lathe-of-heaven

I can see why this movie is somewhat divisive. There ARE indeed some good elements in it like one reviewer stated in his/her title.

I would say what really props up this movie at all is the tense atmosphere. The acting overall is decent, not as cringeworthy as many of these modern day Horror films.

I personally like the approach when you have this small, rural town where everyone knows something is not right. That aspect I thought was done very well.

I just don't feel that there was quite enough substance and weight truly to carry the story as well as it should have been. There were definitely instances of genuine creepiness, but perhaps if the writing/plot could have been thought out a bit more thoroughly, I think it really could have been a lot better.

Yes, many good elements are there, but I think maybe a bit more skill was needed to bring it together and really make it much more strongly effective and powerful to the audience.

I was torn between giving it a '5' or a '6', but in considering the sum of everything, I ended up with a '5' So, there is some entertainment value here, but ultimately I honestly feel it is a bit too flawed to be called really good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed, but with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

Basically that...

What I did like about it was it's very old fashioned style. None of the OTT flourishes that permeate Horror films these days. No extreme sadism or violence. No annoying overacting.

And, like others here have said, it is a good concept, rather imaginative, and I thought the visuals were done well, especially in the way they blended the 'Real' with the Unreal (I don't want to give too much away...)

Also, with many films like this where a family is going through this kind of stuff, usually the acting is not so hot with a lot of the Drama overdone, etc. In this case, I really did like the way the characters were developed (primarily the parents, the children really didn't have much to do) and their reactions and the way they dealt with each other, particularly in dramatic or uncomfortable scenes, were very well done, realistic, and believable.

Also, like some others have said here too, the ending is probably not as effective as it could be, finishing with a bit of a whimper...

But, if you are not expecting a super modern Horror movie with all kinds of extreme violence and effects and such and can appreciate an older fashioned yet imaginative style, then you might find this one fairly entertaining. I gave it a decent '6'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MY PARTICULAR WAY OF RATING:

5 - Flawed enough probably to give it a pass.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

Okay... I've reviewed probably well over 300 movies here over the last 15 years or so, and generally I do not add a review when there are already so many here.

BUT... the reason why I am adding a brief review amidst these 300+ already, and in reading them I see that some others do indeed agree with me, for those who may feel like I do about movies like this I think it may be helpful to share how this movie struck me personally.

Straight out, right from the start, the overly 'Hip' tone put me off. Unless a film is done REALLY well and cleverly written/acted/directed, I usually do not care for movies that are kinda 'Cute' in the sense that they are in effect saying, 'Hey look how cool and hip we are', especially with the dialog that was being exchanged between all those 'Hip', 'Cool' very unrealistic people.

It just is not my thing, really. I understand if others, which many here are, into that kind of style, almost self-referential, then fine you may really like it. To me personally although I honestly do love a wide variety of styles in movies, and yes, they can be light hearted, don't always have to be serious or 'Heavy' But, the way that the style in which this movie was written and directed mainly just comes across as very Plastic and unbelievable.

In a case like this, I don't feel that it is the actors fault, because they simply follow the tone and direction of what they are given so they are not the ones who carry the ultimate responsibility for the way they come across. The style presented here just comes across to me as VERY artificial, superficial, and makes it very difficult really to 'Get Into' the story at all.

Heh, sorry to get real wordy, I guess this review is not really going to be 'Brief' after all, my apologies... : )

But, yeah, that's pretty much it. Probably the worst culprits to me as an actual film as far as it being truly engaging in any way or drawing the audience into the story at all, would be the writing and direction. If perhaps the same story could have been told in a more realistic or truly clever way, then sure the story may well have been very good. But, to me, honestly, I just didn't get the impression that the writing was very sharp or believable at all. And yes, I agree with many here that the introduction in just the first few minutes basically shows it's hand in what the tone of the film will be when she says what she does in just the first few sentences.

So, basically that's it. And, I don't know if that may indeed be very helpful to some others here. But, honestly, I would say for people who really get into movies where they are intelligently written, and NOT insulting the intelligence of the audience, and who appreciate films that give some depth and substance to their characters and especially their dialog with each other, then like me you may very well find this film somewhat lacking.

Superficial, not very well or cleverly written, characters poorly come across as real people at all and are FAR too busy trying to be 'Hip' and 'Cool' to relate to in any realistic way.

Sorry about that, but with all the very positive reviews I felt I really should throw in here my honest impressions as to the way the movie struck me.

I gave it a '5' because it is not Gawd-Awful, but very shallow and unsatisfying.

I hope that helps...

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The way I rate movies on 'My' curve : )

5 - Flawed, Not really recommended 6 - Passable, Worth a watch, not highly recommended 7 - A Solid, Entertaining Film.