Without Name

The natural world, with its serenity and stillness, brings comfort for many. For Eric, a land surveyor who heads to the woods solely to escape a shattered marriage, it brings something else. Summoned by a mysterious client to a cabin far from the concrete dullness of his suburban home, Eric eagerly awaits the arrival of Olivia who is both surveying partner and mistress. Olivia encourages Eric to live his dreams, yet he is a man who has none. Within the mist and moss covered forest, shadows intrude. The stillness combined with obtrusive locals, unsettle something in Eric's psyche.

Without Name immerses the audience in a surreal world filled with spectral auras and tones. The forest alternately glows and darkens, appearing like a dance floor where possibilities brighten in the flickering light, then dissipate into murkiness again. I love this film theme, where reality and dreams merge together and become indistinguishable from each other. I only wish the dialogue and action sequences were as deep as the film themes. Seen at the Miami International Film Festival.

This movie has some amazing shots of the forest and the dark gloomy environment that the cottage is surrounded by. Other than that, this movie was a waste of time. It is extremely slow paced and the dialogue was subpar. I've seen some reviews mention that the slow burn helps intensify horror movies like this, but I disagree because this movie is not a horror. I'm not sure what genre it is exactly but I'd say it's closer to a psychological thriller than horror. That makes the fact that NOTHING HAPPENS/IS EXPLAINED even worse. The plot essentially begins with something mystical going on in these woods and ends without expanding on the thought. The movie ends without explaining what is going, how it's happening or why. The ending is also extremely predictable after 3/4 of it if you pay attention. This was very disappointing

I hate to throw "water on the fires of praise" but have to give an honest opinion of this film as I see it.

The three previous reviews rave about the artistic nuances and beauty of nature melding with psychological mystery in "without name". I do agree the acting and sound track were good and suites the theme of this film. However, it is a far cry from being a thriller/Horror film and although unique I'm not sure what genre this film fits in to.

I found the film boating and purposeless. There were some nice lighting shots and shadowy artistic scenes but that does not a good film make.

Without Windows is a journey of a man (and woman) working to survey land for a mysterious man. Mush of the plot is never explained or resolved. I know this is offered up as an attempt at an artistic naturalistic mystery, but, IMO, falls short in being anything other then 70+ minutes of trees, trees and more trees. All of the additional story line and narrative seems to convolute any meaning and purpose.

Again, there are some merits to this film in way of the use of lighting and score, but, the movie moves at a snails pace and builds to a rather anti climactic ending. I was left wondering what message did this film have to convey.

To each his own. I felt the viewing of this movie was as interesting as watching grass grow.

Without Name: Irish Folk Horror. A land surveyor works in eerie woods in a gully on the side of a mountain. He spots a strange silhouette as does the student who arrives to help him. His marriage is strained as is his affair with the student. Things get more complicated when they hang out with a magic mushroom munching crustie.

But the mushrooms are not responsible for all the weirdness as people get lost both physically and spiritually in the woods. A true sense of Panic is aroused at times.

Top tip: never ask for an IPA in a mountainside pub in rural Ireland. 8/10.

An Irish surveyor gets stuck in a possibly haunted forest.

As I was watching this, I thought to myself, "This reminds me a bit of Vivarium." Turns out the same guy directed both movies. I'm not sure what exactly triggered that thought, but this is just as slow-paced and lonely as Vivarium. If anything, it's even slower paced.

Again, I don't really think this was a horror movie so much as a psychological thriller. If you come into this expecting monsters and gore, you'll be pretty disappointed. It's very European and influenced by 60s and 70s movies, I think. If you're into 70s folk horror, you'll probably enjoy this more than the IMDb rating suggests.

Ireland has some really beautiful forests. I can understand why filmmakers spend so much time shooting in them. Still, Without Name goes to extremes with endless shots of trees and nature. It's very pretty and makes me want to go explore a forest, but a bit more plot and fewer lingering shots of trees would have been nice.

The actors are pretty good, but you'll mostly be following Alan McKenna around the forest. The forest itself is pretty much his costar, though some other characters show up. The sound effects and score give the forest a Blair Witch atmosphere. It was eerie at times, but I'm honestly not especially fond of that whole Blair Witch thing.

If you don't mind a slow pace and a LOT of (pretty) shots of trees, this is worth checking out. If you're expecting bloodthirsty faeries to slash their way through a group of teenage friends, skip it.