Ally Was Screaming (2014) User Reviews

Silly/stupid funny/revolting tale about two guys that are nice/monsters

[mattmusko · 7/10 · 15 October 2020]

I typically don't care for films like this but it worked because I wanted to like and hate the guys while cheering for both their success and demise all at the same time. In real life they would be monsters because just to entertain some of their ideas is insane but this is a comedy that is well aware of what it's trying to do so I can look past a lot of the cringey stuff. You can tell that they are good people deep down and are wrestling like Hell with their "inner angels" to find a solution to satisfy selfish desires.

There's no point overanalyzing. Chances are you will have made up your mind whether this is for you within the first 20-30 minutes. If you can watch it for free tune in and see if it tickles your fancy or repulses you.

This was not funny

[incd · 2/10 · 21 July 2020]

MikeyB1793 nailed it. Unrealistic dialogue, poorly developed characters, sloppy camera work, characteristic gaps in dialogue that seems to be the hallmark of Canadian productions. When will Canadian film makers realize that when you leave film school, your audience is the general public, not your classmates. Stop trying to impress your friends and deliver a product the everyday person can understand without all the artistic fluff.

solid, original psychological drama

[mayor_mccheese55 · 10/10 · 5 May 2015]

(This review contains a very mild spoiler from very early in the film, also revealed in the IMDb.com summary) Solid psychological drama exploring the tenets of utilitarian morality, boasting a strong young cast with great chemistry (and a lot of promise for what they do next), Ally Was Screaming has an original script and premise, which is very welcome in this age of repeated remakes, re-imaginings and sequels. Ally often leaves you unsettled at the choices the lead characters make when they find their deceased friend left behind a winning lottery ticket (don't worry, not really a spoiler, this happens VERY early in the film), but they can just about charm you into agreeing with their choices, thanks to the strengths of the writing and Jeremy Thomas' direction, who also makes the audience ask themselves "what would I do?" Loved the naturalistic cinematography, especially the candlelight driven climax. The "coming into a fortune, but with a catch" idea has been done before, but never in such a unique way; in fact, it's one of the most unique films I've seen in a long time. Thomas seems assured and confident with his camera, never lapsing into the overused "shaky camera-syndrome" that too many of his contemporaries feel is the only way to shoot a thriller. This flick is well-paced and will spark a lot of post-viewing arguments among friends about right and wrong, morality, and the semantics behind it. It's nice to be reminded too that Canadian cinema doesn't have to be just "intimate family dramas" about quirky characters in a rural locale, but can instead be about a couple of "smart dudes" in the big city, who dig themselves in a little too deep and then may or may not want to try to dig themselves out. I look forward to what this director has in store next for us.

Ally was Boring

[MikeyB1793 · 2/10 · 2 April 2015]

This film is amateurish. Too much talking with a very poor script. It's trying to be film noir but never comes close. It's redundant – with repetitive living room scenes where there is suppose to be an attempt at murder with a screw driver. The film became so boring that towards the end I was actually hoping for something bloody and gruesome to stain the furniture – but are hapless sub-heroes are too busy whining and talking. There are endless scenes of our characters plotting murder and eulogizing their dead friend saying the same things over and over and over again. The music was pretentious (do young people really listen to Camille Saint-Saens?!). It's ninety minutes but really seemed much longer; I never felt anything but supremely bored.

It's just too artificial and it never grasps you. It lacked entanglement and suspense. All the people involved in this film need an education – watch a Coen brothers film to see how its' really done.

As a note check out the people who wrote rave reviews(two so far) for this film. One has one review, being "Ally", the other has two reviews... Meaning they likely are friends of the producer of "Ally" or directly involved in this dismal film

Fantastic Movie!

[dsuggitt · 10/10 · 25 June 2016]

I rarely take the chance and actually watch a Canadian movie, but boy am I glad I watched this one! Nothing like your typical low budget Canadian film. Everything about this movie was first rate. The acting, the writing, the story line, even the music score and lighting was top notch. The best thing about this movie was the realism. The principal players in this film had dialogue that was really intelligent and made for a very intriguing and suspenseful film. I watched this movie with my 19 year old daughter (I am 52 years old) and throughout the movie we were both on the edge of our seats, and many times we gasped in anticipation of what might happen next. I could not wait to see how this movie would end, and needless to say it did not disappoint me. This is easily one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, and if you are in the mood for a real intelligent and suspenseful film, do not miss this one!

