russtem_1 Reviews

The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

Absolutely Petifying

[9/10 · 12 April 2006]

I watched this film when I was about 7 I think and I am not joking when I say it had a profound effect upon me and many of my friends. I was terrified of the dark for years and even scared to look in the mirror in case there was someone else staring back. Quite how this film was shown at 6pm on a Tuesday has always baffled me. It was a shocking decision by the BBC and they would never get away with it now. I met a guy at university who had also been traumatised by this film and I think we bonded over it because we are still very good friends! My memories of it are quite hazy but I'm sure I started crying half way through and didn't stop until the end; would have turned it off but my 10 year old sister wanted to watch it or rather wanted to watch me cry and I was too scared to leave the room. I'm giving it a 9 for fright value. It was a good film and a good idea.

The Dark (2005)

Very good at what it is

[10/10 · 10 April 2006]

I have been very surprised to see the numerous bad reviews of this film and thought I should really add my comments to help address the situation. This film was absolutely petrifying - I was gripped from the first moment until the end. The eerie setting, the great acting by all the cast in particular Sean Bean and the lovely Maria Bello and the original idea all mark this film out as something special. I love the concept of this 'underworld' and the hark back to ancient Celtic mythology where the mother has to go to save her daughter - wonderful stuff. They really should make more films like this. This is a subtle horror movie and I can only imagine that the people who gave it such low ratings must have been hoping for a George A. Romero-style zombie fest. However, there are a few issues with the ending and certain plot lines that didn't make sense to me (for example, why does the mother jump into the water holding the girl when she was perfectly willing to let the girl go on her own before Sean Bean showed up?) The underworld itself was a dreadful looking place and the twilight-yellow tint on the camera lens made it seem like an alien landscape. Maybe 10 out of 10 is a little generous but overall I found this to be a very good and gripping horror movie, the best I have seen in many years.

The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)

The worst film ever?????

[1/10 · 8 December 2005]

I was just having a discussion with my work colleague about what may have been the worst film either of us has ever seen. He plumped for The Naked Lunch (?)and I went for this turkey. The most amusing part of my whole viewing experience was when a man in his mid 30's, young family in tow, began to walk out of the cinema and then, once he reached the aisle, turned to face the screen and shouted "B*ll@#ks!!!" at the top of his voice before calmly turning round and walking out. This expressed what most of the audience, myself included, were thinking at that time. Well done, that man....

Can't help but agree with an earlier post -I am SHOCKED to see so many people give positive reviews to this inane drivel and felt I needed to redress the balance somewhat. What is the world coming to, eh???