A Semente do Mal

A lot of the other reviews are kinda harsh and seem to come from the Uber-Film High-Brow Horror Critic's row of the theatre. Whereas I just wanted to see something. . .different.

What grabbed me was the notion of a ghost story set current day, in Transylvania, that didn't involve Vampires. Period.

I'm sick of Vampires: Old, Young, Teenagers, the black leather thing, suburban dark sex. . .whatever. Just sick of it all. And here was a story about a modern day haunting in Transylvania on a movie set.

Now I'll be honest, the plot is confusing. I'm not quite sure on exactly WHAT was haunted: The Movie Set, the Film, or the 'Set Specialist' himself, But I like the fact that you're not quite sure whether the 'Set Specialist' Marcus is hallucinating or really seeing things. The build-up of havoc on the filming set and the deaths here and there followed by the final send-up of the ghost/apparition at least did not follow the usual formula, so I was entertained. And to the Nay-Saying Aficionados who were expecting more linear, explainable plot, I say that the lack of an explainable plot was excusable because the action still drove towards a weird conclusion. And what held me was the fact that it wasn't a PREDICTABLE Plot. I STILL wanted to see what the End would be. And on that score, I say the movie scored a point.

The FX were nicely done and the flies were a nice touch. There's gore, but it's more Ick than Splatter. Warning: Girlfriends with weak stomachs or sensibilities may need you to cover their eyes a bit. Oh, and refrain from a genuine male desire to get some pizza out of the Microwave. . .the GF will NOT understand and will give you troublesome disgusted looks.

Nah, it's not Horror Movie Gold-- but it has it's own Honorable Mention Category and definitely a good passable Saturday Nite Horror Flick.

And when you watch, don't Siskel & Ebert it. This is Elvira material! Enjoy!

Here's a film which seems to be all over the place in terms of story, which is needlessly complicated and as a result feels rushed and unsatisfactory. This is apparently a remake of an Japanese ghost film, given a western twist and cast, and directed by Chinese director Fruit Chan (who made the sickening DUMPLINGS).

The story tells of a film crew attempting to shoot a tale about a cursed production, only for themselves to fall foul of the evil spirit of a witch inhabiting the set. The witchcraft/ghost angle is entirely predictable, although there are some cool CGI effects involving swarming flies, but that doesn't stop the film from feeling disjointed and more than a little unfocused.

There are familiar cast members here, from a cameoing Eli Roth as a Hungarian director to Henry Thomas and Shiloh Fernandez, but the actors fail to bring life to what is a very stale script. You can tell Chan is trying and indeed DON'T LOOK UP is unsettling in a few places thanks to his efforts, but as with most remakes I'd recommend checking out the original instead.

This movie started with some promise, considering that it's from the same writers of "The Ring," and directed by (until now) promising director Fruit Chan.

The beginning is fairly intriguing, but maybe fifteen or twenty minutes in, I was losing interest, and wondering where the plot had gone. In my opinion, the writers definitely missed out on an opportunity to really scare us, to give us the next "Ring," or "The Grudge," but they passed it up. God knows why.

I didn't find Chan's direction particularly riveting or impressive, which was disappointing, to say the least. Without any notable exceptions, the acting is dismal and unconvincing, making a bad movie worse. The fake Romanian accents, in particular, started to get to me after a while. (Our hero's name is MarCUS. Not MarCOOS.)

I still felt they might have managed to salvage it at the ending, but this, as well, was a disappointment. Any brief horror they had managed to drum up had been whizzed right down their legs in roughly fifteen seconds.

Yes, there is some gore, and at times I felt an uneasy sense of foreboding, but this film ultimately failed in delivering the punches. Rent it if you like, but beware that it won't live up to expectations.

Normally I don't write reviews... although after watching this movie, it marked my life in such ways I had to leave a comment and warn others. Just spare yourself the misery. This movie shows promise at the start, thinking of such urban legends as the filming of The Exorcist... yet sadly it fails to deliver. The plot is very poor to say the least, and the main character inspires as much empathy in his role as a mad director, that by the end of the movie you are actually rooting for something to happen to him. The movie ends, and ends again, then ends strangely... and I now have to find a way to wash my brain of this dreg...

I originally picked this movie to watch after reading the plot. It seemed different from most movies so I thought I was seeing something new that would grab my attention. When getting the movie home, I read the reviews on here and saw it was a "bad" horror film. Still, I took my chances.

I can see why many do not like this film. There is no definite beginning or end, leaving you to question the purpose of the entire movie. The plot seems to change focus from the movie production to the mental state of the producer.

Let it be known, this is NOT a horror movie. There are "intense" images placed in scenes without much thought (i.e. the flashbacks the main character gets). The idea is probably to shock the viewer when they least expect it. The "gore" in the movie is less frightening than taking a stroll through the butcher's shop to pick up dinner. I do not understand how this movie is rated R. It lacks the core elements which would make a movie "R" - gore, language, and nudity. This movie is all about the deteriorating mental state of the "producer" inside the movie, which is fun to watch if you're into that kind of thing. The acting was subpar; I think a high school play crew could act the scenes better than the actors hired for this movie. Overall this movie gets a 3/10. They tried and came up short.