User reviews

I have to agree with one of the other reviewers that there isn't much, if anything, to recommend this by-the-books cult drama.

We have a chemically-dependent, terminally depressed young shrink (played convincingly enough by Mark Leonard Winter) whose young patient's suicide drives him over the edge, leading him into a cult-like EST-ish back-to-nature group led by Father Jay (Steve le Marquand).

Father Jay's group is all about getting "clear" (sound familiar?) and uses various punishing physical and mental techniques to supposedly "heal the soul".

So... is there anything you've heard so far that leads you to believe this is unlike any other cult you've heard about before?

Nope, didn't think so. And there isn't. I guess this might be shocking material for those who've never heard of brainwashing or even Charlie Manson, but it's snooze-inducing for those of us who have.

It's a pity because this isn't a poorly made film. The acting is decent. It just revolves around a non-story that's ordinary and non-compelling, to be kind. It's only 103 minutes, but it feels like a century. What a complete waste of everyone's time, including ours.

I swear I didn't dose off at in the first 45 minutes of this film, but it really seemed as though there were big gaping holes in the story. Really got tired of these tedious cult people forcing him to drink some gunk which he invariably upchucks. The story inched along, didn't pick up pace and left me feeling as though I was standing on a dark corner waiting for a ride at 3am. Would not recommend to anyone. Another of many Superchillin offerings that tout better than a 7.2 stars on IMDb, but when I actually come here, find it's a good 2 stars lower rated. 3 reviews are not a wide enough base to feasibly rate a film. The producer, director and main character could have logged on and given it rave reviews, but this was nothing close to the quality or content I would expect from a 7.2 star movie.

One Eyed Girl is not an easy film to watch. It is heavy, uncomfortable, and at times distressingly real in its portrayal of trauma and emotional manipulation. But it is also a film of great sensitivity, psychological depth, and moral complexity. It asks hard questions about mental health, belief systems, and the longing for redemption in a fractured world.

While it won't appeal to audiences looking for action or traditional horror, those interested in psychological character studies and understated cult dramas will find a lot to appreciate. It's a film that lingers long after the credits roll, not because of any shocking twist, but because it dares to sit in the quiet, painful spaces most stories avoid.

If you're into watching weak minded people getting into a cult go ahead.

I saw this movie last year at the ECU film festival in Paris and still to this day, I think about it often. I am not familiar with Australian movies but I am so grateful the organizers of the festival have selected this movie. The concept of healing the soul was really disturbing to me and very powerful. It made me change the way I view negative past experience. The idea I had of Australia was beaches, surf and ice cream but the decor is more like a Scandinavian thriller movie. The music has great beauty and makes the movie really haunting. This is a deep analysis of a man's life into the darkest places in his head. The cast was really well chosen and their performances shows so much courage and intelligence. This is the first movie for this director and I am impatient to see more of his work.

The obvious theme behind this stylishly executed film is there in its tagline, 'what would you do for salvation?'. Or maybe, what could you do if in such a situation? Is it possible to make positive judgements when you are so depressed? Psychiatrist Travis (Mark Leanord Winter) isn't well. Living a city life with a city job, the world of his that we are introduced to is cold and emotionless, captured nicely with aerial views of the city. This is of course in contrast to his patients, who are filled with emotion. But Travis isn't well, and is barely listening to these patients. He wants to help them, but is unable to and in reality needs help himself. But being a psychiatrist, he can't talk to anyone about it, and starts the movie as an unlikeable person, someone who gets annoyed at people who offer him a pamphlet on a bus, a person who doesn't seem to care about his own patients.

