THE RAKING is another waste of time indie horror outing in an ocean full of them. It's mostly a character-based drama with the occasional glimpse of a half-seen creature which doesn't inspire the viewer. The problem with this is that two thirds of the running time are filled with extraneous scenes which add nothing to the overall plot, and there's no actual horror content until the halfway point. The acting isn't the worst here but everything else is.
18 Reviews
The Yawn
trashgang13 March 2017
Didn't know what to expect from this horror so plugging it in it immediately got my attention because it started off rather good, it had it all. Next scene also looked promising, you know the sexy student and the weird goth girl, yes this is going to rock. But was I wrong. Once after those two scene's this flick has nothing to offer.
Yes, it do involves a creature but it's more about those bunch of students going to Joshua Tree for a night camping and telling each other boring stories. It's full of clichés but nothing works. No suspense, no horror (except opening sequence) no nothing at all. The main problem with this flick is every time they say something there's a break of 2 seconds before someone reacts. Even with bodies being attacked, reaction is always too late, bad editing I guess.
I watched it throughout the end just to see if it do becomes a horror, sadly it was a horror to watch.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5
Yes, it do involves a creature but it's more about those bunch of students going to Joshua Tree for a night camping and telling each other boring stories. It's full of clichés but nothing works. No suspense, no horror (except opening sequence) no nothing at all. The main problem with this flick is every time they say something there's a break of 2 seconds before someone reacts. Even with bodies being attacked, reaction is always too late, bad editing I guess.
I watched it throughout the end just to see if it do becomes a horror, sadly it was a horror to watch.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5
A new level of bad
JDtheBigGuy11 March 2017
I don't know what film people watched to give this over four stars, but if it's this then I suspect they all worked on this film.
The story has more holes than a sieve and there is no excuse for it. I don't expect a lot from low budget movies, but is it that hard to write an unoriginal script that doesn't have every character acting like they have had a lobotomy.
In such a disaster of a movie don't blame the actors who wont win an Oscar, but in the main they did a reasonable job as did the makeup artist/s.
The story has more holes than a sieve and there is no excuse for it. I don't expect a lot from low budget movies, but is it that hard to write an unoriginal script that doesn't have every character acting like they have had a lobotomy.
In such a disaster of a movie don't blame the actors who wont win an Oscar, but in the main they did a reasonable job as did the makeup artist/s.
Why?
tmccull523 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Our film begins with a husband and wife driving along a dark and isolated road late at night. Hubby and the missus are arguing, you see, and out in the middle of nowhere, hubby decides that it would be a good idea to pull over to talk things out. While they're trying to sort things out, something brushed against their car with enough force to rock it. There is also the noise of something sharp that is raked against the metal exterior of their car.
It is then revealed the hubby and the missus have a small child in the back seat of their fine automobile. Now, anyone with more than two functional brain cells would just take off. The car is in working order; there is virtually nothing to prevent hubby from simply driving away and getting his family out of there.
Nothing except for hubby's sheer stupidity, of course. Tbis is a Grade Z monster movie, after all.
Instead of driving off, protecting himself and his family, hubby gets out of the car to have a look see after the car is impacted again. As he walks around the car, he spots something that spooks him. Instead of getting into the car and driving away, he leans into the car asks the missus for a flashlight.
She gives it to him, and hubby is soon thereafter dispatched by whatever it is that lurks outside of the car.
Now, instead of heeding maternal instinct and driving away to protect their small child, the missus decides to get out of the car to see whom or what it was that did away with hubby. She finds the flashlight and picks it up. Instead of getting immediately back into the car to drive off and again, protect her only child, she looks around. Of course, she falls prey to whatever nabbed her hubby, leaving the small child in the backseat of the car to the care of some creature with scaly skin, huge hands, long fingers, and razor-sharp talking.
The movie goes downhill from there. Watch at your own peril. You'll wish Mr. Talons would have clawed your eyes out after you've watched this utter piece of trash.
It is then revealed the hubby and the missus have a small child in the back seat of their fine automobile. Now, anyone with more than two functional brain cells would just take off. The car is in working order; there is virtually nothing to prevent hubby from simply driving away and getting his family out of there.
