The Black String

Muniz is excellent in his role with his portrayal of desperation as all his roads to get away are seemingly closed but keeps you unknowing if his running away from what he perceives is real or in his head. You learn early on, so no spoiler, that he had issues in high school. But these are not explained and may not have been issues at all. No one close to him seems trustworthy to me or maybe I was thinking wrongly too. The utter desperation he feels make this quite an emotional wrenching film. This is classed as a horror film. It was for me. Yes it took me by surprise. Muniz coming from a sitcom I have never watched still seemed to be tagged by it before watching. That was kicked away very quickly. I am not sure if his required use of a bicycle at times was slapping you in the face for having pre restrictions of what you thought a child actor could achieve in later life and calling you an idiot. If it was they did it very well and I felt a bit of guilt for thinking this was a film I would turn off after ten minutes. But I digress. The film itself was very unnerving and disturbing for me. Some of the editing from scene to scene at times seemed abrupt. It could have been that was the intention. But it didn't sit well with me at times. Overall the story was kind of take or leave it. You watched it and raised more questions than answers. When a film does this badly it is awful. This did it quite well. Made me think s lot. If you want a mindless slasher movie look elsewhere. It's not for you. Keep walking. Nothing to see here. Anyone who wants a film that surprises you how good it is and leaves you wondering whether you liked it or not this is ideal. 6/10. Maybe a 7/10 but I had some issues with the editing.

Oded Fehr is in this movie, but isn't listed anywhere or on anything! Why? X.

The film itself is an interesting idea, but there are large chunks that could have been cut and it would have made NO difference to the film. Some of the effects were very good, but some were awful. I really enjoyed the imagery of the 'visions/hallucinations' and wanted more from that and the mythos behind it. It can be quite gory in places, so if that's not your thing, this might not be the film for you.

It's an interesting horror movie with elements of different genres, but it isn't going to change the world or cinema any time soon.

This could have been a real B-dud, but a good script, a capable director and crew with talented, believable actors really pulled it off! With minimal sets, props or special effects, this is a truly suspenseful thriller from beginning to end. Frankie delivers a solid, sympathetic persona as Jonathan, dragging the audience with him as he desperately fights to find solutions to increasingly insurmountable circumstances. We are completely drawn into this story as it unfolds. I had low expectations to start, having been disappointed many times with other "thrillers," but was very pleasantly surprised by this edge-of-your-seat thriller. I really hope we'll see much more of Frankie Munizin future films, because he's really exhibited his award-winning talent here. I was rooting for Jonathan all the way, from beginning to the very end. Not a typical horror movie, thank goodness, although not a good choice for young children. I found it quite entertaining and worth my time. Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy!

The Black String It was not just one of the best independent films I've seen, but a very well done film of any kind.

Congratulations to producer-director-writer Brian Hanson and producer-writer-actor Richard Handley for their very impressive film

Frankie Muniz (Agent Cody Banks, Malcolm in the Middle) gave an excellent performance in the lead role. Chelsea Edmundson and Mary K DeVault were also very good in two of the larger supporting roles.

After hooking up with a random woman, a guy in a dead end job finds his life falling into a weird and menacing decline ...

Vivid tale of psychosis that flashes back and forth between the occult and the mundane. The pace and energy are right up there, helped by sophisticated editing and well judged music, as the upbeat opening descends into frantic flight. The lead performance is good, with that anxious little face delivering some real aggression.

As a straight look inside a mental breakdown, this is very good, and the confrontations with concerned outsiders brings home the ashamed escape from uncomfortable truths that addicts suffer. There's also a clever dig at self-help books, where the original life affirming recommendations are reversed in a survival guide to witchcraft.

The story does take it further than distorted realism, into gothic horror, with a distinct vibe of Lynch about the mysterious characters who circle the hero in his desperate paranoia. But these figures remain on the surface of his delusion and don't really stand for anything in his own life, and so it remains an old-fashioned story with no feedback from the mysterious other side. There is some corroboration of an alternate reality, but in the end it's a clumsy balance. For a more skillful walk along that separating line in madness, check out Unsane by Steven Soderbergh from the same year.

Overall: Well produced terminal journey into madness.