Solstice

After watching this, I kind of agonized whether to come here and write a review. I really had high hopes for this one, primarily because I usually really like Supernatural tales or Ghost Stories that are done well, but sadly this one left me a little bit flat (kind of like Chaz Bono)

The tricky thing about this movie is that technically it is rather good. The photography and look of the film lend well to the overall mood and atmosphere of the story. It's just that to me personally, in my lowly and wretched opinion, there was just something substantial missing that might have made this film better. Even the acting, which normally can be quite abysmal in these low-budget 'Teen' Horror films, was decent enough with what they had to work with. I don't know... I almost want to say that I got a slightly shallow 'MTV' type of vibe from it, especially with the sound design, but I'm not sure that was quite it...

I will say that there were 2 VERY brief moments that I really liked in the film. Without giving anything away, I liked the part where the dog was chasing her into the woods and what happened. Also, and this was like ONE minute only... I liked the old-fashioned / religious sounding choral voices in the soundtrack when they were sitting outside and the main girl got up and left the group and approached the barn-like structure (I also liked the lighting effect that went along with that)

I'm thinking that probably the reason they went back and released this older film is because now Amanda Seyfried has become much more famous. I was quite surprised that it was made in 2008! She, was not particularly outstanding in her role, but she was okay. Actually, I felt that the main girl did a much better job (granted, she had a LOT more to do) She kept reminding me of someone (I don't think I have seen her either before or since) It wasn't just her looks, but her expressions and manner. I THINK who she was reminding me of was a younger version of Lisa Kudrow, sort of... Heh, not really relevant I guess, but still it kind of nagged at me while I was watching the film...

Anyway, I usually really LOVE a good Cajun / Haitian Voodoo flavoured film. As a matter of fact I just saw the recent 'JESSEBELLE' and really liked it. I think, overall, that film was a better example of creating a more creepy and suspenseful mood and ultimately being more effective than this one. In reading some of the other reviews here, it appears that many people DID indeed find the movie satisfying enough. Most of the reviews and the current ratings seem to land between '5' and '6', which sounds about right to me (I gave it a '5' because it just seemed to fall a bit short in a few areas)

As far as whether to recommend this to others as a 'Good' film, that would have to be based I guess on how demanding you are with these types of movies. Definitely, if you don't really go for Supernatural or Ghost Stories that much, then for sure give this one a pass... But, if you do like those types of films and if you are not expecting TOO much, then you might enjoy this one somewhat. But honestly, I personally just found it a bit weak. And I really do think that there are similar but much better films than this out there...

The plot is almost like that of What Lies Beneath, but played amongst teenagers. Very well made, the acting is authentic, characters are diverse and the plot doesn't give in till the end. The camera work and editing is very smooth, and not overdone, the sound effects as well. All in all you would enjoy this movie and worth your money.

The down side for those thrill seekers and horror fans, is there is zero suspense, and no jolts, not even with the sound effects. It's more on the drama side. The Sixth Sense is far more scarier than this.

And for those who likes skins, well, although all of the actors and actress are very good looking there is no part in the movie that could turn you on, RATED PG!

When I watched this movie, I was struck by how bland, boring, and predictable it was. It was never actually bad or anything, but it was arguably memorable for being so forgettable. It was only after I came to the IMDb that I discovered it was directed by one of the guys responsible for that utter borefest, The Blair Witch Project. At that moment, everything made sense to me, and I felt totally vindicated in my intense dislike for TBWP (which all my friends, at the time, seemed to think was pure genius). I also realized that this director had done The Believers, which was, unsurprisingly, a bit of a borefest, though the ending was kind of cool (even though it was stolen from a Arthur C. Clarke story). Unfortunately, this movie doesn't really have an interesting twist to save it, unless you're really, really unfamiliar with the last 50 years worth of ghost stories coming out of Hollywood.

Eduardo Sanchez, the co-director of TBWP, made a pretty good movie a few years ago, called Altered, about a group of friends who have a really nasty series of run-ins with malevolent aliens. Unlike this one, I walked in to that movie thinking it was going to be crap, but I was quite surprised at how much I liked it. It was suspenseful, gory, and, while it wasn't really original, it still managed to put its own spin on a common theme (alien abduction). Really, it was more a movie about rape than anything else, couched in science fiction/horror elements. This movie? It's exactly what it looks like -- a group of stupid teenagers (played by 30 year old actors, of course), including a depressed girl, the depressed girl's best friend, an insensitive jerk, the insensitive jerk's long-suffering girlfriend, and the depressed girl's love interest (who also happens to be her dead twin sister's ex-boyfriend), spend about 70 minutes getting drunk, followed by about 15-20 minutes of plot, wherein they follow the psychic intuitions of the depressed girl, only to solve a Scooby Doo mystery. Unfortunately, this movie has all the thrills, mystery, and suspense of your average Scooby Doo episode, perhaps due to the PG rating. Amusingly, the ghosts ended up just standing around, in the background, looking as bored as I felt, while I was watching this movie.

Prepare to be bored to death, rather than scared to death.

In these recent years we've seen so many horror films with one crazy plot twist after another and presenting us convoluted story lines and deranged denouements. So how surprised I was to discover that SOLSTICE manages to tell a ghostly mystery plot that is so basic and simple, it actually turned into a solid and engaging film. The mystery develops slow but steady. There's practically no shocks or gore, but the film didn't need all that. And there's only one twist featured within the film, but it's a good one. The mood and atmosphere are tense. The cinematography looks great. The swamp and woods settings are wonderful and creepy at the same time.

Veteran actor R. Lee Ermey has a small role, but his character actually has weight. Young actress Elisabeth Harnois plays a double role (Megan has a twin sister Sophie who's suicide becomes the core of the mystery) and I'd really love to see more of her. Aside from being beautiful, she's also perfectly capable of carrying this film with her lead performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed SOLSTICE because it's very effective without over-doing things. I even liked the ending, which for once does not include the whole cast being slaughtered at the end of the film or a crazy twist still killing off the protagonist unexpectedly. That would have been too easy and predictable. The way things come to a conclusion now, makes it a better film, separating itself from the obvious ones. To give you an idea, I thought SOLSTICE was better than recent films like THE MARSH (2006) and BENEATH (2007).

Six months after the suicide of her twin sister Sofie (Elisabeth Harnois), Megan (Elisabeth Harnois) still grieves her death and misses her beloved sister. In the Saint John's Eve, Megan travels with her friends Christian (Shawn Ashmore), Zoe (Amanda Seyfried), Mark (Matt O'Leary) and Alicia (Hilarie Burton) to her family's house in Nowell Lake, Louisiana, to celebrate the summer solstice. While shopping supplies in a local store, Megan befriends the seller Nick (Tyler Hoechlin) and buys a magazine with an article about communication with the dead in the summer solstice, the time of year when there is the greatest length of daylight. While in her house, Megan is haunted by a spirit that she believes is Sofie trying to communicate with her. In her investigation, she suspects of the weird hick Leonard (R. Lee Ermey) and while snooping in his house, she finds the picture of the missing girl Malin (Jenna Hildebrand) and unravels a dark secret about the suicide of her sister.

The low-budget "Solstice" was a great surprise with a consistent story, solid screenplay and good acting. The original story startles in many moments without gore, and the young team of gorgeous actresses and handsome actors has great performances. I was expecting to see another slasher teen horror movie and found a pleasant surprise. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available