion in order to pick it up and give it a go.

I must say that I found the story to be rather interesting. It was a good story concept and there were some rather twisted and disturbing elements to it, such as having to sacrifice your own family members in order for a single person to remain alive and having to pick out which ones to sacrifice. It should be said that the story was rather predictable, so don't expect any curve balls here.

The acting in the movie was adequate, although I wasn't familiar with anyone on the cast list. Which, in itself, is a plus for me, because I like watching new acting talents in movies.

For a horror movie that involved a hellish entity, then it was a movie that was rather scarce on special effects. Sure, there were special effects and CGI in the movie, just used in moderation. Which was a shame, because it felt like it held the movie back.

The movie was in overall adequate, but at times it felt a bit forced and rigid at times. Whether that was because of the director or the writers I do not know. But it was an enjoyable enough movie for what it turned out to be.

As for the ending of the movie, well it made very little sense to me, so I guess that whatever the writers were aiming at was lost on me.

All in all, "The Chosen" scores 5 out of 10 stars from me.