A Face Oculta do Mal

This is one of the many movies called "gone" made in 2007.This one is a road movie (Australia has become a good place to film such flicks of the genre) and even ,a road movie too many.It cannot hold a candle,for instance ,to "Kalifornia" (1993) and the beautiful landscapes and a superb shot of the Australian sky at dawn can't hide what is definitely lacking: a firm screenplay and elements which would have made Taylor an interesting character .The Taylor/Alex relationship revolves around the latter's girlfriend and it's not enough to keep the movie from being derivative .Only the trick of the phone is pretty smart but the average viewer will have guessed what happened long before the ending.An ending in the grand tradition of "Friday the thirteenth" .Nothing new under the Australian sun.

I didn't know what to expect from this movie, and knew very little about it; only that it was a thriller, and a bit of the storyline. Now that I've seen it, I have to say I'm very positively impressed.

The movie follows Brits Alex and Sophie on a road trip around Australia. They've both agreed to meet in Australia, and, before they do so, Alex has met Taylor, a mysterious American who offers to drive him around. The movie has a very fitting introduction about how the two boys meet in a fun atmosphere, which gradually becomes gloomier and full of menace as we find out about Taylor's dark side.

It's plain to see that the story isn't original at all, but it is very well and efficiently told. As other commenters have pointed out, one of the movie's great points is that Taylor's psychotic personality is revealed subtly and slowly, which makes him all the more believable. Also, while not original, the movie isn't all that predictable and the suspense is very well carried along. The acting is also very good; I especially liked Amelia Warner as Sophie. I also found it remarkable that the settings -it's located in some of Australia's deserts, of extreme and solitary beauty- and the fact that it's almost exclusively based on three characters come together admirably to produce a feeling of isolation, claustrophobia and paranoia.

The only real weak point about the movie is the lack of character development; I was left wanting to know more about them. This, however, didn't stop me from enjoying it. It's a nice little surprise that I recommend to all thriller lovers.

A movie with a feeling of being alone as indicated by the beautiful vegetation of Australia's desert region and feelings of being gone; being so far away from everyone and everywhere for anyone to hear your screams. Again, there is such beauty with scenes of sunsets and vegetation; but it is a perfect time for murder and mystery to begin and spoil the lot! In the beginning of this movie,it seems that one would not expect violence to come in between the characters, but soon; creepy sexual signs develop which can be fatal. Silence is common. And there is such an eerie feeling that someone is going to be trapped in the back of that shambolic 4 wheel-drive.

A young British couple are travelling through the outback, hitching a ride with a mysterious, charismatic American who becomes increasingly suspect. After this music montages(the first choice doesn't even seem to fit) its way through most of the first third, you might be led to believe that it's picking up. You would be sorely mistaken. It never actually goes anywhere, in spite of genuine potential, and the very last portion of this just gives up on being convincing(especially as far as the actions and logic goes, and it was already on shaky ground). This is a road movie, psychological horror exploitation flick set in Australia, and as such, it is decent. The filming and editing are skillful enough(it even creates mood several times) and there is one or two bits that are downright good. Characters are pretty bland, undeveloped and not entirely credible. Alex, the boyfriend with a secret he doesn't want her to discover, is the best in the latter regard. Their behaviour and poor decision-making abilities keep the paperthin, predictable plot just barely going, until the seemingly ceaseless 80 minutes finally come to a close. Acting isn't bad. This is mostly focused on the three leads, albeit they're not isolated(I expected this to have them stranded and that be a cause of conflict, and it went stupider than that) for more than maybe half of this combined. One has to wonder why they don't simply get out of the situation since that's clearly the smarter option. They have cell phones, too. Operating ones. Yet we're just expected to accept this at face value. For an interesting psycho(whose attraction may not be towards Sophie... not that it actually pays off to notice that) and potentially visually compelling setting(not photographed in any kind of engaging way) and other things I've mentioned, this doesn't actually end up offering anything worth it in return for your investment of time and attention. There is a bit of disturbing content, a little gory/bloody violence and sexuality and momentary nudity in this. The DVD comes with a reasonable and informational enough 29 and a half minute featurette and 8 minutes of deleted(or rather, extended, not to mention padded, no-wonder-these-were-cut) scenes. I recommend this to people who enjoy this kind of thing. 4/10

Although a little predictable this film kept me and all of my family on the edges of our seats.

Scott Mechlowicz as Taylor was understated but eerily evil from the outset.

Shaun Evans, who now plays a young Endeavour Morse, is very good as he slowly falls apart under the strains of Taylor's actions.

Amelia Warner is also believably innocent, but strong when she needs to be.

All in all a tense and satisfying movie. Just the right length for a Saturday night in.