Nothing except for hubby's sheer stupidity, of course. Tbis is a Grade Z monster movie, after all.
Instead of driving off, protecting himself and his family, hubby gets out of the car to have a look see after the car is impacted again. As he walks around the car, he spots something that spooks him. Instead of getting into the car and driving away, he leans into the car asks the missus for a flashlight.
She gives it to him, and hubby is soon thereafter dispatched by whatever it is that lurks outside of the car.
Now, instead of heeding maternal instinct and driving away to protect their small child, the missus decides to get out of the car to see whom or what it was that did away with hubby. She finds the flashlight and picks it up. Instead of getting immediately back into the car to drive off and again, protect her only child, she looks around. Of course, she falls prey to whatever nabbed her hubby, leaving the small child in the backseat of the car to the care of some creature with scaly skin, huge hands, long fingers, and razor-sharp talking.
The movie goes downhill from there. Watch at your own peril. You'll wish Mr. Talons would have clawed your eyes out after you've watched this utter piece of trash.
Don't get your hopes up. The raking was lacking ingredients to make it good...
paul_haakonsen23 August 2019
I must admit that I was initially lured in by the movie's cover. Granted, I had never even heard about this 2017 movie prior to finding it by sheer random luck in 2019. And being a life-long horror fan, of course I sat down to watch "The Raking" as I was presented with a chance to do so.
I managed to endure just a bit more than an hour of this movie from director Bryan Brewer before I gave up. The movie was rather monotonous and failed to properly captivate me. There was just something way too generic and mundane about the storyline which was reminiscent of the horror movies that permeated the horror scene in the 1990s.
The one thing that the movie did manage to do well was the suspense with keeping the audience in the dark in terms of showing off the creatures and giving the audience information about what is really going on. But it just wasn't enough to make up for all the other shortcomings that the movie had from writers Bryan Brewer and Laura Greenman Heine.
"The Raking" was a weak horror movie, and there are far better horror movies readily available. And it scores a mere three out of ten stars rating from me, because the movie didn't have an interesting storyline and the characters were just too bland.
An ambitious project for sure, but you know when the director and writer also stars in the movie, then it is going to be one of those movies. Yeah, you know what I mean here.
I managed to endure just a bit more than an hour of this movie from director Bryan Brewer before I gave up. The movie was rather monotonous and failed to properly captivate me. There was just something way too generic and mundane about the storyline which was reminiscent of the horror movies that permeated the horror scene in the 1990s.
The one thing that the movie did manage to do well was the suspense with keeping the audience in the dark in terms of showing off the creatures and giving the audience information about what is really going on. But it just wasn't enough to make up for all the other shortcomings that the movie had from writers Bryan Brewer and Laura Greenman Heine.
"The Raking" was a weak horror movie, and there are far better horror movies readily available. And it scores a mere three out of ten stars rating from me, because the movie didn't have an interesting storyline and the characters were just too bland.
An ambitious project for sure, but you know when the director and writer also stars in the movie, then it is going to be one of those movies. Yeah, you know what I mean here.
It's my room too
nogodnomasters24 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The film opens with a Mercedes running out of gas on a back desert road attacked by the creature (Alan Maxson in a costume). There is a child in the back. The adult names are George and Carla, perhaps a tribute to George Carlin. Later at college, a group of diverse white students and their TA, Ethan Cooper (Bryan Brewster, director, writer, producer and basically guy to blame or praise) do a school project on urban legends. They choose to go on a camping trip at Joshua Tree because there is a legend that something happens in the desert to people at the equinox and the fact that is the trendy spot for low budget slasher films. Add a salty guy (Marshal Hilton) in a monster truck who helps them and I think you got the idea.
I will say the acting was better than most indie productions. Either Mr. Brewster has acting friends or decided to cast actors. The bar scene had the right amount of background noise, not using that canned crowded restaurant noise that never matches what is on the screen. I tend to notice dumb things like that and also one of the fast moving news articles claimed a "local Wichita boy" went missing. This is a Brain Damage film who started out making films too bad to watch. Apparently they learned from their errors and parlayed their earnings into better productions. Now many times directors place themselves into horror films, and where they die in the film is indicative of their ego.Just saying. Allie Rivera, co-producer played Jade,my favorite moody character contrasting Kennedy (Cree Kelly) and her own sister (Marisa Davila). A geek/nerd named Noah (Thatcher Robinson) rounds out the group.