Apart from the oft-ignored concept of 'debriefing', who are psychiatrist's psychiatrists? This is an interesting rumination as such a concept doesn't really exist, creating a main character who is immediately unlikable, but whose heart is good and transforms as the film progresses. His dwindling state of mental health is clearly the reason for his disinterest in his current patients, but it is made clear that this current state of health is due to the actions of a past patient. Unable to shake these memories from his head, he is essentially rendered useless and unable to do anything. Upon seeing the girl who tried to hand him a pamphlet earlier, this time he eagerly takes it. He attends one of their meetings, but nothing changes as memories of patients past continue to haunt him. Seeing no way out, he tries to take his life, but contacts the number on the pamphlet in a moment of panic. He wakes up in a rural community, and quickly learns what it is all about.

Travis is openly hostile when he first arrives, but his opinion begins to waver as the power of the community combined with his own desperation affects him. I have personally been in a very similar position and I must commend the filmmakers for the realistic depiction of these places and the people who reside there. The way the characters all honestly believe they are doing good, the emotionally heavy initiation scenarios… Some research has obviously been done to depict such circumstances with such reality, and crucially, with believable characters, as the farm's community offers up quite the spectrum. Standing out clearly is ex-Iraq War veteran Father Jay (Steve Le Marquand), whose persuasive demeanor and military past make him the perfect enigmatic leader of a cult. While at times fearsome and almost always sly, he can also be kind and empathetic. He is a distorted mirror image of Travis – a broken man who believes he is helping people, but in reality is hurting them.

Travis' entrance to the community and his exceptions to some of their actions brings forward characters like Grace (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and Tom (co-writer Craig Behenna) who each have their own moral line in the sand. These characters are in contrast to Jay's devoted disciples, who seem willing to do anything for him. To be saved. This contrast between characters, and what some of them will do for their beliefs, is what kick starts the third and thrilling act that falls down only in the execution of the final scene. This hardly ruins an amazing film though.

I find it hard to believe that there aren't any other Travis' in the world. What does a shrink do when they need help with their mental health? Talk to a colleague? This is a concept that is rarely explored in life, let alone in cinema. Congratulations must go to the team for writing about such a rarely touched on subject with such realism. Cults aren't such a rare subject for cinema, and most films exploring cults in a tasteful way will be probably be good by default. This film though takes it a step further with its deceitful, misguided characters and again its jagged realism that puts you in the farm as a viewer. The situation within the cult can be interpreted in different ways though. The pitfalls of co-dependent relationships, the power of suggestion, misguided attempts to help others, exploiting one's psychological pain for their own benefit are just a few ways of looking at it off the top of my head.

This a film that not only has a strong narrative, but one that can also say so much more, depending on the person watching it. I can't say that about many other films.

www.epilepticmoondancer.net

I'm shocked at the negative reviews. I found this movie to be really powerful. Yes it's slow at first, but it's a beautiful story of self realization and triumph over internal suffering. The ending was a surprise and made the main character's transformation even more deep and real.

After the loss of one of his patients, a psychiatrist, Travis, collapses and loses his way. This movie handles a very difficult and delicate subject, often underestimated. How to help others when you are lost yourself? How to accept your own weaknesses when your role is to lead the way? How to face your patients' breakdown when it is a reflection of your own failure?

The photography feels intimate and authentic, far away from big budget Hollywood movies, which is somewhat refreshing. It is a stirring movie all round, juggling with suspense, confusion, misunderstanding and characters dualities. Get ready for a gripping and exciting ride and prepare yourself for redemption. Comedy lovers, pass your way! There are some tough scenes that stir up dark feelings at times.

If I have one minor grievance, it would be the ending. With all the effort and personal revelations Travis goes through along the story, I had imagined another path for his salvation. Also, the pace was somewhat slow at times, but probably necessary in order to give the movie such an uneasy ambiance.

