Inside

I was lucky enough to see this movie at its premier at the Tribeca Film Festival, and I must say that I truly enjoyed it. Normally, I am not a huge fan of the horror film genre, but this film proved that it was much more than a "put 10 people in a house, and kill them off one-by-one" flick. I found the story line interesting, the cinematography on-point, and the acting, especially that of Elizabeth Rice, excellent. Contrary to the previous person's review, I found the cast to be quite likable, and I also appreciated the occasional shots of humor, particularly those from the visiting female cousin. One final facet of the movie that I thought was compelling was the musical score -- very effective in contributing to the mood. IMHO, From Within is definitely worth seeing, and it should do very well when it is released for general viewing.

I often come across people who prefer horror films that happen to have a good story. I, on the other hand, prefer films with a good story that just so happen to be scary. "From Within" is one of the latter. After having watched it, I'm surprised I had never heard of it before. It has a sense of overall quality unique to its class (relatively unknown, made for a Horrorfest).

The story is the movie's strongest point, with a plot that throws in appropriate twists without wavering from its core. From beginning to end, it is emotionally engaging and suspenseful. The character development exceeded my expectations as well, along with the performances from the cast. There is violence, but the film never drowns itself in gore. Most of the actual deaths happen just off-screen, giving you just enough build-up to use your imagination.

Supernatural horror/thrillers are a dime a dozen, and many of them fall short of expectations. "From Within" stands out among the crowd— proving that given a well-executed plot and the right casting, films of this genre can be as powerful as ever.

Although this type of film has been done many times before there is always room for good writing, acting, camera work and directing. Hey, if one is going to enjoy a modest budget horror flick one must get past the fact the takes-place-in-a-town-with-weird-residents plus the supernatural-aspects-to-be-taken-for-granted are simply ingrained in the process. This setting and genre must either be accepted and enjoyed or ignored altogether.

That said, the acting is FROM WITHIN is exceptional. The teens (and they actually look like teenagers instead of dressed up 30-year-olds) are neither sullen nor over the top but anxious, indecisive, vulnerable; i.e., like real teenagers. Miss Rice in particular delivers her lines in convincing fashion. The two young male leads could easily slide into stereotypes but...well...don't. The adults, e.g., the sheriff and the preacher, aren't overbearing elders. All the adults, in fact, actually interact with the teens, whereas in many movies like this one there is the teen world (Read: real and emotional) and the adult world (Read: static and authoritative).

The supernatural aspect, while never believable, is thankfully modest in inception and use. If the final scenes are not edge-of-your-seat they hold your interest as to what's going to happen. Cool "twist" at the very end too. What's a 56-year-old movie snob watching something like this for? Hey, I'm entitled to some fun too. Most things like this are lucky to last 20 minutes on my screen. FROM WITHIN went the full micro-wave popcorn ninety minutes.

Alright, well I didn't really think this movie would fit into the "After Dark Horrorfest" genre, but apparently it did.

This movie was interesting, and yet it was sort of dull. Confused? Well I will try to lay it on the line. The interesting part was the who religious fanaticism going on through the movie, that they showed just how crazed some people can become and to what extends some people are willing to go. That is what I found interesting in the movie.

And the dull part? Well, basically the entire movie was just one long smear about nothing much in particular. There was very little happening throughout the movie. And what did happen wasn't scary at all, it was just a bit out there. And that was a major disappointment to this movie.

Now, I am not saying that this is a crappy movie, it does have its moments and there is a constant sense of dread laying just beneath the surface, but this dread never gets a real chance to shine through.

The movie is psychological, and that works very well in its favor, and the scenes that do draw on the supernatural, does work nicely as well. The whole part about being killed by yourself, and no one else but you can see what is going on, is kind of freaky, and that was the good part about the movie.

"From Within" took a sweet long time to tell very little, and that made the movie drag on forever and ever. There wasn't enough sparks and magic to make this movie all that interesting. Sure, the movie had potential and they were on to something with the story, plots and the twists in the movie, but it just didn't catch the bigger picture.

The cast in "From Within" was good, and I think they all portrayed their characters very well and in believable manners. So there is nothing to complain about here. The leading roles were portrayed well, and the supporting roles were the same.

The effects were good throughout the movie. They didn't revel in one grand CGI eye-fest after another, but rather made use of subtle effects and scary environments and small details. That is one of the cooler things in movie-making.

The ending was nice, although not a surprise ending. But it worked well enough.

I am rating this movie a 4, because of the story took forever to get you almost nowhere. But still, there were elements that managed to keep my interest throughout the movie. Now, if you are looking for a movie to scare the crap out of you, this is not the movie to pick. However, if you want a psychological movie with some underlying supernatural elements, this might be right up your alley. But be prepared for a very long storytelling...

FROM WITHIN – TRASH IT ( D ) From within is one of those movies which makes you think, who wrote it and why? And who put money on it? Who agree to direct that Awful Script and then who agree to act in it? And most important question of all, why the Hell I watched it in 1st place! Well my reason was Thomas Dekker, I think he is decent and sensible actor but after tanking his show (Sarah Conner Chronicles), he doesn't have much choice except doing anything comes along. The biggest surprise is that the movie won awards at Solstice Film Festival for best movie, actor and actress. What a joke I think they didn't have some thing better then this to win! Anyways Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker and Kelly Blatz did fine jobs regardless of a dreadful script! Overall Dreadful Experience!