Now the film claimed the equinox is an annual event. Before you kids tell your teacher that, it is not. It comes twice a year, spring and fall which is why they are called the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox. I'll let you figure out which is which.I thought the ending was ill conceived.
Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity due to arm placement.
I will say the acting was better than most indie productions. Either Mr. Brewster has acting friends or decided to cast actors. The bar scene had the right amount of background noise, not using that canned crowded restaurant noise that never matches what is on the screen. I tend to notice dumb things like that and also one of the fast moving news articles claimed a "local Wichita boy" went missing. This is a Brain Damage film who started out making films too bad to watch. Apparently they learned from their errors and parlayed their earnings into better productions. Now many times directors place themselves into horror films, and where they die in the film is indicative of their ego.Just saying. Allie Rivera, co-producer played Jade,my favorite moody character contrasting Kennedy (Cree Kelly) and her own sister (Marisa Davila). A geek/nerd named Noah (Thatcher Robinson) rounds out the group.
Now the film claimed the equinox is an annual event. Before you kids tell your teacher that, it is not. It comes twice a year, spring and fall which is why they are called the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox. I'll let you figure out which is which.I thought the ending was ill conceived.
Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity due to arm placement.
Oh my! It gets worse
Dave_douell10 February 2019
The first scene with the family stalled in the desert really looked promising but unfortunately it was just downhill from there! A 3.3 rating is being much too kind. And all the "actors" were equally bad. There was no real follow thru with Kelly who was taken alive to the creatures cave. What ever happened to the cops who were supposed to be on their way? Very sloppy all the way. I knew it was gonna be bad when you could see tape on the actresses breast during the sex scene!!!!
Disappointing, dull and overall bland creature feature
kannibalcorpsegrinder7 January 2018
Heading out on a camping trip, a group of students researching a local internet legend finds themselves trapped in a nightmare as the creature they're supposedly hunting is real and begins stalking them through the area, forcing the group to band together in order to survive the trip.
This here wasn't all that great of a creature feature. One of the main issues here is the fact that barely anything at all actually happens for large portions of the film's running time. This one takes way too long to get the group out to the grounds where the creature supposedly lurks as the continued usage of them arguing over what they plan to do on the trip or whether or not they're personal conflicts start getting involved in their mission which isn't in the slightest bit interesting. That it gets further interrupted by the need for the telling of ghost stories out in the middle of their camp really does manage to throw another big dull spot in the middle of the film that holds back it's pacing, and with the initial story being told at the hunters' lodge that takes forever to fully get spelled out for the others that drags out the tempo even more. This overall lack of action manages to reduce the amount of screentime the titular creature receives which manages to make it seem all the less frightening because it's not on-screen often enough to make an impression. There are some fine points on display because of the creature, but the film never gets the chance to really explore it due to the lack of screentime it gives to the monster which is quite short and barely worthwhile here as there are so many more scenes featuring them interacting with each other even after the film decides to announce the creatures' presence so early on here with an attack quite early on. That factor just makes the pacing that much more obvious here with it being obvious the creatures' out there from the beginning yet never delving into exploiting that factor as often as it could've which really does lower this one significantly. Coupled with a cheap-looking monster costume that heightens the low-budget experience, this one has a few problems that don't hold off its positives. There's not a whole lot to like here, which mainly comes from the setup of the creature and its fine backstory. The usage of the internet legend as a basis for the creature isn't a bad start, but it's not as well-known as other creatures which give it a unique and creative feeling that's explored here. As well, there's also the few rather fine action scenes here that get quite enjoyable, from the initial encounter in the campsite to the house encounters that are somewhat thrilling for their sense of gore and frenetic activity throughout which does make this enjoyable. Overall, though, it's not all that great.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
