Ugly

Being Australian and a horror movie fan I'm always curious to see any made in Australia, or in 'The Ugly's case, New Zealand. It's a real battle to get genre films made Down Under and there have sadly been very few good ones over the years. 'The Ugly' is one of those few. It would be easy to dismiss this from the packaging as yet another serial killer thriller but no, it's actually a HORROR movie with a supernatural element (something which inexplicably seems to have passed by a few people, going my some of the user comments on this page!) I didn't recognize writer/director Scott Reynolds name at first, but later I realized that I've seen his 'Heaven' starring Martin Donovan, another very interesting movie. Paolo Rotondo who plays the killer is unknown to me but gives a memorable performance, and really helps this work, as does the inventive editing and playing with narrative, which deftly mixes the past and present, fantasy and reality. The stylized touches such as the black blood also made 'The Ugly' fascinating viewing. I'm highly critical of most contemporary horror movies, but I highly recommend 'The Ugly'. Great stuff!

The Ugly is a pretty good movie up until the unbelievable and unremarkable ending. While the story isn't very original, the director is obviously a fan of Norman Bates, it does hold the viewers interest and one is drawn into the story and looks forward to what will happen next. I do however have a complaint about the film. The ending is stupid and as mentioned above, unbelievable. One previous reviewer stated in their review that "some things are better left unexplained". It is my feeling that endings like the one in The Ugly are the result of a writer/director who doesn't know how to end their movie interestingly. It's not clever scripting but bad writing. Overall The Ugly is an okay horror movie. It does have a fair bit of suspense and a couple of good shocks but nothing too noteworthy. Prior to the ending The Ugly rated an 8 but as a whole rates a 5 out of 10.

Intelligent, attractive psychiatrist Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs) shows up at a mental hospital to re-assess Simon (Paolo Rotondo)--A handsome, soft-spoken schizo serial killer who left no pattern for a compulsive string of grisly mass murders. Flashbacks reveal childhood abuse at the hands of taunting bullies and an imposing, domineering mother and of his razor-wielding murder spree. It's all because of "The Ugly," his scarred alter ego that compels him to kill. Simon turns out to be so brilliant, he not only gets under Karen's skin... but inside her head as well.

This unique thriller has excellent lead performances, flashy editing, stylish direction and top-notch production values, but the director blurs the line between troubling reality and twisted fantasy far too often and tacks on a clichéd and disappointing ending. An unusual touch was the usage of ink-black blood for the murder scenes. I don't care what the metaphoric implications of that choice are, I found it to be both annoying and ineffective.

Despite those flaws, THE UGLY is certainly worth watching and showcases many talents (in front of and behind the camera) to watch for in the future.

This movie had something original :introducing the serial killer after all that he has done was a good idea indeed .But ,after about fifteen minutes,it's the same old song:the shrink,the wicked mother,the young boy whom she treated badly.We've seen that before ,and a long time ago.Hitchcock's motherS had already told the whole story (I will only mention "strangers on a train" and Michael Powell did the same for the fathers ("peeping tom").Few ideas are really exciting here:we might, at a pinch, appreciate the scene when the shrink hesitates to release the prisoner from his handcuffs.Then a violent scene happens :is it in the psychiatrist's mind? or in the monster's?

On the minus side,there's also a very unfriendly look at the psychiatric nurses ,whose works in real life must not be that much easy.The Ratched syndrome again.Pointless hints at Andersen's famous duckling tale.

The successful psychologist Dr. Karen Schumaker (Rebecca Hobbs) comes to a mental institution directed by Dr. Marlowe (Roy Ward) to evaluate the dyslexic serial-killer Simon "The Ugly" Cartwright (Paolo Rotondo). Simon discloses the sad story of his life, bullied at school and abused by his mother Evelyn Cartwright (Jennifer Ward-Lealand). His only friend Julie was separated from him by his mother when he was a teenager. Simon claims that he hears voices that force him to kill. When Dr. Schumaker earns his trust, she discovers what is going inside Simon's head.

"The Ugly" is an original film with a different combination of drama, thriller and horror. The two nurses are nasty and the plot keeps the attention of the viewer until the very last scene. Unfortunately the conclusion is disappointing and gives the sensation that something is missing to be a great film. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "The Ugly- O Maníaco" ("The Ugly – The Maniac")