Estranged

I only started to watch this for Amy Manson (Being Human),and was not expecting much. This is a cerebral thriller, although some scenes were too sadistic for my taste. The characters are well cast and take "dysfunctional family" to a whole new level. I found it a bit confusing once secrets were revealed and may watch it again (granted, I was tired). This is worth your time- don't watch if depressed- it is very dark. Manson exhibits incredible on-screen,smoldering intensity which makes her characters strong and intense. This one is not exception. I love movies with dark secrets and strong female protagonists (despite all she endures, her strength comes through).

I've seen movies like this and this is on the more confusing side. I feel like the plot is so uneven and the characters, especially the main one, January, are really dull. I don't know, I guess I missed something while watching but don't think I'm going to watch this again.

This movie brings to mind the hey day of early seventies low budget British shockers from the likes of Amicus, Tigon, and Hammer. The days when all you needed to make a film was a spirited cast, a largely unknown bolstered by a single "name" performer recognisable to Americans (in this instance James Cosmo), and free access to a down at heel stately home.

It's hard to classify this movie in terms of genre, neither truly a thriller nor a horror. – it's more of a "creeper" than anything else. The sense of unease is ramped up throughout the convoluted twists and turns of the plot before plunging into true horror in the final third.

I think this has presented a problem for the marketing department and I feel that they may be making a mistake in the way that they are presenting it. Many people will feel mislead and disappointed that this isn't the horror movie that the posters suggest, which is a shame since it's more than that, it's a taught, well acted chiller that deserves to be more widely seen.

I wouldn't put Estranged in the horror genre, in the thriller genre yes. There is some mystery during the entire movie and even if you start guessing right it's still entertaining to watch. The actors were not bad so there is nothing bad to say about that either. It's a dark movie, certainly not a joyful one, with some severe sick in the head people but not the kind that makes your stomach turn. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, and it isn't a masterpiece, but it's certainly watchable. To me it could have used a bit more blood and physical torture to make it a good horror movie. Now it was emotional torture and that has never the same outcome. But if you do like those kind of stories then just give this one a go. You won't be disappointed.

The premise of this sounded very interesting and I watched it back to back with Sand Castles which has a similar premise - and this one falls short of the other in my opinion.

It was surprisingly darker than anticipated and went in a direction I did not expect. Definitely not for the faint hearted, I feel as if it missed a trick by sacrificing on dramatic realism in exchange for shock factor, and the result is you feel very uneasy watching it rather than suspenseful of the unknown.

It's visually interesting, with great set design that immediately makes you feel uneasy. It is further enriched with excellent performances from its cast, most notably Amy Mason in the lead, who is sublime.

Definitely worth watching, it portrays a very dark, suspenseful tale, even if it does feel very disjointed and forced in places. Not the film I expected, which left me more deflated than surprised come the end. Can't help but feel they missed a trick, creating a psychological horror rather than a thriller.