This here wasn't all that great of a creature feature. One of the main issues here is the fact that barely anything at all actually happens for large portions of the film's running time. This one takes way too long to get the group out to the grounds where the creature supposedly lurks as the continued usage of them arguing over what they plan to do on the trip or whether or not they're personal conflicts start getting involved in their mission which isn't in the slightest bit interesting. That it gets further interrupted by the need for the telling of ghost stories out in the middle of their camp really does manage to throw another big dull spot in the middle of the film that holds back it's pacing, and with the initial story being told at the hunters' lodge that takes forever to fully get spelled out for the others that drags out the tempo even more. This overall lack of action manages to reduce the amount of screentime the titular creature receives which manages to make it seem all the less frightening because it's not on-screen often enough to make an impression. There are some fine points on display because of the creature, but the film never gets the chance to really explore it due to the lack of screentime it gives to the monster which is quite short and barely worthwhile here as there are so many more scenes featuring them interacting with each other even after the film decides to announce the creatures' presence so early on here with an attack quite early on. That factor just makes the pacing that much more obvious here with it being obvious the creatures' out there from the beginning yet never delving into exploiting that factor as often as it could've which really does lower this one significantly. Coupled with a cheap-looking monster costume that heightens the low-budget experience, this one has a few problems that don't hold off its positives. There's not a whole lot to like here, which mainly comes from the setup of the creature and its fine backstory. The usage of the internet legend as a basis for the creature isn't a bad start, but it's not as well-known as other creatures which give it a unique and creative feeling that's explored here. As well, there's also the few rather fine action scenes here that get quite enjoyable, from the initial encounter in the campsite to the house encounters that are somewhat thrilling for their sense of gore and frenetic activity throughout which does make this enjoyable. Overall, though, it's not all that great.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
Not bad for a indy horror
wycherleyp-960-4706588 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
For a indy film this is not bad, granted it's not great but I'm sure if it had a bigger budget and a slight tweak to the script it would get more of a reaction.
Story starts off with a family who run out of petrol out in the desert and something picks them off. Then it fasts forward few years and a group of college kids who are working on a project to debunk urban legends go out to where the urban legend story tells where the killings took place.
The acting is not bad you get what you pay for I suppose, the monster/animal that is behind the urban legend reminded me of the film "the descent" from 2005 but with a different sound.
Overall it's not a bad film obviously there is a lot better out there but if you have a spare 97mins then it's worth watching
Story starts off with a family who run out of petrol out in the desert and something picks them off. Then it fasts forward few years and a group of college kids who are working on a project to debunk urban legends go out to where the urban legend story tells where the killings took place.
The acting is not bad you get what you pay for I suppose, the monster/animal that is behind the urban legend reminded me of the film "the descent" from 2005 but with a different sound.
Overall it's not a bad film obviously there is a lot better out there but if you have a spare 97mins then it's worth watching
It's not that bad
m-skee16 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Yup, it's a low budget indie style movie. No it doesn't have all the bells and whistles you get with blockbusters. But it does a pretty good job with what it has.
I am a hater of movies where the same guy writes, directs, and stars in it. So it was surprising that I kinda liked this one.
The script is ok, the story flows. There were no extraneous plot lines to confuse the issue. The characters have backstories that make you like them, told through the movie, not all dumped at once. The acting is way better than these movies usually have. Not Oscar worthy but a big step above beginners. Well, the goth girl was a bit stilted. There were no continuity issues nor were there plot holes.
There is one sex scene, at the beginning. It was well done and not porn like. It was used to show the frowned upon relationship between a college student and the TA. It also gives us the tie in to the opening sequence and the boy who survived. It was done without shoving it in your face.
The filming was also surprising. No shaky cam, weird angles, or bad transitions. It was shot at night but even the low light scenes were lit enough to see easily. The sound was even throughout and you could easily understand the dialogue.
It opens with a couple in a car arguing about being lost, the guy finally pulls over, but it's in a bad spot. The boy, who's birthday it is, is saved by a passing driver. It moves to the present where we have the Teaching Assistant and student in her room, sex, they are in love. She's a bit bratty (but redeemed slightly later). Meet goth girl roommate. They have a final project to do about urban legends. Brat ropes TA into their group which included nerd boy (cutie). Goth girl's sister comes. All head to Joshua Tree for the Rake legend. Camping scene, Rake makes on screen appearance (you can actually see it, not just an indistinct blur. Car won't start (Brat left radio on and door open, ooops). Little sister is dragged off. The rest are rescued by a crazy local. At his house they're safe due to lots of lighting. Crazy's backstory, bro taken by Rake 30 years ago. Script does a good job of keeping things smart until the random car shows up. Here they get a case of the stupids and go outside, it works out but the stupids are contagious. Nerd goes to charge phone, it overloads the circuits, the lights go off, and things go down hill fast after that. I liked the little twist at the end.