Here is one film, I finally got around to watching on Netflix, thanks to my friend, and I'm glad I did. Here is one film, thanks to it's originality and story, that completely enraptured and mesmerized me. Small admittance: I was an extra in this Adelaide film, and I was glad I was fu..in' part of it. Another thing I liked about this movie is how dark it is, visually too. The story involves a psychiatrist, haunted and mentally tortured by a former patient who took her own life, in a scene familiar to that in the starting of Color Of Night, one film, this film is a long way from. When receiving a flyer, to a mind minding group, a facade for a cult, run by a deceptive host, father Jay (Steve Le Marquand), at first against it, he becomes one of them, where coming to realize soon, things aren't what they seem amongst this manipulated many. Funnily enough I was expecting much more violence, one suicide scene, seemed very implicit, I for one, was kind of thrown, as I remember the director saying, prefore to shooting, it was gonna be quite graphic. But OEG is just such a different and totally absorbing riveting movie experience with very good, if real performances to boot. But none, are better than it's lead, Winter, who I actually met. He displays so many levels of emotion, making him one hell of a character/actor to watch, a likable one too, but all of this is so authentic, not overdone in anymore. A true blue, fine crafted performance, that makes you realize, there's some really great up and coming talent out there. Taking second dibs, was Le Marquand, who I also really liked, a good actor and real larrikin character, off set, who I also met. He was the other memorable performance, and there were others. Everyone pulls their weight here and delivers, even ones in little parts, or b.g. shots, but what I liked about the acting of the mains in this film, was the believability and realism of their performances, to their situations and predicaments, of course none finer than Winter. The opening overhead shot, that kind of had you debating if that was Adelaide, as some of it was shot in Sydney from what I believed, which heralded this Indie masterpiece, was an impressive start for this low budget winner. A winner that warrants "must see viewing" from anyone who hasn't seen it, but if disturbed or affected by cults, this film is not for you. The music scores are hauntingly great, the end movie score fittingly is sadly beautiful. Of course, the end one on the train, I had a few qualms, but the tragic outcome of for one hits hard, as does the film. On the whole, One Eyed Girl, a one eyed masterpiece, is one encapsulating and well received movie experience, just probably not on IMDb.

At its core, One Eyed Girl is a film about grief - not just the kind of grief that comes from losing a loved one, but the kind that stems from losing one's sense of self. Travis's encounter with the church is, on some level, a coping mechanism for his own trauma. The group's teachings, while ostensibly about peace and redemption, offer a dangerous escape from reality. The film raises significant questions about the nature of belief, especially in the context of personal suffering. How far will a person go to avoid confronting their inner demons? How much of ourselves are we willing to give up in exchange for some semblance of meaning or control?

The film also explores the idea of manipulation within religious or cult-like groups, without making it the overt focus of the story. It's not about a charismatic leader taking control of a group of people, but rather the quiet, subtle ways in which people allow themselves to be led, especially when they are vulnerable. In Travis's case, his desperation for redemption blinds him to the potential danger of the beliefs that are slowly taking root in his psyche.

Ultimately, One Eyed Girl isn't just about one man's journey into a cult-like group; it's a meditation on what happens when we lose our sense of self and how belief systems can both heal and harm in equal measure. It asks: when faced with unbearable loss, are we capable of seeing through the veil of false promises, or do we blindly follow anything that offers us comfort?

Felt less like entertainment and more like falling into someone else's slow-motion breakdown and realizing it reflects your own thoughts more than you'd like to admit. It follows Travis, a psychiatrist barely hanging on, who finds himself drawn into a rural cult after meeting a mysterious young woman named Grace.

What hit me hardest was how real Travis's emotional collapse felt. His grief and guilt weren't dramatized they were quiet, suffocating. And when Grace pulled him into Father Jay's community, I understood why he went. The cult doesn't scream "danger" at first. It looks like a place for broken people to start over. That's what makes it terrifying.

Grace, played with subtle intensity by Tilda Cobham-Hervey, is the emotional center. She believes in the community, but you can see the cracks in her faith. The bond between her and Travis felt tragic and beautiful two people clinging to each other in the dark.

The film's atmosphere is bleak but gorgeous. Long silences, minimal music, and muted visuals give it a haunting, introspective tone. It's slow-paced, but it needs to be this is a story about internal wounds, not external threats.

