RATED-R
RUN TIME- 106 MINS
WRITERS- PASCAL LAUGIER
STARRING- JESSICA BIEL, JODELLE FERLAND AND WILLIAM B. DAVIS
DIRECTOR- PASCAL LAUGIER
Synopsis taken from IMDb
This film is about a legend that has been started by the town folk of Cold Rock. Since the children in the town have been going missing, people have said it's a entity known as 'The Tall Man' who has been taking them. Julia Denning ('Jessica Biel') is the local nurse whose husband died years earlier. She is soon personally involved as her child is taken. She tries to track down where the child is taken, but finds that there's more to what's happening then she knew. The towns-folk start to turn on her and the truth comes out. But there's still more to the story--who is 'The Tall Man'? And what is the truth behind the disappearances?
A few things got me wanting to watch this movie, he first being that Jessica Biel is in it. I'd watch anything with Jessica Biel in it, I don't care if she were wearing a burlap sack and running in a circle, I'd watch. The second thing being that it's written and directed by Pacal Laugier, the same guy that did Martyrs, which is a great horror film. And the third being that The Tall Man is categorized as horror.
I was surprised by how fast this came out to video or where I saw it, Netflix instant. But since I had planned the night for a movie, I saw no reason why it couldn't be this one. I especially wanted to see it because it's a new movie.
I read some summary's on the movie as well as a few reviews, but the movie was still new to me. I didn't want to read to much into it because I wanted to be surprised since I heard there's a twist in the movie. I love it when you think that a movie is heading one way and then it twists on you so hard it's like getting bludgeoned with a blunt object. I remember Pascal doing this with me in Martyrs, so I was more than willing to see where this movie would go and what would come of it.
The movie had some good chilling moments in the beginning where I started to tense up and get a little nervous. I was wanting answers as to who this 'Tall Man' is, I was creep'd out because you don't know if he's real or something urban legends are made of.
As the story unfolds it still keeps you guessing, trying to understand exactly what is going on as well as how it was going to play out. What was the endgame?
The scene where Julia's child is taken is very suspenseful, especially since Julia did a little drinking and she's a lightweight. And hearing the town's story's of 'The Tall Man' was great because you had people talking about him as if he were the Blair Witch, making 'The Tall Man' a town legend.
But as the story plays out and you can see what's happening, the rest just falls into place. And in doing so, making it kind of predictable when you get to a certain point in the movie. You can see the big picture. It was very compelling, and comes off very dark and tragic.
My problem that lies with this movie is that when you see the big picture and understand what's going on it becomes more of a sad movie than a horror movie. I wouldn't consider this movie horror honestly, it's got some scares but it's more drama and suspense. This story is similar to Malevolence (2003) in the sense that they both target missing children, however, Malevolence has a far more grim take on what happens to those children. This one becomes more like a tragedy with an ending that is somewhat happy.
The acting in this movie was very good and Biel did a great job and she looked great. I wish the story were more dark and sinister, but the story wasn't bad. I guess I just expected more.
THIS FILM GETS 2 1/2 REAPERS OUT OF 4