So as you can see, you get a standard horror movie done on a low budget. Overall it was an okay way to pass some time. As a bonus it didn't annoy the poop out of me.
I am a hater of movies where the same guy writes, directs, and stars in it. So it was surprising that I kinda liked this one.
The script is ok, the story flows. There were no extraneous plot lines to confuse the issue. The characters have backstories that make you like them, told through the movie, not all dumped at once. The acting is way better than these movies usually have. Not Oscar worthy but a big step above beginners. Well, the goth girl was a bit stilted. There were no continuity issues nor were there plot holes.
There is one sex scene, at the beginning. It was well done and not porn like. It was used to show the frowned upon relationship between a college student and the TA. It also gives us the tie in to the opening sequence and the boy who survived. It was done without shoving it in your face.
The filming was also surprising. No shaky cam, weird angles, or bad transitions. It was shot at night but even the low light scenes were lit enough to see easily. The sound was even throughout and you could easily understand the dialogue.
It opens with a couple in a car arguing about being lost, the guy finally pulls over, but it's in a bad spot. The boy, who's birthday it is, is saved by a passing driver. It moves to the present where we have the Teaching Assistant and student in her room, sex, they are in love. She's a bit bratty (but redeemed slightly later). Meet goth girl roommate. They have a final project to do about urban legends. Brat ropes TA into their group which included nerd boy (cutie). Goth girl's sister comes. All head to Joshua Tree for the Rake legend. Camping scene, Rake makes on screen appearance (you can actually see it, not just an indistinct blur. Car won't start (Brat left radio on and door open, ooops). Little sister is dragged off. The rest are rescued by a crazy local. At his house they're safe due to lots of lighting. Crazy's backstory, bro taken by Rake 30 years ago. Script does a good job of keeping things smart until the random car shows up. Here they get a case of the stupids and go outside, it works out but the stupids are contagious. Nerd goes to charge phone, it overloads the circuits, the lights go off, and things go down hill fast after that. I liked the little twist at the end.
So as you can see, you get a standard horror movie done on a low budget. Overall it was an okay way to pass some time. As a bonus it didn't annoy the poop out of me.
Seriously bad acting
kaefab9 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I could tolerate 45 minutes then i turned it off.
The start of the movie was quit good and the way it was filmed too, but after that it goes downhill. The acting was so bad, its like they all read the script in front of them line by line.
The creature affect where good to passable. This movie like many others bring nothing new to the gender, add that its poorly shot, and looks amateur at best in some part.
All the actors where very annoying too, avoid this movie its a mess.
The start of the movie was quit good and the way it was filmed too, but after that it goes downhill. The acting was so bad, its like they all read the script in front of them line by line.
The creature affect where good to passable. This movie like many others bring nothing new to the gender, add that its poorly shot, and looks amateur at best in some part.
All the actors where very annoying too, avoid this movie its a mess.
Better than the negativity here might suggest
diz-syd-6329 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
First off, many comments point to the acting and SFX being amateur. I had no issue at all with the cast, the two female (uni room share) leads were both fine. Noah I really liked, played with innocence that totally suited the role. I wasn't so fussed on the Assistant Tutor and I loved the little sister. The creature was freaky, made me go goosebumpy. I, personally, would have kept it more hidden, maybe just ruby red shining eyes in the darkness.
The story wss cool, hardly original, but had history and a little development. I might have made more of the child in the opening scene ... he loom scared but he could have been given a more prominent role.
I don't remember any music, so it was probably missing or uninteresting.
The story wss cool, hardly original, but had history and a little development. I might have made more of the child in the opening scene ... he loom scared but he could have been given a more prominent role.
I don't remember any music, so it was probably missing or uninteresting.