Yet another loser Canadian film

[Wizard-8 · 2/10 · 23 October 2020]

While I was cruising around Tubi, I stumbled across this movie, and I decided to give it a chance because its plot description sounded intriguing and promising. However, a few seconds into watching the movie, the credits state that the movie was funded by Telefilm Canada - a government film financer that uses taxpayers' money almost all the time to fund movies that no one wants to see for good reasons. I instantly predicted that the director would also be the writer (another common theme in Telefilm funded movies), and I was proven correct.

But I decided to stick it out, and I managed to watch the whole thing.... though I really wish I didn't, even though I watched it for free. Despite its premise, the movie is extremely boring. There is pretty much no suspense, and when there is suspense it's so low key that you will know that nothing bad is actually going to happen at the end of a "suspenseful" scene. The movie really moves at a snail's pace.

There are further problems. The movie actually tries to be funny at times, but the humor not only doesn't mix well with the drama, it's not funny at all by itself or with the other material. Also, the characters keep speaking dialogue that doesn't sound like anyone in real life would speak even under these circumstances, made worse that the cast can't seem to even make a valiant effort to try and sell the audience this dialogue. The whole production also suffers from the fact that the entire movie looks really cheap, with minimal production values and substandard photography. It looks like a low budget Canadian television show.

It's easy to see why the distributor only (briefly) released this movie to just three theaters in Canada. The whole movie is proof that Telefilm has got to severely cut down the projects it funds where the director is also the writer. The best thing that could be done would be to solicit screenplays from people that are just talented writers and not directors, choose the screenplays that are actually good, and then offer them to directors. Until then, we are just going to get more waste of taxpayers' dollars like this movie.

Awesome film ethics is Key!

[jrbauer-72423 · 10/10 · 17 November 2015]

Great inspiring film the writer was very creative on us finding our inner selves and morals. For the ones that are not understanding of it clearly have no taste in rating films or in life in general. Looking forward to many of his next films! Check it out for yourself - if you don't understand the first time you weren't paying attention..

Money does not buy happiness and people should be more grateful on what they have.

Would you really feel better buying a Yacht instead of helping 40,000 hungry starving children?

If you have food, shelter, clothing you are a millionaire already compared to most. This film portrays that and much more!

We need to give Independent films a lot more credit for how difficult and challenging it is to create and produce.

Pleasant Surprise, great little film

[mjanssens26 · 10/10 · 24 February 2020]

Found this streaming on TubiTv one night. I gave it ten minutes to impress me or I would turn it off. This turned out to be one of the best low budget movies (though filmed very well) that I've seen in a long while. Great performances by the leads and a lot of the times I thought I was reading a great Agatha Christie novel. Some moments are really edge of your seat white knuckle. Fast paced and great. Watch for yourself.

Well executed morality tale.

[justiceisserved · 9/10 · 13 May 2016]

Is there such a thing as a charitable murder? A long time trio becomes a duo after losing their friend Ally in a tragic accident. Rummaging through Ally's belongings, our dubious protagonists, Nole and Seth, come upon a winning lottery ticket worth millions. Should they attempt to keep their late friend's money or hand it over to Casey, Ally's sister, and executor of the estate, who will rightfully give the ticket to Ally's abusive ex-husband.

Why should some scumbag collect on Ally's good fortune? If only sweet, saintly, Casey was out of the way, Nole and Seth could cash in the ticket and live out their philanthropist dreams. Feeling intellectually superior for their menial jobs, and oblivious of their own hypocrisy, the two are soon contemplating murder, justifying the act by committing to giving a third of the prize money to Ally's African charity.

The film veers into darkly comic territory when the two start swinging around their Magic 8-Ball, quoting movie mob scenes, and rationalizing the crime as now being somehow noble. Even to the point of convincing themselves that Ally herself would somehow approve of the vile deed. Or how about when Nole tries to take the high road, debating the ethical treatment of animals, all the while secretly plotting the murder of a human being. When Nole asks why using a knife for the crime wouldn't be humane - Seth screams out "Do you really want to start stabbing our friend to death?"

The three leads are uniformly excellent. Charlie Carrick (Nole), and Giacomo Baessato (Seth), have a great rapport and are absolutely convincing as life long friends. When they start tossing out their diabolical ideas, you can believe this is how a conversation like this might actually occur. Camille Sullivan is a standout as Casey,(reminding me of a young Robin Wright), who delivers a tricky, sympathetic performance as the conscience of the film.

Working with a minimal budget writer/director Jeremy Thomas has crafted a small gem of a movie; smart, riveting, and nuanced. Like Woody Allen's Match point, it takes the idea of murder seriously, with a comically wicked edge.