Distante

If art imitates life, then there are some really sick people in the world. This film was about a young woman who suffers a accident, winds up back at her childhood home where some real dark colorful characters pretending to be her family all reside. Although the story unravels from inside the home, at no time did I feel like you needed more locations to make the story work. In fact, the happenings unfolding to this young woman couldn't happen anywhere else, because of the graphic nature in which things are done to her. Overall, I've seen this story before in other films that deal with family issues. I think on a whole, all families have dark secrets And if ever found out, lives would be completely destroyed, and the jails would full of family members. A lot this film was cliché and predictable. I endured it to the end, and for me, the ending was the best part. It just took a little to long to get to it.

The premise of this sounded very interesting and I watched it back to back with Sand Castles which has a similar premise - and this one falls short of the other in my opinion.

It was surprisingly darker than anticipated and went in a direction I did not expect. Definitely not for the faint hearted, I feel as if it missed a trick by sacrificing on dramatic realism in exchange for shock factor, and the result is you feel very uneasy watching it rather than suspenseful of the unknown.

It's visually interesting, with great set design that immediately makes you feel uneasy. It is further enriched with excellent performances from its cast, most notably Amy Mason in the lead, who is sublime.

Definitely worth watching, it portrays a very dark, suspenseful tale, even if it does feel very disjointed and forced in places. Not the film I expected, which left me more deflated than surprised come the end. Can't help but feel they missed a trick, creating a psychological horror rather than a thriller.

This is one of those films that I personally don't like, is not of the style of Horror movie that I enjoy, and yes is a Real Downer.

But, like I've mentioned in many of my reviews, especially when chiding others for doing this, just because I personally don't care for a film doesn't mean it isn't made well or isn't effective in what it's trying to do.

It's like I've mentioned before about Torture Porn Horror. I don't rate or review them and I certainly do Not watch them because I find them unpleasant and it just isn't my idea of 'Fun' But... I won't come here and give poor ratings and reviews to films like that (especially since I haven't watched them) just because I despise that particular Sub-Genre of Horror movie. That wouldn't be fair to those who do happen to like stories like that.

So, for this film I will say quite honestly that it is very well done, well acted, and absolutely creates the atmosphere of total dread and despair that I am quite sure it is shooting for. It just doesn't happen to be my kind of movie. But again, the very point of a review is to inform people if it is a well made film and to advise them of what type of story it is for those who may like movies like this.

For that reason I will give it a '5', but just like several reviewers say here, prepare to be depressed. This is Not a 'Fun' movie, which are the kind I like much, Much better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with some entertainment value for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

ESTRANGED is a low budget British horror film that screams derivative at every step. The film's protagonist is a young woman named January who is crippled in an accident abroad, an accident which leaves her wheelchair bound and without a memory. She returns to her ancestral home in the UK, but soon becomes convinced that her family members are out to get her. Is she going mad, or is there really a sinister plot at work?

It's not hard to guess the outcome of this film because the same subject matter has been done to death elsewhere. Although the plot is slightly different, ESTRANGED seems to me to be a huge copy of the excellent French thriller FRONTIERS, especially in the format, the climax, the look and actions of the main girl, etc. Except where FRONTIERS excelled, ESTRANGED simply bores.

It's one of those films that's saddled with a dullish protagonist who you don't even like, let alone care about. Actress Amy Manson can do nothing for her character. The rest of the cast don't get much of a look in, particularly poor James Cosmo, who is such a fine, gruff actor but who is sorely wasted here. I did like Craig Conway, cast against type as the butler, as he's always good fun. Sure, there are a few strong and/or edgy moments contained in this, but the whole greyed-out look makes it a depressing watch and CGI gore effects are always a disappointment for me too unless they're done very realistically, which they aren't here.

I ended up quite liking this more than I thought I was going to. When it started and I saw the general picture quality (very indi) I was a little deterred, but that does not a bad movie make.

The story was engaging with the help of a decently good plot with twists and turns along the way with some pretty stellar performances. The casting director really killed it with this ensemble.

I do wish that when the big reveal comes at the end, it wasn't just a story being told within a flashback sequence, felt like a bit of a shortcut/ cop out. Regardless, this one was pretty good guys, well done. Would recommend.