The Atoning

When I stumbled upon "The Atoning", I must admit that I was immediately lured by the cover. I didn't even read the synopsis for the movie, the front of the cover was all that was needed to have me interested.

So I knew that I was getting myself into a horror movie. I just didn't know what kind of horror movie.

"The Atoning" turned out to be an unfathomably slow paced horror movie that borrowed heavily on elements from "The Others", but it just failed to be as interesting or groundbreaking as "The Others" was back in the day. There was so little happening throughout the course of "The Atoning" that it was getting progressively more and more difficult to keep interested in watching it.

It should be said that while the storyline and script was atrocious, then the acting performances were actually quite good. Just a shame that they had so little to work with. Virginia Newcomb, playing Vera, was the one whom carried the movie for the most parts.

The movie wasn't even halfheartedly scary. And when the people covered in black paint showed up, I was about ready to just turn off the movie and find something else to watch. But I endured and stuck with "The Atoning" to the end. Some of us suffered through this, so you don't have to.

If you enjoy horror movies then I suggest you find something else to watch, because "The Atoning" is just not worth the time or effort. Maybe if something more interested happened throughout the course of the storyline, yeah... But it didn't, so don't bother.

Seriously. The story was so slow, it was painful. The acting was decent here and there but dreadful otherwise. There were elements to the storyline that were intriguing but execution failed miserably. The creatures were spooky until you were presented with them face on. Some things are better left to the imagination. I don't know how this scored a 6.1 on IMDb. Don't waste your time.

I don't think I would call this a horror - more of a suspense mystery kind of film perhaps.

The acting was OK and so was the story. It does lack something to make the story or characters pop - or stand out as memorable.

If you are expecting gore and being shocked out of your seat you won't get it wiht this film.

Did not know what to expect so I saw it without any expectations. The concept is good, but the low budget and at times terrible acting puts you off. All in all it wasn´t a total waste of time for me and got me thinking about the angle the movie focuses on.

I'm not a fan of horror films that rely on blood and guts to inspire fear. Tickling our imaginations is more my preference. But, to each his own. This movie started rather slow but it still caught my interest. I knew quite quickly what they should have known all along. And rightly so! It wasn't about what happened. It was about the family figuring it out. The female lead and the son put on some good acting. The male lead wasn't quite as good but he was still quite a bit beyond okay. I would have tweaked the ending a bit...just because I'm a sap, lol.