The Waiting Place

The cover has a review note on it that refers to the film's ending as being a "shocker". It IS a shocker! Shockingly BAD! The film felt so tirelessly long that i considered suicide - and it was only 77 minutes! I want my 77 minutes back! The Menu on the DVD was better! My girlfriend was watching it because she thought it was horror - but she couldn't stop laughing for the entire time. Maybe it was the endlessly pox storyline, or the crappy lighting and lack of visual flair, or editing, or music, or acting, or EVERYTHING combined that made this movie mega crap. I just don't know. Who was the french guy that popped up 40 minutes in and rambled on about his dead wife to a hooker, then left and had no further baring on the movie? The "TWIST" on the end seemed merely the director last ditch attempt to make the movie even MORE lame. On a technical note - being shot on DV can be a cheap way to make a movie, and if worked into the storyline can be cleverly effective (see Blair Witch Project) but if it's done wrong then it looks like a student film or bad daytime TV. Unfortunately for "The Waiting Place" it fits solidly into the latter. I may demand Blockbuster give me a refund.

I have nothing against cheaply made looking films - in fact i often find that this keeps a certain amount of integrity in the film and if done well shows a true film maker. Even by putting aside the "digital camera" look of the waiting place i still found this to be a very poor film.

The story line seemed very disconnected as though the characters were connected in very unnecessary ways. The setting was brilliant as was the concept however the film failed to chill but mildly intrigued. failed to keep my attention with very average acting.

kiwi films can get much better than this. ash

I found a solitary copy of this NZ film on the shelves of my local video library in Auckland, NZ. I'd heard a little about it and so decided to hire it.

"The Waiting Place" possesses a definite air of chilling realism, starkly promoted by the use of digital video cameras. The acting is good, if not a little indulgent at times. The film is inventive though, and the use of the recently-abandoned Lake Alice psychiatric hospital in the central North Island (which has a notorious history to we Kiwis) is a stand-out. It's almost a character in itself, and the shots of empty, darkened doorways and dusty halls is genuinely eerie. Almost a "Blair Witch Project" feel to it, with some unique New Zealand Gothic sensibility thrown in for good measure. This is "Vigil" and "Sleeping Dogs" on the cheap - but still just as compelling. The lack of funds doesn't really show through - if anything it adds to the grittiness of the images.

I won't spoil the ending, but suffice to say I wasn't expecting it... It's a chiller!

So, if you're a fan of independent cinema, and want to see what else NZ has done in the last few years apart from "Lord Of The Rings" then take a look at this one. Recommended!