The Canal

Independent film The Canal smartly produces a slow-paced psychological horror that interesting imagines a new take on the haunting genre.

Ivan Kavanagh is the brainchild behind this original and brilliantly conceived film. The Canal is more atmospheric than most horror films currently being produced and very psychological with a horrific twist. The slow paced groundwork is eerie and unsettling but expertly done. The characters and smart and savvy in trying discern reality from imagination, or worse, supernatural occurrences.

The beginning scenes of The Canal are deliberately jumpy, adding to the confusion and anxiety the main character David experiences. A bit more clarity would have helped the film viewers experience the intended disorientation while avoiding pure confusion. I personally think the film was just a tad too slow in the beginning and Kavanagh will lose impatient movie watchers unsure of whether the investment will be worth it.

Without spoiling the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it had me squirming and gasping. The Canal is a slow burn, with Kavanagh pacing the film so audience members are psychologically bewildered to savor the conclusive reveal.

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I don't know why the IMDb score and Metacritic score are so low on this one. That's one of the reasons I put off watching it for a while but I'm so glad I finally got around to seeing it; it's one of the better horror films of recent years, and I'm a huge horror junkie. If you like disturbing horror that gets under your skin and doesn't rely on jump scares or constant gore then this is for you. The film is beautifully shot and has some exceptionally creepy visuals. It's sporadically violent and cruel but every moment of blood letting or grotesquerie is expertly handled and actually frightening rather than pure gross-out. I urge you not to watch the trailer as it contains spoilers I wish I hadn't known before going into it. If you want to know what to expect, I'd say it's got elements of films such as The Shining and The Ring, but it has a very unique feel. There's a nice dose of drama along with the horror and Rupert Evans is thoroughly believable and engaging in the lead role, much more so than your average modern horror protagonist. Highly recommended!

Not overly inspired, but worthy of a watch. It meanders between supernatural and psychosis. Nothing wrong with any one aspect but just seems like it never really gripped me enough to really enjoy.

This is definitely a more familiar sort of slow-paced, atmospheric horror, but like so many of its kind, when done right they really work. This isn't a slam dunk or anything, but it's pretty effective for what it is. If you really don't overthink everything, you sort of know everything that is going on, but it doesn't matter. It has some truly strong performances here, and the atmosphere allows for some really creepy scenes to ensue. The climax could use from even more outlandish material, but as it is it makes its point and is pretty effective. For horror fans this is recommended, and for everyone else, well, look as to what types of films you like.

Despite some of the poor reviews I've read here, I found this to be a completely coherent and excellent psychological Thriller/Horror movie! Yes you will see some themes borrowed from other films, but let's be honest every movie does that. The cinematography was amazing. The score was arranged with a lot of attention to details and made it perfect backdrop to the film. Transitions and shadows were creepy and eerie. About the only thing that annoyed me what's the editing in which the way the editor wood chop out frames causing a time jump effect. This worked okay as a transition but awful during actress dialogue. All in all it was a great movie.