By the end, I realized this wasn't a movie about escaping a cult. It was about facing the pain that led you there. One Eyed Girl is unsettling, quiet, and deeply human. It lingers long after it ends.

One Eyed Girl is a film about grief - not just the kind of grief that comes from losing a loved one, but the kind that stems from losing one's sense of self. Travis's encounter with the church is, on some level, a coping mechanism for his own trauma. The group's teachings, while ostensibly about peace and redemption, offer a dangerous escape from reality. The film raises significant questions about the nature of belief, especially in the context of personal suffering. How far will a person go to avoid confronting their inner demons? How much of ourselves are we willing to give up in exchange for some semblance of meaning or control?

The film also explores the idea of manipulation within religious or cult-like groups, without making it the overt focus of the story. It's not about a charismatic leader taking control of a group of people, but rather the quiet, subtle ways in which people allow themselves to be led, especially when they are vulnerable. In Travis's case, his desperation for redemption blinds him to the potential danger of the beliefs that are slowly taking root in his psyche.

Ultimately, One Eyed Girl isn't just about one man's journey into a cult-like group; it's a meditation on what happens when we lose our sense of self and how belief systems can both heal and harm in equal measure. It asks: when faced with unbearable loss, are we capable of seeing through the veil of false promises, or do we blindly follow anything that offers us comfort?

Beautiful Sorrow is a deeply emotional film that lingers in your heart long after the credits roll. It tells the story of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit, capturing the raw essence of grief in a way that feels profoundly real.

The film's lead actor delivers a breathtaking performance, portraying the protagonist's pain and longing with such authenticity that it's impossible not to feel their anguish. The cinematography is equally stunning, using muted colors and lingering shots to emphasize the weight of the emotions. The soundtrack-soft, melancholic piano melodies-only amplifies the film's heartbreaking atmosphere.

While A Beautiful Sorrow is undeniably heavy, it never feels manipulative. Instead, it allows the audience to sit with the sadness, to reflect on their own experiences with loss, and to appreciate the fleeting beauty of life. It's a film that doesn't just make you cry; it makes you feel.

If you're looking for a deeply moving experience, this film is a must-watch. Just be sure to have a box of tissues nearby.

A quietly powerful and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that explores the fragile human condition through the lens of grief, trauma, and the need for belonging. Directed by Nick Remy Matthews and co-written with Craig Behenna, the film blends emotional depth with a chilling sense of suspense, resulting in a story that lingers in the mind long after it ends.

The story follows Travis, a young psychiatrist battling intense guilt and depression after the death of a patient. Burnt out and emotionally detached from the world, he encounters Grace, a mysterious young woman who introduces him to a secluded cult led by a charismatic and deeply manipulative leader, Father Jay. What follows is a tense and atmospheric descent into a world that promises healing but hides something much darker.

The film's strength lies in its ability to slowly peel back layers of both character and narrative. Rather than relying on jump scares or flashy twists, One Eyed Girl focuses on psychological tension and the slow unraveling of its characters' mental states. It asks hard questions about vulnerability, control, and what people are willing to believe in when they're at their lowest.

The film doesn't provide easy answers or fast-paced thrills. Instead, it offers a complex exploration of human suffering, the search for meaning, and the seductive power of belief systems. There are layers of tension that unfold quietly and methodically, making it feel more like a psychological investigation than a thriller in the conventional sense. While it may not boast the visceral impact of more overtly dramatic films in the genre, One Eyed Girl taps into a very real fear: the fear of losing control over one's own mind and identity.

What sets this film apart is its ability to balance character-driven drama with its philosophical and moral inquiries. The church that Travis stumbles upon isn't just a backdrop for the plot; it's a manifestation of Travis's fragile state of mind. Father Jay's influence over the group is subtle and insidious, and as we see Travis become more and more entangled with the church's practices, it's clear that the line between self-redemption and self-destruction is disturbingly thin.