Should have fast forwarded more of it
bowmanblue1 January 2024
'The Raking' is a horror movie that, if you tuned in midway through, you'd probably think it looked pretty reasonable - for a general B-movie of its genre. It has a high (again, for the genre) definition feel to it (although, was it me or did the camera slip out of focus here and there?) with reasonable acting talent. And, because of this, I stuck with it until the end.
The story is about five college students who take a field trip out into the American wilderness in order to complete an assignment, but naturally fall foul of a local monster. A decent enough premise, but there just isn't enough that's different to make it stand out.
Unfortunately, there's not really much here to recommend, as it's pretty run-of-the-mill. The characters are quite unlikable and bland (although, as mentioned, the acting and script aren't as bad as others) and - naturally - played by actors about twice as old as the teenagers they're supposed to be.
It's kind of split into three 'acts.' The beginning has the students arrive at the desert (bumping into the obligatory 'wise man' who gives a vague warning as to what horrors they may face) then instantly get attacked. The second part is the longest - and most forgettable - as it's all in one house where the characters just talk. Then you have the final bit where the blood starts to flow - and is about the best (and shortest) section.
When you see the monster it's really nothing special. It's a nice enough mask, but it's just a guy in a costume and reminded me of one of the 'extra' vampires you could see in the background of the classic 'From Dusk to Dawn.'
Like I say, I stuck with it because it always felt like someone was going to happen to make my investment worth it. Yeah, the last ten minutes picked up the pace, but, apart from that, I could probably have fast forwarded a lot more and not missed out on anything.
The story is about five college students who take a field trip out into the American wilderness in order to complete an assignment, but naturally fall foul of a local monster. A decent enough premise, but there just isn't enough that's different to make it stand out.
Unfortunately, there's not really much here to recommend, as it's pretty run-of-the-mill. The characters are quite unlikable and bland (although, as mentioned, the acting and script aren't as bad as others) and - naturally - played by actors about twice as old as the teenagers they're supposed to be.
It's kind of split into three 'acts.' The beginning has the students arrive at the desert (bumping into the obligatory 'wise man' who gives a vague warning as to what horrors they may face) then instantly get attacked. The second part is the longest - and most forgettable - as it's all in one house where the characters just talk. Then you have the final bit where the blood starts to flow - and is about the best (and shortest) section.
When you see the monster it's really nothing special. It's a nice enough mask, but it's just a guy in a costume and reminded me of one of the 'extra' vampires you could see in the background of the classic 'From Dusk to Dawn.'
Like I say, I stuck with it because it always felt like someone was going to happen to make my investment worth it. Yeah, the last ten minutes picked up the pace, but, apart from that, I could probably have fast forwarded a lot more and not missed out on anything.
Not Quite
chad-6131330 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Managed to get through this one. It takes a bit of time to get rolling and when it does, there's not much happening. The cell phone charger blowing the entire house out, leaving them with no power is absolutely ridiculous. And wtf are the breakers doing outside?? Acting is watchable but the store could've been way better.
More a sex movie than a horror
chuckxx3 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Another one of the horror movies which use sex scenes over and over. Obviously the script is so bad, that they have to use them. Learn from the Korean movies, they can do without it.
In first the first scene, the car cannot start. Temperature is cold, so this car wasn't running before.
The student's car does not start,. Battery dead the teacher says. Then the starter button would not be lit either.
This movie is full of crap.
So much potential, so little effort
poetik-4822420 November 2020
A genuine review of The Raking!
akeen-1586810 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Firstly I've had an account on IMDb for years but I've never bothered to review anything. Until now....
I noticed how often people either review something as 10 (Family, friends or relatives of the crew) or 0 (Seriously? So many films are the worst ever?!) When most fall into a 3-6 category. Okay but nothing special.
The Raking is definitely a 3-5 level film. I've seen movies that looked like school kids filmed them .....this is not that. And I've seen criticism of the 'Goth girls' acting. But actually she was pretty good and had the most dramatic part and lines of the movie. Okay she's not at a Shakespearean level but who in a horror film is? The thing to consider when judging someone's performance is what was actually wrong with it? She was pretty believable as someone dealing with their own demons and identity. Certainly no one else out acted her.
As far as the movie is concerned it sort of falls into three halves. The first part....the build up .....is poorly done. The idea that these people were randomly meeting at a club to discuss a assignment plus the goth girls interaction with the bar tender were all rather forced as a plot device to begin the story. I would give this beginning 2/10
The second part of the movie the discovery of the creature and the following action which made up the bulk of the film was actually good. The creature was creepy enough and there was enough tension and some good added drama with the sister of goth girl being taken and the lone huntsman were actually better story than a lot of b grade horror. I'd give it 6/10
Finally the last ten minutes where the film reverted to plot devices rather than letting things seem natural. The huntsman suddenly runs off into the night in the dark to kill the beast having spent the whole time warning against that. And goth girl matches off into the dark corridors of the house to ..... I have no idea. To die? Since both these actions were not worthy of the characters and obviously just to find a way to get them out of the way.
If only a little more time had been spent in thinking how those characters would have really behaved given the previous build up the movie would have been much more satisfying.
I'd give these last ten minutes 2/10
Overall then I'd say The Raking was well made and filmed. The acting was good for what it was. But the story could have been woven much tighter with more believability.
I wonder if the actress playing goth girl genuinely thought her character would have just walked out into the darkness with no plan or weapon or it was just the story she was presented with.
So 5/10. A fun watch if you're familiar with horror films and not expecting big budget or anything stand out. There's certainly a heap of worse horror movies out there.....there's also a lot of better ones too.
I noticed how often people either review something as 10 (Family, friends or relatives of the crew) or 0 (Seriously? So many films are the worst ever?!) When most fall into a 3-6 category. Okay but nothing special.
The Raking is definitely a 3-5 level film. I've seen movies that looked like school kids filmed them .....this is not that. And I've seen criticism of the 'Goth girls' acting. But actually she was pretty good and had the most dramatic part and lines of the movie. Okay she's not at a Shakespearean level but who in a horror film is? The thing to consider when judging someone's performance is what was actually wrong with it? She was pretty believable as someone dealing with their own demons and identity. Certainly no one else out acted her.
As far as the movie is concerned it sort of falls into three halves. The first part....the build up .....is poorly done. The idea that these people were randomly meeting at a club to discuss a assignment plus the goth girls interaction with the bar tender were all rather forced as a plot device to begin the story. I would give this beginning 2/10
The second part of the movie the discovery of the creature and the following action which made up the bulk of the film was actually good. The creature was creepy enough and there was enough tension and some good added drama with the sister of goth girl being taken and the lone huntsman were actually better story than a lot of b grade horror. I'd give it 6/10
Finally the last ten minutes where the film reverted to plot devices rather than letting things seem natural. The huntsman suddenly runs off into the night in the dark to kill the beast having spent the whole time warning against that. And goth girl matches off into the dark corridors of the house to ..... I have no idea. To die? Since both these actions were not worthy of the characters and obviously just to find a way to get them out of the way.
If only a little more time had been spent in thinking how those characters would have really behaved given the previous build up the movie would have been much more satisfying.
I'd give these last ten minutes 2/10
Overall then I'd say The Raking was well made and filmed. The acting was good for what it was. But the story could have been woven much tighter with more believability.
I wonder if the actress playing goth girl genuinely thought her character would have just walked out into the darkness with no plan or weapon or it was just the story she was presented with.
So 5/10. A fun watch if you're familiar with horror films and not expecting big budget or anything stand out. There's certainly a heap of worse horror movies out there.....there's also a lot of better ones too.
Really enjoyed this movie!!
rileyblis28 November 2022
I really liked this movie. Has a great scary opening. Some good twists. Actors all did a good job. Monster looked creepy enough for a lower budget movie. Movie had 80's vibes and reminded me of some of the movies filmed back in the early 1980's to late 1980's. Felt bad for the little kid in the opening scene at the very beginning. He truly looked traumatized. But that made the movie feel even more real. If you're looking for a good movie to check out I'd recommend this. Or if you're looking for a creepy late night scare I'd also recommend. I liked how the younger group teamed up with the older guy. I love movies where opposites team up and work together in order to make it through the night!
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